Today we have released a new update to make life easier for your clients. Appointment emails from NutriAdmin will include an ICS file automatically as an attachment from now on.
Essentially, this will make it easier for clients to import your appointment with them to their own calendar. For instance, below is a screenshot from a sample event when the client opens the relevant email from NutriAdmin in Gmail.
Clients can interact with this widget to easily add the event to their calendar. In many platforms, the client will be displayed with a simple Add to calendar button (or similar).
What is an ICS file in NutriAdmin
An ICS file stands for Internet Calendaring and Scheduling. This is a standard file format that calendars use for events. Calendars include:
- Google Calendar
- Apple Calendar
- Outlook
- Yahoo Calendar
- Many others
This file includes the appointment information in a standard format that enables seamless integration with any calendar. This is not limited to NutriAdmin, many other software programs use the same protocol.
What has changed in NutriAdmin
When you confirm an appointment with a client, the client will receive an appointment confirmation email like shown below.
You can customize the branding in the email, as well as the email template in the settings.
The appointment email contains the relevant date, time, address, and other information required for the event. Now, in addition to this information being included in text form, an ICS file from NutriAdmin will be included automatically as an attachment.
You don’t have to do anything to enable this feature. I will work automatically for all users.
Benefits of including an ICS file in NutriAdmin emails
There are many benefits of including this file in emails. Below is a summary of the most important ones
Increased client show up rate
It is extremely painful when you set up an appointment with a client and they don’t show up. This happens in every industry unfortunately. It’s human nature. Some people may forget or be disorganized and not attend a meeting.
To counteract this problem, some coaches and nutritionists may decide to charge clients upfront. Using reminders can be another helpful strategy to ensure compliance.
Now, with the NutriAdmin ICS file included in every email, this will make it easier for clients to add the event to their own calendar. This should help increase the number of clients that remember your appointment and show up on time.
How does the ICS file help here?
Automated notifications with popular email/calendar software
Since ICS is a standard file format, there are many popular email and calendar providers that can read the file and help the client.
For example, when a client opens an appointment email coming from NutriAdmin including an ICS file using iPhone or on a Mac, they will see an automated Siri suggestion as shown below.
The client may be used to this interface, as it will be the same standard interface the client sees in common scenarios such as:
- Plane ticket itinerary confirmation emails, including a date and time
- Event, concert, cinema, etc confirmation emails with date/time
- Medical appointment emails
- Anything else sent automatically that includes a date/time
By clicking a button, the event will go to the client’s calendar. If they have calendar in their phone, they may even get an automated notification as the event approaches.
Many clients will have notifications like the above switched on by default. So, without having to do anything, you will have many clients that are notified by their own Google/Apple/Microsoft calendars integrated with their smartphone/computer.
Timezone support automated
The ICS file will allow clients to always import events into their own calendar in their own timezone.
If you work with international clients or clients in other time zones, it can be confusing to know when exactly an event is scheduled in the client’s time zone.
With the ICS file, the client will import the event automatically to their calendar. The event will show in their own timezone, removing the complexity of calculating time differences.
From your end, NutriAdmin will store the event in your own time zone automatically in the calendar. There should be no ambiguity or confusion with this system.
Support amongst multiple platforms
The above examples have mentioned Apple calendar, and Google calendar. That being said, the ICS file is an industry-wide standard, so it should work with most calendars/software.
The client can download and manually import the file into their calendar if the automatic integration doesn’t work.
No matter which systems/platforms your clients use, you now have yet another tool in your arsenal at NutriAdmin to help clients make it to their appointments on time.
Conclusion
This neat little feature has been added to help you and your clients increase show up rate to appointments. Anyone using NutriAdmin will have the feature enabled automatically on their account.
If you have any questions, feedback or comments, feel free to write in the comments section below. Alternatively, you can reach out to customer support anytime.
