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Step 3 - Gather Information, Payments, and Trigger Automation
In the third step of the Booking Link setup, called Gather Information, Payments, and Trigger Automation, you’re able to customize what information you’d like to gather from your customer when he or she schedules with you, accept online payments if you charge for your appointments, and set up automated email and text reminders so that you and your customers can keep on track. If you use Infusionsoft, the third step is where you can trigger actions like customized confirmation and reminder emails by applying tags to contact records when a customer books with you, add appointment details to Infusionsoft custom fields for use in your campaign emails, and more. This video will show you how.
Gather Information (New User, Existing User)
You can select what information you wish to gather from your customer by checking the boxes next to the details you’d like your customers to input when scheduling their appointment. This information will appear in the confirmation emails and in the calendar event. If you are sending this Booking link to new prospects or customers, select “New Customer - Require Form” from the dropdown menu. When that customer schedules with you, an Infusionsoft contact record will automatically be created and added to your Infusionsoft account for easy tracking. You can then apply tags to that customer for tracking and automation in Infusionsoft. Note that if this Booking Link is used by customer for which you already have an Infusionsoft contact record, it will update the contact record with the information provided when they schedule the appointment. However, if the customer uses a different email address than the one specified in their Infusionsoft contact record, Infusionsoft will create a new, separate contact record for that customer. If this happens, you may need to locate both records and merge the two together to keep your customer records clean.
If you will be sending this particular Booking Link in your Infusionsoft emails to customers that already have a contact record in Infusionsoft, or if you are directing your customers to the Booking Link after they fill out one of your Infusionsoft webforms, select “Existing Customer-From List” from the dropdown menu. Then, when a customer clicks on the link in your Infusionsoft email, or fills out your webform, AppointmentCore will recognize which customer is scheduling an appointment, and your customer will not need to fill out any additional information. They will simply select a time that works for them, and their booking will be complete.
Note that if you have “Existing Customer-From List” selected, and a NEW customer clicks on your Booking Link, they will still be asked for First Name, Last Name, and Email Address, and a new Infusionsoft contact record will still be created for that customer.
Accepting online payments for your appointments with Stripe
Stripe is a robust online payments platform that allows you to easily accept and manage credit card payments online. With AppointmentCore’s Stripe integration, you’re able to charge for your appointments at the time your customer schedules with you. AppointmentCore offers this integration FREE with all subscription, and Stripe charges only 2.9% + $0.30 for each successful transaction. Payments are then transferred directly to your bank account. This feature must be enabled by an account Admin and linked to your company’s Stripe account. If you’d like to create an account, visit Stripe.com for more details. In the third step of the Booking Link setup, input the amount that you’d like to charge for this particular type of appointment. When a customer books with you, they are asked to pay for the appointment via credit card before their booking can be completed. Payments can be tracked and managed in your Stripe account.
Trigger Automation
WIth AppointmentCore, you’re able to automatically send your customers confirmation emails when they schedule an appointment. You can also create automated email and text reminders, so that your customers show up prepared and on time. This is done in the third step of the Booking Link setup, under “Trigger Automation.”
How to create and send customized confirmation and reminder emails
To create personalized confirmation emails to send to your customers when they schedule with you, or send your customers reminder emails to reduce no-shows, click on “Create New TIMER event in the 3rd step of the Booking Link setup.
Under Type of Event, choose “Send email” and then choose whether you would like the email to go to your customer, or whether you would like the email to be sent to you. If you’d like emails to be sent to both you and your customer, you can create two separate email reminders. Then, choose when you would like the email to be sent. You can choose any combination of days, hours, or minutes before the scheduled event, as an email reminder, after the scheduled event, as a followup email, or after the person schedules, to send them a confirmation email after booking.
Enter the subject of your email, and then customize your message in the space below. To insert particular details about the appointment, such as date, time, the customer’s name, and any instructions, you can choose from the preset Merge Fields below, and add them to the email. When a customer schedules with you, the merge field will reflect the details of the booked appointment. If you’d like to test your email, you can view the preview button at the top right, or use the “Test” feature to send a sample email.
How to create and send automated text message reminders
To create personalized text messages to send to you and your customers, so that a reminder comes straight to their phone, first select “Mobile Phone” as a required field under the Gather Information step of the Booking Link Setup. This will ask your customers for their mobile phone number when booking, so that text messages can be sent out. If you use our Infusionsoft integration, this number will also be added to the customer’s contact record. Note that text messaging must be enabled by an account Admin in the Extensions tab of the Account Settings menu.
Under Type of Event, choose Send text message, and then choose whether you’d like to send the text to you or your customer. If you’d like to send both a text to you AND your customer, you can create two separate text reminders. choose when you would like to have the text message sent out BEFORE the event, AFTER the event, or some time after the person SCHEDULES, and then customize your text using the window below. To insert particular details about the appointment, such as date, time, the customer’s name, and any instructions, you can choose from the preset Merge Fields below, and add them to the text message. When a customer schedules with you, the merge field text will reflect the details of the booked appointment.
How to use Infusionsoft Advanced API calls
COMING SOON! If you need additional information about this feature, email Support at askus@appointmentcore.com.
Infusionsoft Integration
Apply tags (upon booking, cancel, reschedule)
With AppointmentCore’s Infusionsoft integration, you’re able to automatically apply tags to the customer’s contact record when they schedule with you. This tag can be tracked in Infusionsoft, and can be used in Infusionsoft campaigns to trigger emails, change opportunity stages, create tasks, and more. Once you’ve linked your Infusionsoft Account to AppointmentCore, you can choose which tags to apply for each Booking Link in the 3rd Step of the Booking Link setup. Select a tag from one of your existing categories in Infusionsoft, or create a new tag to apply. When a customer schedules with you, AppointmentCore will automatically add that tag to the customers Contact Record in Infusionsoft.
This tag can then be used in Infusionsoft campaigns to trigger emails and other actions. In the campaign builder, drag the “Indicate Interest” goal to the builder, and click on the bottom left-hand corner. Set the goal to “Applies a Tag” and then save your changes. Next, click and drag a “Sequence” goal to the campaign and connect the two with an arrow. Double-click on the sequence icon to add actions. You can send automated emails or voicemails, or trigger actions in Infusionsoft such as applying notes, creating tasks and opportunities, or assigning a contact to a particular owner. For more information, please check out our other Infusionsoft Integration videos or visit the Infusionsoft Help Center.
Insert appointment details to Infusionsoft Custom Fields
AppointmentCore’s Infusionsoft integration also allows you to add appointment details such as date, time, and instructions to Infusionsoft custom fields, so you can use them in your template emails and campaigns. In the third step of the Booking Link Setup, click on “Additional/Advanced Infusionsoft Options”. There is a notification stating that this feature is an advanced Infusionsoft feature that requires familiarity with their program to function properly. Because Infusionsoft custom fields can only contain one set of appointment data at a time, these custom fields will only reflect the information of the most recently scheduled appointment. If a customer schedules another appointment using this particular Booking Link, then the custom fields are updated to the most currently booking information. Therefore, if your customers schedule multiple meetings with the same Link in a short period of time, only set of appointment details can be used in your campaign emails. This is an Infusionsoft limitation, and we are working on ways to improve this functionality for a future update. Once you’ve read this limitation notification, click “Ok, I agree” to continue.
You can add the appointment date and time to Infusionsoft custom fields by selecting an existing Custom Field that you would like to use, or creating a new custom field to hold these details. Under additional options, you also have the ability to add the appointment details & instructions into an Infusionsoft custom field as well. Once you’re finished selecting the custom fields that you’d like the information added to, click “Continue to Next Step” to save your changes.
When a customer schedules with you, their appointment information will now appear in their Contact Record under the Custom Fields tab. You can then use these custom fields as merge fields in your Infusionsoft emails that you send to your customers.
Turn off email notifications for this request
When someone schedules with you, AppointmentCore automatically sends you and your customers a confirmation email containing the appointment details. These are generated directly by AppointmentCore and cannot be edited by users. If you’d like to fully customize your confirmation emails, you can do this either by creating an automated email reminder to be sent immediately after someone schedules with you, or triggering your own customize email in Infusionsoft by applying a tag each time a customer schedules with you.
Because you are able to create your own, custom confirmation emails, you can turn off AppointmentCore emails for each particular Booking Link. In the third step of the Booking Link setup, choose “Additional/Advanced Infusionsoft Options” and scroll to the bottom of the page. Click the check-box next to “Turn off automatic email confirmations for this Appointment Request” and choose whether you would like to turn off automatic email notifications for you and your team, or your customers. Remember that you should ensure that your customers receive some notification of a successfully scheduled about by creating and sending your own confirmation notifications.
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