Automated Appointment Reminders: How to reduce no-shows and cancellations (MarketBox Feature Insight)

What is MarketBox? 

MarketBox is the first appointment management software designed specifically for businesses offering in-home and mobile services. The all-in-one platform handles everything from bookings, and scheduling, to payments and communication, so you can put your business on autopilot and focus on your customers. 

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Feature insight: How to use automated appointment reminders 

Automated appointment reminders help to reduce no-shows by up to 85%, and they couldn’t be easier to use. 

MarketBox automatically sends customers an email 24 hours in advance with all the details of their upcoming appointment. Employees also receive a schedule round-up each morning containing the details of the day’s forthcoming bookings, so both parties are in the know. 

Businesses using MarketBox can also set up custom cancellation policies and dictate whether a customer is charged a fee (and how much) if they cancel an appointment outside of the agreed-upon notice period eg. 24 hours before. In addition, a business can also give clients the option to reschedule their appointments through their client accounts without needing to contact the business. This option is turned off by default and can be configured in company settings. 

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4 Benefits of automated appointment reminders 

#1. Automated appointment reminders reduce costs 

Sending appointment reminders is a time-consuming task; automating them reduces costs as you don’t need someone to send them manually. By removing this recurring task, employees are free to focus on other aspects of the business, such as improving customer service. 

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#2. Reminders reduce no-shows by up to 85%

Automated appointment reminders drastically reduce client no-shows and increase revenue for a business as more sales go through as planned. For mobile service businesses, automating appointment reminders ensures a provider doesn’t travel to the client’s location only to find no one is home. 

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#3. Automated reminders increase customer satisfaction

Sending out personalized appointment reminders shows a customer you care about their business and ensures they receive the service they’re looking for in a timely manner. They’re an effective way of engaging the customer and, paired with a follow-up message asking for feedback, are a great way of increasing customer satisfaction. 

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#4. Automating appointment reminders reduces admin tasks 

As we’ve already covered in the first benefit, automated appointment reminders eliminate the need for someone to manually phone/email/text customers daily. But in addition to removing this recurring task, automating appointment reminders also reduces the time a business needs to spend rescheduling appointments or contacting providers with appointment updates as more bookings go ahead as planned. 

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