How to Get Clients to Keep Appointments
As a business owner, you can learn how to get clients to keep appointments by using this guide.
Ten Ways to Get Clients to Keep Appointments
1. Send reminders
People can be forgetful, especially if they have a lot of things happening in their lives. Making appointments a few months in advance also does not help. Not everyone has great organization skills. As a business owner, you should remind your clients 1-3 days before the scheduled meeting. You do not want to send the reminder too early because the client might forget again.
Be sure to watch your tone when you are on the phone. Do not come off as combative. Be friendly instead. You can also send a quick text message. Ask the client to text back to confirm the appointment.
2. Use online scheduling tools
The days of scheduling appointments through the phone are becoming obsolete. This is great news. Making a phone appointment can get confusing. Miscommunication happens when people mix up days and times. People also mix up the sounds of vowels and consonants. In addition, clients cannot see all the times available, so they might pick a time that is not convenient. This increases the chances of cancellation.
With online scheduling software, clients can easily make appointments by themselves. The whole process is transparent. Also, when it is necessary, clients can reschedule and pick another time slot. This is better than a direct cancellation with no follow-up.
3. Work with difficult clients
You need to spend more time with clients who have a history of cancellations or late arrivals. You can send them more reminders than usual. If someone is having trouble with finances, then you can tell that person about the company’s payment plans. You can also give these clients off-peak appointment times so that they can avoid transportation issues. By working with your clients, you can help decrease the possible reasons for cancellation.
4. Introduce a 48-hour cancellation fee
You can implement cancellation policies to discourage no-shows and hedge against lost revenue. For example, you can charge a fee if a client cancels within 48 hours of the appointment. This will make clients think twice about changing their plans.
Also, by canceling early, clients can make the time slot available for someone else. Just make sure everyone knows about your cancellation policy from the very beginning so that there are no surprises.
5. Offer incentives
This is another way to encourage your clients to show up on time. Every time that they do, you can put a green checkmark on their record. After showing up on time for five consecutive visits, then they can get a gift card. This is simply one type of reward system. Feel free to think of others.
6. Improve client relationships
People do not want to disappoint their friends. Canceling a scheduled meetup might be okay once or twice. However, consecutive cancellations will make people have second thoughts about the friendship. Everyone wants others to respect their time.
You can apply this concept to your business. Focus on delivering high-quality service. Get to know your clients so that you can establish close connections. Your clients will then be hesitant to cancel an appointment because they will tarnish this close connection.
7. Update database
You need to regularly confirm that you have your clients’ current email addresses and phone numbers. This ensures that they receive your appointment reminders. Tell them to add the company’s email address to their address book so that emails do not go to the spam folder. Also, tell them to save the company’s phone number on their phones. People are more likely to answer phone calls when they recognize the person calling.
8. Understand cancellation reasons
Are clients canceling because they forgot about the appointment and ended up agreeing to another time commitment? If so, then reminders will help. Or are clients canceling because they did not receive good service during their first visit? Now, they want to go somewhere else. In this case, see if you can get any constructive criticism to improve your services.
Some clients will be vague and simply say, “something came up.” However, others will be more helpful and give you specific reasons. Write down these reasons and see if you find any patterns after asking multiple clients. Then, you can come up with solutions.
9. Start on time
If you want clients to show up on time, then you need to effectively manage your schedule. The last thing you want is for clients to show up when they are supposed to, and you are not ready. You might be busy with an appointment that was supposed to end ten minutes ago. We got it. Some clients take longer than others. Sometimes, unexpected things happen. However, try your very best to stick to a schedule.
You must try to predict how long each appointment will take. For example, you should tell new clients to show up 15 minutes early to fill out paperwork. In contrast, returning clients with an appointment to discuss something will take less time.
By having an estimated time duration for different appointment types, you can manage your calendar and be more specific when creating time slots.
10. Get rid of clients who do not respect your time
As a business owner, you have the right to refuse service. You need to consider the pros and cons. Getting rid of clients will make you lose revenue. However, keeping the client might also make you lose revenue because it will make other clients unhappy. If one person is late, then it will ruin your entire work schedule for the day. Overall, if you think a client has a net negative effect on your business, then you should fire them.