You're not alone: we've all forgotten an appointment. We've all felt the sting of guilt as the kind receptionist at our doctor’s office reminded us of our unintentional ghosting.
Being on the client side is bad enough, but as the service provider, those no-shows can be a real drag on the company pocketbook. Whether your office is a large healthcare provider, a law firm, or a trendy salon, we all have the same goal—to have our customers show up!
In the old days, you used to have to rummage through the books daily and spend hours giving reminder calls to your customers. Luckily, those times are gone. With the power of text reminder and scheduling apps, you can put down the phone and know your customers will come rolling in right on time.
Text reminder apps connect directly to your calendar or booking system (in fact, many are an all-in-one-solution) and send SMS text reminders automatically to your clients.
There are a lot of options out there, and some are far more complex than others. Let's look at the top-rated text reminder apps for business in 2019.
Full disclosure: it’s us! But our customers have told us the beauty of Appointment Reminder is its simplicity. We all like to swerve that learning curve, right? Setup for our plug-n-play SMS reminder software is simple. In no time, you'll to have your current calendar synched and ready to send automatic SMS reminders.
Once it's ready to go, onboarding and training new employees to set up appointments and reminders is an absolute breeze. It easily integrates with the calendar software you already use.
Not only can Appointment Reminder reach out to customers with SMS and text reminders, but it can also send detailed messages through custom email and voice messages.
Appointment Reminder is easy to demo with a 14-day trial. The user-friendly system also boasts dedicated phone support and service guarantee.
Price: Free 14-day trial; starts at $29 per month for 100 reminders and scales up based on volume.
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SuperSaaS is an impressively customizable, web-based scheduling and text reminder app. While customization can mean a bit of head scratching at first, the flexibility of SaaS makes it scalable for operations large and small.
SuperSaas also allows you to quickly create an online booking feature for your website or social media page. This calendar can be branded and customized to match your company image.
While SuperSaas doesn't have a downloadable app, its website is mobile-friendly and can easily be used across web devices.
Price: Free up to 50 upcoming appointments; a variety of packages for higher volume needs.
Booxi is much more than a text reminder service for business. This feature-rich service offers more appointment management, SMS reminders, and an all-in-one customer management solution. While scheduling and booking are a given, booxi provides many other features. These include the ability to offer online payment options, manage multiple locations, send email and SMS reminders, and even prompt customers to complete surveys.
Booxi also integrates nicely with social media, major web-building tools, and the Square POS service.
Price: $20 per month for the basic package, with further options based on volume and features.
10to8 is an appointment reminder and customer management service that scales with your business. Much like many appointment management apps, 10 to 8 integrates with most major calendar apps and provides an interface to book appointments. It also features a text message reminder service that even allows clients to cancel and change their bookings.
The most unique feature on 10to8 though is the 2-way chat. While simple SMS messages can work wonders to retain clients, the 2-way chat function allows your messages have been read and even respond to questions or requests. If they haven't read your message—no problem! You can give them a call the old-fashioned way.
Price: Free up to 100 appointments per month; basic package begins at $9.60 per month.
Apptoto is a simple-to-use, automated text reminder service. While it lacks the bells and whistles of some other apps, its streamlined simplicity is its main appeal. Setup is a five-step process that can be completed in minutes. Using the app is straightforward: once your automated message is set up, just leave it to do the work. The only downside might be the price, however. For a simpler app, its $29/month price tag may be a bit more than some are willing to spend.
Appointments can also be created and managed through Apptoto's online booking features.
Price: Starts at $29 monthly for 200 appointments per month and scales based on volume.
SimplyBook.me offers a mind-blowing 50 custom features. This powerhouse is most suitable for the complex business needs of busy service, public service, and educational organizations. SimplyBook.me can handle appointment booking, accept payments, and has a robust API to customize integration with websites.
The SMS and email notification system can be set to notify both the staff and client of new appointments, changes, or cancellations.
Price: Free up to 50 bookings; $9.99 and up per month for higher volume and added features.
StyleSeat is designed with the beauty and barber professional in mind. The appointment management system allows stylists to book directly from their website or social media. This app also features an easy-to-search database, so new clients can search for stylists and book them directly through the StyleSeat website.
Once a client is booked, an automatic SMS appointment reminder can be sent to ensure they remember their appointment. If they happen to forget, no-show fees can be charged through a stored credit card.
Price: Free 30-day trial; $35 per month.
Schedulista features both a lightweight mobile app and a robust web-based system that manages clients, bookings, and appointment reminders for service providers. The online appointment system can integrate with your existing website or be used as a stand-alone link. Schedulista shines with user-friendliness on the client's end, thanks to its clean and straightforward booking platform.
Not only can Schedulista send text reminders to your booked clients, but you are able to customize your communications to notify customers of special instructions or supply them with pre-visit documents.
Price: $19 per month for a single user; $39 per month for a staff of 2-15 employees.
Sometimes a simple solution is all you need. AppointFix is straightforward with its offerings. They offer an in-app calendar system that allows users to create appointments for their clients quickly. Under both its basic and premium plans, SMS reminders can be sent through the app to booked clients.
Unfortunately, due to an update with the Android operating system, users must tap a confirmation for each SMS reminder sent in the free version. The premium plan allows the use of the app’s private servers, which avoids this little snag.
Price: Free basic plan; $9.99 per month for a premium plan.
With BookedIn, you can manage your client calendar through a mobile app or the web-based version which is chock-full of extra features. Through the mobile app, you are able to set up your SMS mobile alerts to keep your customers in the loop, set your availability, and view your client history.
On the website, you can customize the look and feel of your booking system and manage your client invoices as well. So, the web app is great for your initial setup, but general use can comfortably be done from the mobile app.
Price: 30-day free trial; fee begins at $29 per month
Want to get started with automatic appointment reminders right away? Let’s make 2019 your year to eliminate no-shows. Get started in less than five minutes with a free trial of Appointment Reminder.