Automatic Reminders
Clients are sent a reminder of their appointment by text message to their mobile, by email or by an automated voice call. This is key to reducing missed appointments. Reminders are sent automatically by the DiaryBook service; the user is not required to be online for automatic reminders to be sent.
The user has full control over the content and schedule of the appointment reminders. When a DiaryBook account is first created, default messages and a schedule are assigned to it.
Types of Automatic Reminders
There are 3 types of automated reminders in DiaryBook.
Notifications
These are messages sent early in the appointment making / fulfilling cycle. Their intention is to formally notify the client of the appointment. In addition it is giving the client the ability to feedback to the user's Diary from an early stage enabling the Diary to highlight and predict those that cannot attend.
Reminders
These are messages sent one or two days before the appointment. They are designed to remind the client and to reduce the number of missed appointments due to forgetfulness. They too enable the client to confirm their attendance further reducing the chances of forgetting the appointment.
Instructions
These are appointment-specific instructions and are normally sent the day before the appointment. They can be a reminder to bring certain equipment, clothes or documents or instructions on a pre-appointment dietary requirement.
SMS text reminders
Text message reminders are automatically delivered to the client's mobile phone. The user can control the following:
To send text reminders or not
The user has the choice as to whether DiaryBook should automatically send text reminders or not. The user can manually send messages to clients from DiaryBook regarding up coming appointments or for any other purpose, regardless of the automatic setting.
Message content
The message itself can be altered to suit the user's preference. For example, the user's name or the organisation's name can be put in the message.
Merge fields are available for inserting information in to the message when it is being sent. For example, the client's name, the date of the appointment and the time of the appointment are all added to a message using merge fields.
Days in advance
The user can determine how many days prior to the appointment the text message is to be sent. For example, the user may decide that 2 days before the appointment is appropriate.
Advanced scheduling lets the user alter the number of days in advance, based on the day the appointment is on. For example, reminders for appointments on Mondays and Tuesdays can be sent 4 days in advance to avoid disturbing clients at the weekend.
Time of Day
The time of day the text reminders can begin sending can also be determined. For example, the user may decide that mid-morning is a good time for their clients to receive the text message.
We say "begin sending" as after that time if additional appointments are added to the relevant day, further reminders may be sent out at a later time.
Replies
The user can decide whether the clients are able to reply to the message. When a message is sent, the Sender ID it uses determines whether the message can be replied to or not.
A sender ID can be a mobile/text number or a word (with a maximum of 11 characters). DiaryBook users have 3 choices:
No Replies |
The Sender ID can be the name of the organisation |
Replies to Mobile |
The sender ID is the user's own mobile number. Replies are received on the mobile phone |
Replies to DiaryBook |
The sender ID is one of DiaryBook's numbers. Replies are received by DiaryBook |
Text delivery
The text message is sent through the mobile operator's network. The user cannot be guaranteed a delivery time of the message. It is usual for clients to receive the message seconds after it is sent. However, delays and network problems can occur.
The mobile operator gives DiaryBook feedback as to whether a message was successfully delivered to the client. The user can review all messages sent and see each one's delivery status.
Email reminders
email reminders are automatically sent to the client's email address. The user can control the following:
To send email reminders or not
The user has the choice as to whether DiaryBook should automatically send email reminders or not. The user can manually send messages to clients from DiaryBook regarding up coming appointments or for any other purpose, regardless of the automatic setting.
Message Content
The message itself can be altered to suit the user's preference. For example, the user's name or the organisation's name can be put in the message and the whole email can be designed to match the organisations website.
Merge fields are available for inserting information in to the message when it is being sent. For example, the client's name, the date of the appointment and the time of the appointment are all added to a message using merge fields.
Days in Advance
The user can determine how many days prior to the appointment the email message is to be sent. For example, the user may decide that 7 days before the appointment is appropriate.
Time of Day
The time of day the email reminders can begin sending can also be determined. For example, the user may decide that mid-morning is a good time for their clients to receive the email message.
We say "begin sending" as after that time if additional appointments are added to the relevant day, further reminders may be sent out at a later time.
Feedback
The email reminder can contain an automatically generated URL that when clicked brings the client to a feedback page. Here the client can confirm attendance, cancel the appointment or indicate that they're unsure of their ability to attend. They are provided with a comments box in which to type a message. This message is fed back directly to the user's diary.
Certain aspects of the feedback page can be customized such as which buttons to show and a custom URL to direct the user upon completion.
Voice reminders
Voice reminders are telephone calls that automatically call the client's landline number. The user can control the following:
Voice
Choose between different voices with difference accents to best suit the clients.
Whether the client is can confirm attendance by pressing 1 on the keypad after the reminder message.
Whether the client can indicate they can't make the appointment by pressing 3 on the keypad after the reminder message.
The call can be customized to include the appointment location.
Days in advance
The user can determine how many days prior to the appointment the call is made. For example, the user may decide that 2 days before the appointment is appropriate.
Advanced scheduling lets the user alter the number of days in advance, based on the day the appointment is on. For example, reminders for appointments on Mondays and Tuesdays can be sent 4 days in advance to avoid disturbing clients at the weekend.
Time of Day
The time of day of the call can also be determined. For example, the user may decide that mid-morning is a good time for their clients to receive a call.
We say "begin sending" as after that time if additional appointments are added to the relevant day, further reminders may be sent out at a later time.
Created with the Personal Edition of HelpNDoc: Free iPhone documentation generator