Timely rebooking reminders vs a few texts a day: what each one does.

The short version: Timely's rebooking reminder sends one template text a set number of weeks after a visit, if the client has nothing booked. It's a good safety net. It sends on the same timing and in the same words for everyone on the rule, and the replies land with your team. A few texts a day, to the clients who are actually due, picks up what the reminder leaves.

Most Timely clinics have reminders running in the background: confirmations before a visit, and on the Innovate plan, rebooking reminders after one. They're set and forget, which is the point. It's also the limit. This guide explains what the rebooking reminder does, where it stops, and what to add if your diary still has gaps.

What Timely's rebooking reminder does

• It sends a message a set number of weeks after an appointment, by SMS or email, if the client has no future booking.
• You set the rules. You can limit a reminder to selected services, and some clinics run several, for example at 4, 8 and 12 weeks.
• You write one template. Timely allows up to about 430 characters, and a longer text costs more than one SMS.
• Two-way SMS has to be on, so clients can reply. Replies come back to your team to answer.
• It comes with the Innovate plan, A$79 per staff member a month ex GST. Build and Elevate don't include rebooking reminders.

Where a fixed reminder stops

A rebooking reminder is a timer. That's useful, and it has three blind spots:

• Same timing for everyone on the rule. A client who comes every three weeks and one who comes every ten get the same nudge on the same day after their visit.
• Same words for everyone. The template can't mention the practitioner they saw or the treatment they had.
• Replies need a person. "Can I get Thursday after 5?" sits in the inbox until someone at the desk is free, which is often the end of the day.

What "a few texts a day" means

Instead of one rule firing on a timer, you work a short list every morning:

1. Find the clients who are due. Past their own usual gap between visits, with nothing booked.
2. Pick a number the desk can handle. For a small clinic that might be 10 a day. A busy clinic might send 50 or more.
3. Write each text for the person. Their name, who they saw and what they had.
4. Answer replies the same day, while the client is still thinking about booking.
5. Keep a list of who came back, so you know it's working.

Spreading the texts out also keeps the diary steady. A single big send brings everyone back in the same week. Why an SMS blast fills one week and empties the next explains that part.

How to work the list by hand in Timely

1. In Timely, open Reports, then Client overview.
2. Under Edit columns, tick Mobile, Last appt. date, Last appt. service, Last appt. staff, Next appt. date and # of appts.
3. Export it, and sort by last appointment date, oldest first.
4. Skip anyone with a next appointment date, and anyone who has asked not to be contacted.
5. Text the first 10. Tomorrow, the next 10.

Every marketing text needs a way to opt out, and opt-outs have to be honoured within five working days under the Spam Act.

Run both, or switch one off

Keep Timely's appointment confirmations and reminders. They do their job well. If you start daily re-engagement texts, switch off the rebooking reminder for the same clients, so nobody gets two texts about the same thing.

Where Robyn fits

Robyn works this list every day for Timely clinics. She reads your client list and each practitioner's calendar every 15 minutes, texts the clients who are due back in your clinic's voice, answers their replies and leaves anyone already booked alone. When a client wants to book, she passes them to your team with an alert. See how Robyn works with Timely.