A missed client appointment is lost business, many businesses and organisations are turning to text (SMS) message reminders.

There are several reminder services that cater to companies or industries rather than individuals. An example would be a doctor's office that uses a reminder service to send messages to patients about upcoming appointments. Companies like Appointment Toolkit charge clients in return for providing reminder services.

In recent news last year, the government agency responsible for the collection of taxes (HMRC) was reported to use text to remind businesses of their tax deadlines.

“This is just a pilot scheme and it is a way of contacting people wherever they are if we haven’t had the response we need from them after sending out a letter.” HMRC commented on their move. HMRC has stressed that the text messages will not contain any personal information but will include a phone number for the recipient to call.

HMRC will contact business owners either by text message or voicemail, to remind them about their tax obligations if a letter hasn’t triggered a response. For example, entrepreneurs might be contacted if they miss a deadline for their self-assessment form or if HMRC has a query about their returns.

You can of course use our text reminder service to prompt your own customers to attend appointments they have booked using your business. Appointment Toolkit caters for small businesses such as hair dressers, doctors, dentists, salons and spas.

Prices range from £15 per month, which includes unlimited e-mail marketing and up to 100 text messages per month.

You can find out more here.