What are Reminder 'Smart Links'?

This article will help explain 'Smart Links' and how they work.

'Smart Link' is a feature which minimises the number of steps required to make an online booking. The main purpose is to display the booking tool when the pet owner clicks on the link embedded in any digital communication sent to pet owners (email and SMS reminders for example).

The benefits of using the Smart Link feature are:

• Time saving for the pet owner due to prefilled appointment, pet and pet owner information.
• Each link is unique and encoded specifically for the clients message
• Quick and easy access to your online booking tool.
• Direct call to action from reminders to book appointments.
• Increasing the chance to have clients making an appointment

How does Smart Link work?

A 'Smart Link' generated by the PMS (such as RxWorks) or Reminder Provider (such as iRecall), and is sent to the pet owner.

This link contains the encrypted details of the client, pet and the appointment. These details are automatically retrieved from your PMS database. Once the pet owner clicks the Smart Link, some of the fields required for the appointment booking are prefilled with the client and patient details.

For this reason, Smart Links are only available to existing clients on your PMS.

If you make a booking as an existing client the 'Smart Link' can identify and include:

• Number of pets
• Pet Species
• Pet Name
• Appointment Type
• Reason for appointment
• Pet owner's name
• Pet owner's email address
• Pet owner’s contact number
• Pet owner's postcode (if available)

How does a 'Smart Link' look like?

The 'Smart Link' is a URL which is automatically shortened and will look something like this depending on the service used: https://goo.gl/byh2eTUb

Embedding the appropriate merge field into the email or SMS templates of your choice within your PMS. The system will then create the link, shorten it and include it into the message to your client.

Below are a couple of examples of this in action:

An SMS message as received on your client’s mobile phone

When they arrive on the Appointment Scheduling platform, the fields are pre-filled and are highlighted in red below. Your clients can still amend these details during the booking process if they need to.

To configure Smart Links in RxWorks, please see this article: How do I enable Smart Links in RxWorks?

To configure Smart Links with iRecall, please see this article: How do I enable Smart Links with iRecall

If you have any questions or if you need further help, please login to Vetstoria to chat with our team or use the Contact Support form linked at the top of this page.