Imagine this: Your salon is booked solid for the day, but then, half of your clients don't show up. Frustrating, right? Not only that, but “no-shows” aren’t necessarily “cost-free” for you.

One of the biggest disadvantages of “no-shows” is that you miss on treating other clients that could have showed up, preventing you from making money out of that empty slot. Now, if there’d be one tool that fixes no-shows at just a few cents, would you use it? It exists and it’s been between us since before phones were smart.

SMS reminders have proven to reduce no-shows to a minimum for salon owners that use them. Thanks to Spryng, a leading messaging provider, we have the data to show you how!

We Read SMS More Than We Read Any Other Message

Spryng reveals that “SMS messages boast an impressive 98% open rate”. That means almost everyone who receives a text message reads it. Better still, Spryng states that about “93% of people read their SMS within 5 minutes of receiving it”. So, as a general rule, if you need to remind customers of their appointment, use a text message if you don't want to miss them!

SMS 🚀 vs. Email Reminders:

While communication channels like emails and messaging apps might seem sufficient, their reach just doesn't match up. Spryng affirms that while an “email has a click-through rate (CTR) of around 3%, SMS messages average a CTR of 19%”. If a customer is at a risk of not showing up, SMS can increase the chances of them cancelling or rescheduling by 600%. Game changer!

SMS Reminders Avoid Most No-Shows:

Considering what you know about SMS up to this point - 98% open rate and 6x higher engagement vs. email - can SMS reduce no-shows? Yes. According to Spryng, as much as 70%, but how? The reasoning is simple: as instant messages and notifications flood our smartphones every hour, SMS don’t. We barely receive SMS anymore, so getting one today either means important, urgent or both. If you think showing up to your appointment is important, urgent or both (I definitely think so!), remind them with an SMS.

🎯 Bonus Tip: Send SMS reminders automatically

If you use salon software platform, adding SMS reminders into your workflow is easy and can yield even better results. There are numerous reasons: it allows you to send higher volume of SMS, it allows you to customize the timing and content of the reminder and you can combine it with other channels to reduce no-shows even further than 70%. “Since then, the number of people who stay away has decreased by 98 per cent”, says Rolf Bosboom.

In conclusion, SMS reminders offer a reliable, effective solution to the plague of no-shows. With just a few well-timed messages, you can ensure your salon stays busy, and that you keep making your customers happy.

Embrace the power of SMS reminders and say goodbye to those frustrating no-shows! You can also read more about it here