Mastering Customer Appointments:
Example Captivated Communications Timeline
When it comes to communicating with customers, there are hundreds of types of messages you might want to send. But where do you start? And how can Captivated fold in to your other internal processes, such as appointment check-ins, dispatching, payment collection, or follow-up prospecting?
We’ve created this example communication timeline to help: below, you’ll see examples of how you can utilize Captivated to streamline your entire service process, from initial bookings to long-term follow-up cadences.
Months/Weeks Out:
Confirmation & Reminders
First, we would be remiss not to mention that customers can book appointments using your calendar availability through Captivated! When a time slot is scheduled, a booking confirmation text can be automatically sent out to the customer via text.
Once they opt in for text receipt, you can send other texts to them (maybe a month and/or a week out) reminding them of the upcoming service. You can also send any forms or additional information a few days or weeks out from the appointment, to streamline your intake processes as well.
WEEKS BEFORE
Day Before/Day-of:
Introductions & Final Preparations
Just before the appointment, remind the customer of any final things they’ll need to prepare, bring with them, or be aware of for their upcoming appointment.
If there will be a technician dispatched out to meet them and perform a service, introducing that tech with a photo and name can help customers feel safe and can help establish trust. A window of time of arrival for that tech is a great practice as well.
Remind them of any thing they can do to make the appointment run more smoothly – noting a preferred door of entry in the house, opening a gate for you, signing any e-documents of authorization. If they’re dropping off an item (like a vehicle) to be serviced, you might send instructions for check-in or drop-off, or link to a page on your site that details those processes for them.
JUST BEFORE
Throughout Services:
Communications & Approvals
While performing services during an appointment, Captivated can be used to communicate with customers – for instance, shown to the left in our examples, the advisor is able to send vehicle updates via text.
Rather than sending a video and long text explaining what he is looking at, this advisor could have invited the customer to a quick video chat to talk face-to-face, or could have sent a picture instead.
After explaining the additional service he is recommending, he is even able to send an approval form for the customer to authorize the additional work. Had the customer declined the work today, he could have made an internal note within Captivated to follow up with that customer on those services at a later date – in this case, the most urgent work was agreed upon, but the less urgent work (the other brakes that are less worn) was declined, so later in this timeline, you’ll see an example of how he might follow up on those recommended services at a later date.
At the end of the appointment, the advisor can send an invoice through Captivated, and can allow the customer to pay their final invoice via secure credit card or ACH pay (which he can request directly through Captivated).
Note: customers will follow the link to see the invoice details and payment options – we have shown it here just to give you an idea of what that page will look like for them.
DURING
APPT
Several Days After the Appointment:
Follow-up & Review
Once the appointment is finished and the customer is satisfied, take advantage of the opportunity to garner a positive review from them! Reach out to invite them to leave a review on your preferred online reputation site and share their positive feedback.
1-2 DAYS AFTER
In the Weeks Following the Appointment:
Continued Follow-up
Depending on whether you recommended any additional services or products during the appointment, you may want to follow up with the customer. For more urgent items, you might follow up only a few days after the appointment; for less immediate needs, you might wait a few weeks or months.
Either way, within Captivated, you can use internal notes and tags to create workflows for following up on those items with your customers. This can not only increase revenue, but can also improve your customer retention as well.
1-2 WEEKS LATER
First, we would be remiss not to mention that customers can book appointments using your calendar availability through Captivated! When a time slot is scheduled, a booking confirmation text can be automatically sent out to the customer via text.
Once they opt in for text receipt, you can send other texts to them (maybe a month and/or a week out) reminding them of the upcoming service. You can also send any forms or additional information a few days or weeks out from the appointment, to streamline your intake processes as well.
Just before the appointment, remind the customer of any final things they’ll need to prepare, bring with them, or be aware of for their upcoming appointment.
If there will be a technician dispatched out to meet them and perform a service, introducing that tech with a photo and name can help customers feel safe and can help establish trust. A window of time of arrival for that tech is a great practice as well.
Remind them of any thing they can do to make the appointment run more smoothly – noting a preferred door of entry in the house, opening a gate for you, signing any e-documents of authorization. If they’re dropping off an item (like a vehicle) to be serviced, you might send instructions for check-in or drop-off, or link to a page on your site that details those processes for them.
While performing services during an appointment, Captivated can be used to communicate with customers – for instance, shown to the left in our examples, the advisor is able to send vehicle updates via text.
Rather than sending a video and long text explaining what he is looking at, this advisor could have invited the customer to a quick video chat to talk face-to-face, or could have sent a picture instead.
After explaining the additional service he is recommending, he is even able to send an approval form for the customer to authorize the additional work. Had the customer declined the work today, he could have made an internal note within Captivated to follow up with that customer on those services at a later date – in this case, the most urgent work was agreed upon, but the less urgent work (the other brakes that are less worn) was declined, so later in this timeline, you’ll see an example of how he might follow up on those recommended services at a later date.
At the end of the appointment, the advisor can send an invoice through Captivated, and can allow the customer to pay their final invoice via secure credit card or ACH pay (which he can request directly through Captivated).
Note: customers will follow the link to see the invoice details and payment options – we have shown it here just to give you an idea of what that page will look like for them.
Once the appointment is finished and the customer is satisfied, take advantage of the opportunity to garner a positive review from them! Reach out to invite them to leave a review on your preferred online reputation site and share their positive feedback.
Depending on whether you recommended any additional services or products during the appointment, you may want to follow up with the customer. For more urgent items, you might follow up only a few days after the appointment; for less immediate needs, you might wait a few weeks or months.
Either way, within Captivated, you can use internal notes and tags to create workflows for following up on those items with your customers. This can not only increase revenue, but can also improve your customer retention as well.
No matter how you follow up or what your workflow processes look like today, our team can help ensure that you’re utilizing Captivated to the fullest extent. Every team and department can utilize the different categories of business communication we offer – from sales prospecting and retention pipelines, to BDC follow-ups, to accounting services and everything in between. If you are considering Captivated for your business, and would like to learn more, visit our virtual demo page or schedule a live demo today.
If you are a current customer and want to maximize your Captivated usage, chat with us or text our Support team to learn more about our Professional Services and schedule a personal consultation for your specific business case and needs!