How do you prevent no-shows with SMS reminders?

A missed appointment costs you an empty slot you no longer sell. An SMS reminder is the cheapest way to limit that, but the timing and the content decide whether it works.

The right moment

Twenty-four hours in advance is the standard: late enough to still be in the diary, early enough to still cancel. For appointments booked weeks ahead, a second reminder a week before works.

What it contains

Who, when, where. Nothing more. A reminder that has to be explained does not get read. Put the date and time at the front, not at the end.

Make cancelling easy

This is the point most often missed. A reminder that cannot be replied to loses half its purpose: whoever cannot come must be able to say so in one action. Then you can still fill the slot.

Measure it

Compare the number of no-shows in the months before and after you introduced it. That figure, not the number of messages sent, tells you whether it works.