Massage business owners are busy people who have to manage a business, employ staff or contractors and sometimes still are massage therapists themselves. If improved customer service, ease of business operations and reduced missed appointments are on your new year’s resolution list for your business in 2023, take a look at how scheduling massage appointments with a text can solve all those problems.
Why Should You Use Text for Massage Appointments
If you are a massage therapist or own a massage shop, then you know that no shows happen. By scheduling appointments via text and sending out reminders to customers, you can reduce your no show rate, bringing in more money for your business. People check their phones constantly, and they see and respond to checks far more often than voicemail or email, so they are more likely to see your messages. They can also add appointments to their calendar or reschedule all on their phone as needed.
How to Schedule Massage Appointments via Text
If you are ready to reduce your no show rate and make customer communication easier, then text is the way to go.
Now, you don’t have to sit down and manually text every customer from your personal phone every morning. You can use a business SMS platform that allows you to schedule texts, send mass texts and automate the process. With a service like TxtSquad, you can save time while sending these appointment scheduling or reminder messages. This is way more convenient than texting or calling each person manually, as your office staff or massage therapists might currently do.
There are two main features that TxtSquad and other business SMS services offer that can help with appointment scheduling:
- Automated texts, like reminders or mass texts, can be scheduled to send out alerts for upcoming appointments or mass alerts for new deals and promotions. These can easily be programmed and scheduled so that you can send to everyone a day or two before their appointment or as soon as you know of the next big sale.
- Two way conversations allow people to respond to you and message back and forth with you or another staff member. This is a great way for them to ask questions about which service might be right for their needs or discuss their schedule so you can book them at a convenient time. This also allows them to send a message whenever it’s easy for them, even if it’s not during your business hours – and you can reply as soon as you’re able the next day. It reduces the phone tag and frustration of sitting on hold.
Types of Messages You Can Send
Book more appointments with a simple message like: “Hey! Call NUMBER or respond to this message to schedule an appointment for your next massage at [MASSAGE-SHOP]!” TxtSquad enables you to have those two way conversations to book appointments for your clients this way.
Reduce the no show rate with a reminder text like: “Hey! You booked a massage at [MASSAGE-SHOP] on [DATE] at [TIME]. Reply YES to confirm or respond CHANGE to reschedule.” They can reply to the text and you can go back and forth on a new appointment time that’s more convenient.
Rebook canceled appointments with messages like: “Hey, it’s [MASSAGE-SHOP]. You have canceled your appointment on [DATE], but you can reschedule any time by sending a message to me here.” This can bring in customers you haven’t seen in a little bit and remind them that you offer massages and other services – which can be great if you have added a new service recently.
Bring clients back in the door with special deals sent to their phone: “Hey there! Schedule a massage session at [MASSAGE-SHOP] for a 30% discount on regular prices for bookings made by [DATE]. Reply to book now!” This is especially helpful if customers haven’t been in for appointments recently or business is slow. You can even offer holiday discounts or deals (like a buy one get one Valentine’s Day special).
Benefits of Appointment Scheduling Using SMS
Make your life easier and let your business run more smoothly with SMS for massage appointment scheduling. These are the top three benefits that massage shop owners like you have seen when working with SMS platforms.
Simplify Booking: You can greatly simplify the booking process for customers and for your staff with texting. They can simply text the number and request an appointment (maybe with a little back and forth to find the right fit), or you can provide a link via text for them to schedule an appointment that works for them on your online scheduling software.
Reduce Calls: Instead of making your employees call all your customers for the next day, you can send one automated reminder text. All it takes is a little bit of set up and integration time, and then you’re all ready to go. Once the reminders have gone out, people can confirm, reschedule or cancel all from the text, whether they respond or click a link to go to an online scheduler. This will reduce the inbound and outbound calls your staff handles every day.
Lower No Show Rate: By reminding people of their appointments in advance and giving them an easy way to reschedule, you can lower your no show rate, bringing more people through the doors and more money into the bank. This is good for your business so you can continue to serve your clients while also growing to offer more services or open up more appointment spots.
Improve Massage Appointment Processes with TxtSquad
If you want to improve your customer’s experience and bring them back through the door, simplify the process by allowing them to schedule with just a text message! You can send automated reminders, have two way conversations about scheduling their next visit and alert them to special offers with mass texts with TxtSquad. Book a demo or start a free trial today to see these features in action for your massage shop.