🍪 Automatically prompt clients to book another appointment if some time has passed since their last, and they have none coming up.
Reactivations allow you to save time, generate bookings and keep clients happy by handling some life-admin for them.
Peptalkr reactivations are super flexible, allowing you to achieve a reactivation schedule from the super simple, to the highly complex. Here’s some examples of what you can do:
Send a catch-all reactivation to any client who hasn’t had a booking in your chosen number of weeks or months.
Send a series of reactivations spread out over a year.
Send a more targeted reactivation to a client who hasn’t booked a particular appointment type, or appointment category in your chosen amount of time.
Send a practitioner-specific reactivation that appears to have been sent by their treating practitioner themself.
How would you like to do it?
Email instructions
This is a transactional email type
Transactional emails are powerful event-triggered emails, powered by Cliniko data. Any email you send in relation to specific appointments, should be created with the transactional system. Learn more
You’ll need to complete two steps:
💌 Step 1: Create a transactional email
Go to the email manager
Click on Transactional in the top bar
Press create an email and fill in the fields.
⚙️ Email settings
Name
This is just a short and sweet name for your reports and you so can identify this email easily later when creating a trigger.
We suggest naming it in the follow format:
Reactivation - (Type) - (Timing)
*Replace (Type) with the specifics - e.g. Orthotics - and (Timing) with the amount of time before it sends (e.g. 6 months) - so you’d end up with something like:
Reactivation - Orthotics - 6 months
Subject lines
Keep it simple - and if you plan on sending multiple reactivation attempts, ensure each subject line is unique so it never feels repetitive.
Here's some subject line ideas you can use across your reactivation emails:
Email #1 | Let’s schedule your next visit! |
Email #2 | We’re here for you – ready when you are |
Email #3 | Time for a check-in? Let’s keep you feeling your best |
Email #4 | It’s been 6 months – let’s get you back on track! |
Email #5 | A year already? Let’s catch up on your care! |
Sender details
This is the identity of who will be sending the email. We recommend you send email from your own verified domain.
You can send the email from any identity you like, including:
Their practitioner - instructions
Reception/admin - instructions
The business name (generic) - instructions
No matter which email you send from, email replies can be sent to the address of your choosing. Just click set a different reply-to to configure your reply address if different to the verified email sender you’ve chosen.
Add recipients to a list
Just select don’t add to a list from the dropdown here. It’s rare you’d need this option (learn more).
Build your email
Now for the fun part! Click choose a template to be taken to the template selector.
You can click My Templates to select one of the pre-built templates that came with your account (designed by us!). These are excellent time-savers, and designs that are proven to work.
Now go ahead and customise the email itself in whichever way you like using the email builder.
When you’re finished, press Save and then don’t forget to scroll down and hit the Finish button to publish your email. You’ll see a message:
[Ready to start triggering]
Now it’s time to connect a trigger!
You do not need to code anything.
We provide a code snippet for our very advanced users, but for the majority of people - just head to the Email triggers tab to complete step 2.
⚡️ Step 2: Connect an email trigger to it
Go to the email triggers page.
Click on the plus button in the top right.
You’ll now be walked through a series of simple steps to configure how your email should be sent. Here are our recommended settings. Keep in mind this is an example only, adjust it per your specific needs.
Email triggers allow you to specify the who, what and when of your transactional email, giving you a granular level of control when it comes to targeting patients inside your Cliniko account. Learn more
⚙️ Trigger settings
When you create a trigger, you'll work through the steps to configure your trigger. Here are our recommended settings. Keep in mind this is an example only, adjust it per your specific needs.
Trigger name | Tip: *Name it the same thing as your email from step 1 |
Trigger type | Automated Recurring |
Marketing type | Non-marketing |
Triggering event and timing | Choose the triggering event, and timing you desire, for example - if 30 days: |
Filters | *Select which appointment types or categories should be included or excluded if applicable* |
Frequency | Every time the conditions are met |
Template | The email you created in step one |
Things to note:
If you offer numerous treatment modalities, you may wish to recall them differently to one-another. e.g. Massage might be recalled at different intervals to Physio. If you wish to do this, create different emails for each modality.
You can word your reactivations to appear as though reception is sending them.
Use [variables] to personalise the content inside your emails.
✅ Step 3: Test and turn on!
Now is the time to test your trigger. Follow the steps in this tutorial.
Over time, monitor the performance of your reactivation emails (open rates, click rates and even online booking rates if you have integrated Cliniko bookings with GA4). Then adjust as necessary to improve your rebooking rate.
Now you can create another reactivation! Don't forget you can duplicate triggers and adjust the timing/settings to save time for your next one.
💡 Remember, the key to a successful reactivation is to not 'pester' the patient, and instead create carefully timed prompts that help the patient to feel like they have a personal assistant in you 🧑🏻💻
SMS instructions
SMS is even easier. Head to the Send SMS page and follow the same steps as above for Step 2. Connect a trigger (from the plus button onwards) - you just needn't assign an email template, write the body of your SMS directly.
A note on timing
It's entirely up to you when you send a Reactivation - but as a general rule, you will want to send a few. For example:
30 days after their last appointment, if none is upcoming
60 days after their last appointment, if none is upcoming
90 days after their last appointment, if none is upcoming
180 days after their last appointment, if none is upcoming
365 days after their last appointment, if none is upcoming
Each of the above intervals will require it's own Transactional email so that you can vary the wording between each email (or SMS) you send.
Check out our Blueprint for Patient Recalls for ideas about timing and wording.
🙋🏻♀️ FAQs
I can't see my email in the template dropdown during the trigger creation process
I can't see my email in the template dropdown during the trigger creation process
👉 If you can't see your template in your dropdown you may not have pressed the 'Finish' button in the email builder. f this happens, just select any available template and continue, you can edit it and set the correct template before you turn it on. Then navigate back to the email builder and ensuring you hit the 'Finish' button on your draft template.
How can I make more intervals of my reactivations?
How can I make more intervals of my reactivations?
Easy! Just duplicate your trigger and change the timing. For each email to have different wording/subject lines - just create another transactional email by following step one again. You can even choose a recent email as the starting point to save time in designing/building the email.
What option do I select in the dropdown under the 'Is this a recall?' checkbox?
What option do I select in the dropdown under the 'Is this a recall?' checkbox?
You should choose to tick the 'is this a recall?' box - this will ensure we only send the reminder if they have not got an upcoming appointment (or attended one - if they attend one, the reactivation timing will be reset from the date of most recent visit - assuming you have a reactivation targeting the subsequent appointment type they have since had).
Each option has a slightly different function. Most people select 'Of any kind', but if you need to recall some appointments independently of the patient's other appointment activity, use another option:
Of any kind - as long as they have attended/have upcoming any appointment, do not send the recall.
Of the same category - as long as they have attended/have upcoming an appointment in the same category as the appointment that triggered this message, do not send the recall (great for multi-modality clinics).
Of the same type - as long as they have attended/have upcoming an appointment of the same exact type as the appointment that triggered this message, do not send the recall (great for highly specific appointment types that need recalling - such as an 'Annual review' or a surgery).
Are reactivations considered marketing or non-marketing?
Are reactivations considered marketing or non-marketing?
Reactivation recalls may be considered non-marketing in some cases, but please use your discretion to ensure you are following the applicable privacy laws in your region. If you prefer only those opted in for marketing receive it, you can select 'marketing'. But you must ensure you add an unsubscribe link to the email if you select the marketing option.