Why an SMS blast fills one week and empties the next.
A text to your whole client list brings a rush of bookings, then a quiet fortnight. Here's why it happens, a worked example, and how to spread the same texts so the diary stays full.
The short version: a blast sends every text on one day, so the replies arrive on the same few days. The diary fills, people who wanted a time can't get one, and two weeks later it's quiet again. Send the same number of texts spread across the month and the bookings arrive at a pace the diary can hold.
Sending a campaign to every client who hasn't been in for a while feels productive. The phone rings, the replies pour in and the week fills up. Then it goes quiet, and a month later you send another one. That up-and-down pattern comes from the blast itself.
What happens after a blast
- Day one: most of the replies arrive within hours. The desk is answering texts between clients.
- The first week: the best times go first. Clients who reply on day three find the week they wanted is full.
- Weeks two and three: bookings slow down. The clients who would have rebooked have already been asked, and they've either booked or decided not to.
- Week four: the diary has gaps again, so you send another blast.
The clients who couldn't get a time in the busy week are the costly part. Some book further out. Some don't book at all.
A worked example
Say you send 400 texts every four weeks, 1 in 10 clients books, and your diary has 16 open slots a week for returning clients. These numbers are an example. Put your own in.
| Week | Blast: wanted a time | Blast: booked | Spread out: booked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | 16 | 10 |
| 2 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 3 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Total | 40 | 32 | 40 |
Same texts, same response rate. The blast loses 8 bookings to a full first week and leaves weeks three and four with spare time. Spread across the month, about 14 texts a day, every booking fits.
The other costs of a blast
- Everyone gets the same words. A campaign can't mention the practitioner a client saw or the treatment they had.
- Replies pile up at once, usually while your team is with clients.
- Opt-outs arrive in a burst. Under the Spam Act every one has to be honoured within five working days, and the ACMA regularly fines businesses over broken opt-outs.
- You pay for the whole list at once, including clients who would have rebooked anyway.
How to spread the same texts
- Work out the monthly list. How many clients are past their usual gap with nothing booked?
- Divide by your working days. 400 a month over 20 working days is 20 a day.
- Start with the most overdue, and take out anyone who has booked since yesterday.
- Send in the morning, so replies come in while the desk can answer.
- Check the week ahead. If it's filling, send fewer tomorrow. If it's empty, send a few more.
When a blast is still the right call
Some messages really are for everyone at once: a last-minute cancellation you need to fill today, holiday closure dates, a new practitioner starting. Keep blasts for news. Use the daily list for bringing clients back.
Where Robyn fits
You set how many texts a day Robyn sends. She picks the clients who are due, writes each text in your clinic's voice, skips anyone who has booked, answers the replies and checks every message against AHPRA guidance. See how Robyn works.