How to market an SMS appointment reminder service?

[v2Media]

I spoke to 3 service industry clients earlier this week and asked them directly; a high-end hair dresser, a bookkeeper, and an accountant. All three said no shows don't exist. If a client couldn't make an appointment, they'd call to reschedule. I would imagine that services where people HAVE to go to and don't particularly enjoy the experience could be the cause of problematic no shows. However for the three example clients I asked, their clients look forward to their appointments because they'll look better, have admin done, and make more money respectively.

A thought just came to me of how I might appreciate an SMS reminder service - fricking invoice reminders. No shows aren't a problem in my industry, but late payers for invoices are. An SMS invoice reminder service - THAT is something I'd pay for. If it integrated with MYOB, I'd pay handsomely for it.....

[Chris Bates]

Mark just a thought from my younger days, I used to get my hair (when I still had some) cut at a high-end hair dresser. They used an SMS Reminder service to confirm appts the day before. Whether they had issues with no shows, or whether they were doing it as a customer service value add?

Either way I think there ARE businesses out there that could identify with the issue. Whether they live in an area filled with forgetful people, or they have bad processes in place surrounding appt setting (probably the later).

Michael have you done any market research into the issue & demand for a solution? Care to share it with Mark and I? You have us intrigued now

[v2Media]

I used to get my hair (when I still had some) cut at a high-end hair dresser. They used an SMS Reminder service to confirm appts the day before. Whether they had issues with no shows, or whether they were doing it as a customer service value add?

Well that puts the dampener on my thoughts about the subject. I give in, no-shows must be prevalent in some industries for some businesses - for whatever reasons. My faith in humanity takes another blow [/end dramatics].

Michael, I suppose the crux of the matter is whether the issue of no-shows is prevalent enough to warrant being your king-pin marketing message? Is the size of that niche big enough to sustain your business? If it isn't, then perhpaps no-shows should be down-graded to one of a few benefits touted in your marketing messages...

[Chris Bates]

I know Mark, it's sad. How could the universe inflict Male Pattern Baldness on me at such a young and delicate age? The quality of humanity is certainly lessened by my lack of hair

[Barbara Grace]

Hi Michael,
Checked out your site and have a few suggestions that may help.
1. Home Page
needs a stronger headline that calls out more to the benefits of not having 'no shows' ie more customers = more business = more profit
site seems overly 'busy' - ie the main action you want visitors to take doesn't stand out enough
no direct line of sight from headline to call-to-action
the light bulb image is not the best one to use as it suggests 'a bright idea' rather than connecting with your core idea which is sms messaging
remove image of calendar and phone - their colours blend too much with the rest of the page and aren't strong enough to be holding such a prime position on the page
move your 'benefit' bullet points up higher
'No membership fees' - remove this headline and place it within your bullet points
Is five sms credits enticing enough to invite customers to sign up?
A home page like this needs to capture leads with potential clients so you can continue marketing to them down the track, so your primary goal is to get visitors to opt-in. Give them greater reasons to do this by offering (for example) '50 creative ways you can use sms to grow your business and build stronger relationships with customers. Free download. Bonus trial of ?? free sms this month.'
Currently, your call-to-action sounds like potential customers are actually signing up - rather than having a free trial, which is what you should be offering.
Bring the picture of the young lady up higher, this will immediately increase opt-ins
Have the 'take a tour' button directly below her image, then your testimonials.
Currently the best colours to invite trust and credibility are blue and orange, so consider adding some 'orange' to your page.
Colour is so important as your target market will probably be female (I'm presuming they'll be the majority of people in the role sending out the sms) so think of what attracts them colour and design wise.
Change the name of your button to 'Get Started Now', change its colour, change its location so the eye is drawn from the headline and copy (the pain, the problem) to the solution.

2. Marketing:
Start a Google Pay per click account as many of your competitors are there - which is a good sign as it means this strategy is working. Check out your competitors ads, set a budget and ... have fun. But don't do this until your home page is fixed though.
For each PPC ad, target a different niche area eg hairdressers, dentists, nail salons, vets etc and establish a different landing page to particularly target that industry.

3. PR
Write a press release and send it through online press release agency - this will help your SEO
Write an article and submit it to small business magazines for printing - or submit to blogging sites
Become a member of relevant niche industry associations eg hairdressing and establish an email campaign with a unique offer.

Anyway, hope these ideas help. Barbara Grace
PS your basics are good, in my opinion, they just need strengthening and styling - followed by some stronger copywriting and call-to-actions. Your best resource is looking at what your competitors are doing.