What could be better than a fully scheduled list with lots of enthusiastic clients waiting to be spoiled? Yeah, exactly, that’s the goal. But for that, you have to permanently make sure they remember to schedule their next appointment. And that requires no effort. 

Below, you’ll discover how to encourage clients to book their next appointment and how to send them follow-up messages. 

How do you encourage appointments?

Running a business has never been easy, especially in the beauty industry where competition is very high. To be successful and to encourage clients to book appointments, you have to always come up with new ideas and creative tricks to make them stop by. 

It’s the little things that make clients step from behavioral to affective loyalty to your business. While behavioral loyalty means that they got used to purchasing something from you, affective loyalty means that clients have strong reasons for choosing you besides your competitors. 

To remind them to book an appointment with you, first of all, you have to use an appointment reminder app. For example, with this one, you can schedule appointments and send reminders, notifications, and SMS follow-ups to clients. You can choose to send them both manually (a single tap is required) or automatically, whenever you want.

Sending “thank you” messages after an appointment or a follow-up after several weeks from the last appointment will remind your clients that they should book an appointment with you again. Also, make sure to include in your messages a phone number or an online booking link to make it accessible for them.

What should a follow-up message include?

• A friendly salutation

You can use Hi, Hi there, Hello, or any other friendly way of salutation to begin the message. 

• A reminder

Remind them that it’s been a while since they didn’t visit your salon and that it’s time to do it again. Also, you can remind them how important they are to you, that you miss seeing them in your chair, and so on. 

• Call-to-action

Using a call-to-action will make your message more dynamic. Encourage clients to book an appointment by using short and impactful phrases like "book now", "schedule now", "it’s time to book", "call us", "access the booking link", and so on.

• Contact information

Make sure to provide in your follow-up message templates your correct contact information. You can provide your business phone number, your online booking link, or both. 

10 follow-up message templates to send to your clients

TIP: If you want to write your own follow-up message template, be careful about its length. The biggest part of the reminder apps has a limit for the messages that are being sent. For example, In Goldie, you can decide on your message reminder length, being aware that it will consume one or more text messages out of your data plan. A normal text message contains 160 characters. More specifically, that is 160 text characters (letters, numbers, punctuation signs, and spaces), but with no emojis included! 

The total character size of the messages containing emojis or Unicode characters is only 70 characters.

Below, you’ll find 10 ready-to-send follow-up message templates that will encourage your clients to book their next appointment. 

• Hi (name)! It's been a while since your last visit to our salon. What about being pampered again? Book your next appointment here: (link).
• Hi (name)! I'm here to remind you to book your next (service) appointment. It's been 2 months since your last session. Ready? Access the following link to book: (link). 
• Hi (name)! (salon name) is missing you! What about a new appointment with (staff member)? Schedule via the following link:( link). Can't wait to see you again!
• Hi (name)! Here's (staff member) from (salon name). What about a new (service) appointment? You can call us at 000-000-000 or follow our booking link: (link).
• Hi (name)! We haven't heard from you in a while. What about a new (service) appointment? You get a x% discount if you book your appointment today. Schedule here: (link).
• Hi there! We miss you. It's been x weeks since your last appointment at (salon name). What about a new appointment? Book at 000-000-000 or here: (link). See you soon!
• Hi there! This is just a friendly reminder to book an appointment with us today and benefit from 10% discount at all services. See you soon! (Link).
• Hi there! We've got good news! If you book an appointment with us today, you'll have a free (service) included in your session. Ready? Book your appointment at: (link).
• Hi there! Don't you miss having your (ex. hair colored, skin hydrated, nails done)? It's time to reschedule! Please contact us at 000-000-000 or book an appointment via the link: (link).
• We would love to see you again! Too busy to remember about (cutting your hair, trimming your beard, doing your nails)? We're here to remind you. Book an appointment at 000-000-000 or at (link).

Well, these 10 follow-up message templates and a booking app are all you need to encourage clients to book their next appointment!

Do you remind your clients about their upcoming appointments? What methods do you use in your business to reduce no-shows and to increase bookings? Let us know in the comments section below!