Get Confirmation Text Templates + Learn How to Send Text Reminders for Appointments & More

Why do people miss appointments, payments, meetings, and events?

Lack of communication.

So what’s the best way to proactively remind someone of something? 67% of people prefer SMS text message reminders.

This article is all about:

1. How to send text message reminders
2. Text message reminder and confirmation best practices
3. Example text message reminder and confirmation sequences
4. Text message reminder and confirmation templates and examples

By the end, you’ll have everything you need to send text message reminders and confirmation texts.

Read on for more.

How do you send SMS appointment reminders, payment reminders, and more?

You’ll need a proper text reminder app. Texting as a business or organization isn’t like texting from your personal phone for work.

Some businesses and organizations allow staff and employees to send text reminders from their personal mobile phones. But there are major drawbacks and liabilities with this.

One drawback is that there’s no way for a team to keep track of text conversations on their personal phones. No one else in your organization can see who has and hasn’t received confirmation and reminder text messages.

So here’s how to get started with a text reminder service, software, or app.

1. Choose a text reminder service, software, or app

You’ve got options when choosing a business text messaging service to send text reminders.

But the two major features you’ll need are a shared team SMS inbox and broadcast text messages.

Shared team SMS inboxes make it possible to send and receive one-way and two-way text messages as a team.

When someone texts your business phone number, you can automatically assign and route the conversation to a teammate. You can even add comments that mention a colleague directly in the conversation thread.

Additionally, you’ll need an SMS reminder service that makes it easy to send text message broadcasts. This feature allows you to schedule reminder text messages in bulk.

MessageDesk offers both of the above features and more including:

• Separate text-enabled 10-digit local or toll-free 800 SMS phone numbers
• A shared team SMS inbox for assigning and routing conversations
• Text message broadcasts for sending mass text messages
• Text message templates and tags to personalize text messages
• Support for MMS picture messaging
• Scheduled texts and automation for scaling messaging
• Text message signatures so people know who you are
• Automatic out-of-office messages to let people know you’re away
• Support for high-volume carrier-verified A2P 10DLC text messaging
• Built-in opt-out and opt-in tools for TCPA compliance

2. Create a free account

The next step is to create a free account. You can do this with MessageDesk by starting a 14-day free trial.

You’re also free to meet with a messaging expert for a quick chat or to request a demo.

3. Set up your SMS phone number to send reminder texts

Next, you need to get a business text number or text-enable your existing business number.

Many business texting platforms and text message reminder services allow you to text from a variety of SMS phone number types. You can even text-enable phone number extensions.

For businesses and organizations, your number options often include 10-digit local phone numbers and toll-free numbers.

A local area code with a ten-digit number is often the best option for sending text message reminders. These numbers look familiar, so people won’t disregard your reminder messages as spam.

You can also text-enable your business landline or an existing office phone through number porting. This allows you to keep your current voice provider and also send and receive texts on your main business line.

3. Set up call forwarding

If you text appointment reminders, what happens if the recipient tries to call your 10-digit text messaging number? You’ll want to make sure their call gets forwarded to an active phone line.

All you have to do to set up call forwarding is input your business phone number. An appointment reminder text app like MessageDesk will take care of the rest.

This keeps you from missing inbound phone calls from people who need to reschedule or cancel an appointment.

4. Advertise your SMS phone number

Advertising your SMS phone number is one of the best ways to get people to send you appointment request text messages.

It's easy to let people know you’re textable. Just add a click-to-text button on your website or a landing page.

Other options include advertising your SMS phone number on billboards, physical signage, and vehicles.

Text reminder apps like MessageDesk also come with embeddable forms and a text message chatbot. Both features allow you to start text conversations from your website.

5. Pre-save reminder texts as templates with personalization tags

Time savings start with templates. These are great when you or your staff have to send the same reminder messages over and over again.

Text reminder apps (like MessageDesk) allow you to customize text messages and save text messages as templates. Templates can include emojis, images, media, and even personalization tags.

Personalization tags like {{ FirstName }} automatically insert contact details like name, email, and other info into a text message. You can even add a text message signature to all of your texts.

You can also use custom fields to save other relevant info like account number, last appointment date, time, and more.

Note: For all medical practices, you’ll need to avoid sending any personal health information (PHI) in your text messages. I’ve got more on this below.

6. Include calls to action and links to scheduling software in your reminder and confirmation text messages

Next, you’ll want to add calls to action and links to your reminder and confirmation texts.

The best way to include a call to action is with a link in a text message. Your CTAs should make it clear to people how to confirm an appointment by text message, cancel, and reschedule.

One of the best ways to do this is by sending a link to a meeting scheduling software. Calendly and Google Calendar links are great ways to do this.

7. Automate text reminder sequences with keyword autoresponders

A recent study showed that automated appointment reminders reduced missed appointment rates by 41% on average.

You can always send out one-on-one text message reminders to people.

But text reminder services like MessageDesk also help you text at scale with automated text messages for reminders and confirmations.

You can even chain reminder and confirmation text messages together with keyword-based text message autoresponders.

8. Set office hours for out-of-office and away messages

Finally, you’ll want to set up out-of-office text messages to let people know when you’re away.

Business texting services like MessageDesk allow you to customize your availability. When someone texts your business number while you’re away, they’ll get an autoresponse text back.

This autoresponse can help you set response time expectations. You can also give people alternative ways to reach you in case of an emergency or urgent matter.

I’ve covered how to set up and send reminders and confirmation texts. Below is a list of best practices to follow when sending reminder text messages.

1. Have a defined appointment no-show and cancelation policy

You’ll want to make your no-show and cancellation policies clear before you text your contacts, customers, or patients.

A no-show policy tells people what happens if they miss an appointment with you. Some organizations even charge a fee for every missed or canceled appointment that occurs within a certain timeframe.

As a best practice, consider including a link to your cancelation policy in your reminder and confirmation text messages. You can save this as part of your templated reminder messages.

2. Make sure replies get routed to the right people

Appointment reminder text apps make it easy for patients, customers, or clients to reply to your reminder texts. This is critical to reducing missed appointments and no-shows.

But let’s say you send out a reminder text and someone replies with a question.

That text message conversation needs a notification. It also needs to get routed and assigned to the right person in your organization.

Again, platforms like MessageDesk make text conversation assignment and routing easy.

When a contact texts your business phone number, you can sort them into a filter group. You can then assign that group to a conversation owner.

3. Get consent to text confirmations and reminders

Consent and TCPA compliance are impossible to manage if you’re just texting people from your personal phone.

The good news is that to send appointment reminders and confirmations you don’t need the highest level of consent. For people who have already scheduled an appointment with you, you have their implied consent. This is based on an existing business relationship.

But it's still a best practice to make contacts aware of your consent and text messaging policies.

If you ever plan on texting promotional messages for SMS marketing campaigns, then you’ll need express written consent.

Business texting software like MessageDesk automatically handles consent and compliance with opt-in and opt-out controls.

When contacts text STOP they automatically get added to a do-not-contact list.

This keeps you in compliance and prevents you from mistakenly texting contacts who don’t want to receive additional text messages.

4. Reduce appointment lead times

Appointment lead times are the calendar days between making an appointment and the actual appointment itself. Shortening this time results in greater customer satisfaction and reduces no-shows.

One case study found that an appointment lead time of 30 days increased no-shows, missed appointments, and cancelations.

Lead times will vary based on your business or organization. But it’s generally a best practice to reduce lead times whenever possible.

5. Only send essential information at the right times

You’ll want to send your reminder text messages during normal business hours (8 am - 5 pm, Monday-Friday).

This is professional text message etiquette. It can help you improve your customer experience and how customers feel about your business.

However, the timing of your texts can vary based on the service or product you provide.

In addition to timing, you’ll want to keep your text messages short and easy to read. Keeping things short and relevant is why text messages have such high engagement and response rates.

Including the appointment day, time, and a link to your no-show and cancellation policies are also obvious best practices.

6. Connect your business texting software to appointment scheduling and payments software with integrations like Zapier

Connecting to appointment scheduling and payments software using services like Zapier can automate your appointment reminders, appointment confirmations, and payment reminders.

There are three ways you can use Zapier with MessageDesk to trigger events, automate your reminder messages, and more.

Add or update a contact

Whenever a new contact requests an appointment, you can sync their contact info with MessageDesk. Or update contact info when a contact reschedules an appointment in an app like Calendly or Google Calendar.

Add contact to a group

You can also add outside contacts to groups in MessageDesk as well.

Send a message

Trigger a text message to be sent when an action happens in another app. You can automatically send a message to a customer any number of days before an event and much more.

Google Calendar:

Calendly:

SimplyBook.me:

Housecall Pro:

Acuity Scheduling:

MeetFox:

7. Create a reminder campaign

Text messages have clear benefits compared to email and voice. But they’re most likely only part of a larger communication strategy.

So if you use multiple communication methods to remind people, then map out your reminder flow. You’ll want to organize your reminders into a well-timed campaign sequence.

For example, you may send an email reminder or notification five days prior to an appointment. This could be followed by a text message three days in advance. Then, finally, a phone call the day before an appointment.

You’ll also want to send your appointment reminders early, but not too early. Don’t send reminders too frequently or too far ahead.

Otherwise, people are more likely to opt-out or forget their appointment. Send it too close to the actual date, and it might be too late for a reminder to be effective.

To get you started, I’ve included some example reminder sequences in the next section of this article. Each leverages all of the above reminder methods.

How to schedule an appointment

Appointment request text messages often involve meeting scheduling or appointment software, like Calendly or Google Calendar. The process for booking or scheduling a new appointment via text might look like this:

1. Someone inquires about an appointment by texting your business number, using your website chatbot or website contact form.
2. The appointment request message starts a text conversation that shares a link to a scheduling service, calendar, or web form.
3. A web form with appointment information gets submitted.
4. Once the appointment is confirmed, a text and/or email appointment confirmation message gets sent.

How to confirm an appointment by text

• Appointment scheduled: set up an automation to immediately text an appointment confirmation with a keyword like CONFIRM.
• Appointment confirmed: once the recipient confirms, enroll them in an appointment reminder sequence.

How to cancel an appointment by text

• Appointment scheduled: set up an automation to immediately text an appointment confirmation with a keyword like CONFIRM.
• Appointment confirmed: once the recipient confirms, enroll them in an appointment reminder sequence.
• Appointment reminder sent: set up a keyword autoresponder in your reminder for people to cancel their appointment.
• Cancel autoresponder activated: when a person responds with CANCEL, send them a link to reschedule or cancel their appointment.

How to text appointment reminders

Once a contact schedules an appointment, you’ll want to create an email and text reminder sequence. The following example is for reminding about an appointment one week in advance.

• Right after scheduling the appointment: text and email an appointment confirmation message.
• 5 days before the appointment: text an appointment reminder.
• Morning of the appointment: text an appointment reminder.
• The hour leading up to the appointment: text the customer, client, or patient.

How to send HIPAA-compliant appointment reminder texts

Text messaging (as a technology) is not HIPAA-compliant. However, HIPAA doesn’t prohibit you from sending text messages for patient appointments.

You just need to be aware of some specific rules and best practices before you start texting.

To send text messages to patients:

• Messages can’t contain personal health information (PHI).
• Patients need to opt-in to messaging before you text them.

Suggested Article: Guide to HIPAA-Compliant Texting For Medical Offices

How to confirm a meeting by text

Meetings already take up too much time. So meeting reminder text messages can be critical. Here’s a meeting confirmation text message campaign.

• Meeting scheduled: confirm the meeting with a text message.
• 1 week before the meeting: send a meeting reminder email.
• Day of meeting: send an email and text meeting reminder.
• 30 minutes to an hour before the meeting: send a final meeting reminder text.

How to text a payment reminder

I’ve got a whole article on how to remind someone to pay you. But here’s a sample net 30 payment reminder sequence taken from my guide to small business invoicing.

• Day 1: email and text customers a link to their invoice.
• Day 5: text invoice reminder.
• Day 10: text invoice reminder.
• Day 15: text invoice reminder.
• Day 20: email and text link to the invoice.
• Day 30: call customer.

How to get feedback with a text message reminder

Conducting text message surveys and polls can help you provide better customer service. Here’s a sample poll reminder sequence running for 4-6 weeks.

• Day 1: text and email a link to a Google form, poll, or survey.
• Day 5: text and email poll/survey reminder.
• Day 15: text and email poll/survey reminder.
• Day 30: text and email a link to the survey/poll.
• Day 40: text a review reminder.

How to ask for a review with a text message reminder

Collecting Google reviews helps you build an online reputation and earn referrals. Consider creating a reminder sequence that asks for a Google review by sharing a link to your Google business page.

• Day 1: text and email a link to your Google Business reviews page.
• Day 2: text and email a review reminder with a link to your Google reviews.
• Day 5: text and email a review reminder with a link to your Google reviews.
• Day 7: text and email a review reminder with a link to your Google reviews.
• Day 9: text and email a review reminder with a link to your Google reviews.

Below are various text message appointment reminder templates and confirmation text message examples.

Feel free to copy and paste any of these text messages. You can also check out my list of 60+ free text message templates for more.

Insurance appointment reminder text template

Insurance appointment confirmation template

See more insurance texting examples.

Finance appointment reminder template

Finance appointment confirmation template

Paperwork request reminder text

Check out more on finance SMS for banks, financial services, advisors, and lenders.

Real estate appointment reminder text template

See the real estate texting guide and free real estate SMS templates for more.

Veterinary appointment reminder text message template

Veterinary appointment confirmation text template

See more about veterinary text messaging and additional text templates.

Medical patient paperwork reminder text messages

Doctor appointment text message sample

Doctor appointment confirmation text message template

Medical appointment referral text message template

Appointment request text message sample

Check out text messaging for medical and dental offices.

HIPAA-compliant appointment reminder text message template

See more on HIPAA-compliant text messaging.

Beauty appointment text reminder template

Beauty appointment confirmation text

Recruiting appointment text reminder template

Recruiting appointment confirmation text example

Upcoming call text message reminder

Interview reminder text message template

See additional staffing and recruitment text message examples.

Automotive reminder text template

Automotive appointment confirmation text

See car dealership text messaging options and free templates.

Fitness class reminder text template

Fitness class confirmation text

Future classes

Text message meeting reminder

Event reminder text message sample

Missed appointment text message sample

Missed payment text message example

Cleaning service reminder

Pest control service reminder

Appointment cancelation text message sample

Reschedule appointment text message sample

Appointment survey follow-up text message template

Final thoughts and next steps

Ready to start texting? MessageDesk is here to help with smarter, simpler ways to send automated appointment reminders.

If you’re ready, consider starting a free MessageDesk trial. You’re also free to schedule a demo and meet with one of our messaging experts.

We’re here to help you improve your messaging and find success.