17.3. Customizing Confirmations and Reminders

*THE BIG WHAT
Clinic HQ’s communication tools empower you to personalize messaging for clients while minimizing the need for constant updates. You can easily send targeted messages to specific groups, ensuring they receive information relevant to their appointments.

Customizing Recipients

When setting up an email, text, or robocall, start by selecting the client type for your communication: public clients, volume clients, or volume client owners. If you want to narrow it down further, you can specify a subgroup the communication should go to with the Animal Restrictions.

Using Animal Restrictions

Animal Restrictions are optional but useful if your clinic needs to send tailored communications based on specific criteria. Here, you can specify if clients are bringing in a particular type of animal, allowing for customized messaging for different animal categories.

Example: Feral Communications

If you want to send a general message to most clients but a different one for those bringing in feral cats, follow these steps:

First, set up your standard communication message. In the Animal Restrictions section, check the box for Owned, Shelter, Foster, & Community Cat Friendly.
Then set up a second communication specific to trapped feral cats, select the restriction for Community Cat (Feral).

Use restrictions to send the communication to the selected.

This functionality can also be applied to differentiate messages for various animal types (e.g., cats vs. dogs) or age groups (e.g., pediatric vs. adult).

Personalizing Messages with Placeholders

Placeholders allow you to add personal touches to your messages, including client names and appointment dates. These details pull directly from the scheduled appointment. For instance, if you’re using mobile locations for appointments, you can insert a placeholder that will produce the location name, location details, and address, – allowing clients to click on the hyperlinked address to access maps.

Placeholder will autofill with appointment details when sent.

Email example when placeholders are used.

!Important Note: Mobile Locations cannot be included as placeholders in SMS/Text messages due to compatibility issues. Using them in this context will result in a lengthy, unreadable string that exceeds the 160-character limit.

When setting up communications, ensure you only use the available placeholders. For example, if the client type is Volume Client (VC), you’ll see Animal Number instead of Animal Name. This will generate messages like, “Your rescue is scheduled for 6 animals on 10/31/24.” The VC can review the specific animal names in their Portal.

*Banner Tip: Available placeholders may vary based on client type and appointment type. Mobile Locations will only appear if the clinic has enabled this feature.

Uploading Your Logo for Email Communications

When uploading a logo for confirmation and reminder emails, make sure to use a .JPEG file format. The recommended size is 200×200 pixels. Using a different format may cause issues when clients open the email.

Adding Email Attachments

You may wish to include attachments with your appointment reminders and confirmations. To do this, click the Upload New Attachment button (green). You can upload multiple attachments as needed.

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With these features, you can enhance your communication strategy, making it more personal and effective for your clients.