Automated Phone & Text Appointment Reminders

[SteveRic]

Hi, my day job is a developer and I'd like to start my own business. I had the idea of developing an automated reminder service by text or phone to remind customers about their appointments after my wife kept missing hers. The software is cloud based and probaby a pay as you go model. You can top up and purchase 100 credits which you can use whenever you send a reminder.

I know very little about online marketing but see my target market as small / medium businesses who offer appointments and have issues with people not turning up or being late.

How would you recommend I go about contacting this market, I work during the day so was thinking about FB advertising, Adwords etc.

Thanks
Steve

 

[Alan]

I would say there are dozens of these services already. What will make yours different?

 

[SteveRic]

Its UK based and I offer phone messages. Most seem to be US based and I offer a pay as you go pricing model rather than a monthly fee

 

[Alan]

There are solutions that cover that model.

 

[garyk]

First thing to do; market research.

A quick google will show you that there are a number of these already, and free.

 

[Michael CS]

Good luck with your product, as long as you come up with something new or better than the competition, you could have a business.
I think the best chance is advertising on facebook and google by targeting all the businesses types that are doing appointments.

Maybe offer a free trial/credit to start with to catch some leads. You should search on google for how to market a SAAS product, there is plenty of information out there.

All the best.

 

[lesliedocherty]

i only have 1 person that uses it, my dentist, every 6 months, think all the NHS use it, i find it very helpful

 

[Ashley_Price]

My doctors and dentists both do text message reminders.

When I had the call answering service, we used to provide outgoing calls for a medical examiner where we would phone his patients the day before to remind them of their appointments.

One of the biggest things you're going to need to get over is people hanging up as soon as they realise it's a recorded message. With some many scam/sales recorded phone calls these days, you'll need to get round this.

A perfect case in point was when I tried to pay for something online a few months back I had the card payment declined. Then I started getting these recorded messages, which I was hanging up on as soon as I heard the voice. I didn't connect them to the failed payment. I got these calls twice a day, every day. I finally listened to one of them and it turned out it was from my bank advising me that they had stopped the payment in case it was fraudulent.

 

[Sales_Driver]

My dogs' vet does this all the time. Not to mention my OB and the Physical Therapy clinic that I go to. I think most clinics and medical facilities that have an EHR software send out text reminders and notifications whenever an appointment is due.