Guide · Sales and booking
Appointment reminders and no-shows: what to send, when, and one offer to book again
In short
Remind the customer twice, the day before and an hour before, with a way to move or cancel in the same message, and remind the person hosting too. On WhatsApp a reminder after the customer’s 24-hour window needs an approved template. Mark every meeting held or a no-show, and offer a no-show one new time, once.
Reviewed 10 November 2026. Terms used: WhatsApp 24-hour window, WhatsApp Business API (Cloud API).
Eight steps from booking to the day after
For showroom visits, consultations, viewings, test drives and demos booked by chat.
Make the confirmation the first reminder
The confirmation is the message the customer goes back to. Put what was booked, the date and time with its time zone, who they’ll meet and where, or that a joining link will follow, and how to move it. Send a calendar invite as well, so it sits in their own calendar.
Remind them the day before and an hour before
The day before gives time to move a meeting rather than miss it. An hour before catches the customer who remembered the day but not the time. More than two reads as pressure; fewer leaves the forgetful to forget.
A reminder the day before Your meeting is coming up
Showroom visit – Teras Home
When: Tuesday 10 November, 10:00 (Malaysia time)
With: Arjun Nair
Where: Bangsar showroom, Jalan Telawi 3
[Reschedule] [Cancel meeting]
Put the way out in every reminder
A cancelled slot can go to someone else; a missed one can’t. Two buttons, reschedule and cancel, make cancelling as easy as ignoring the message, and that’s what you want. Ask before you cancel, in case the tap was a slip.
Know WhatsApp’s rule for reminders
While the customer’s 24-hour customer service window is open, a reminder is a normal message. Once it has closed, only an approved template can reach them. Most reminders go out more than a day after the last message, so set the template up before you need it.
Meta calls messages that follow up on what a customer asked for utility templates. Keep the reminder to the booking: a template that also promotes something counts as marketing, which is priced differently. Meta charges per delivered message, by category and the customer’s country.
A reminder template, as submitted Name: meeting_reminder · Category: utility
Reminder: your {{1}} is on {{2}} with {{3}}. Reply here to change it.
Samples: showroom visit · Tuesday 10 November, 10:00 · Arjun Nair
Remind the host as well
A short note to the person hosting, a quarter of an hour before, with the customer’s name and a link to the record. A customer who arrives to find nobody ready is harder to win back than one who didn’t come.
Mark every meeting held or a no-show
The same day, while people remember. Without it you can’t tell a customer who came and didn’t buy from one who never came, and your follow-up says the wrong thing to both.
Offer a no-show one new time, once
People miss meetings for ordinary reasons. Send one short, friendly message with a way to book again, then stop. A second and third message turn a missed meeting into an unsubscribe.
The one message after a no-show Sorry we missed you. We did not see you at your meeting. If you would still like to talk, write to us in the chat and we will find a new time.
[Book again]
Count no-shows by where the customer came from
Look at no-shows by meeting type, by host and by where the lead came from. A source with many no-shows may need a qualifying question before the times are offered. Set your targets from your own first month.
A WhatsApp reminder inside the 24-hour window vs after it
What you can send
- Inside the window
- A normal message
- After it has closed
- An approved template only
Buttons
- Inside the window
- Up to 3 reply buttons
- After it has closed
- The template’s own buttons
Words
- Inside the window
- Written at the time
- After it has closed
- Fixed at review, with variables
What Meta charges
- Inside the window
- Its rate for service messages, past each number’s first 1,000 a month
- After it has closed
- The template category’s rate, per delivered message
How it works in Axonave
Two reminders, a bell for the host, and one offer after a no-show.
In Axonave each meeting type has its reminders: “Remind the customer a day before” and “an hour before” are on by default, and “Remind the host 15 minutes before” sends a bell and a mail. The customer’s reminder goes by email, and on WhatsApp straight to their number with Reschedule and Cancel meeting buttons while the window is open; after it, as the approved template you pick in Settings → Meetings, on your own Meta bill. With no template, it goes by email only. A reminder opens no chat, it’s kept on the meeting and the timeline, and a reminder for a meeting that moved or was cancelled isn’t sent. The customer can move or cancel by writing it, in English, Bahasa Malaysia or Chinese. After the meeting the host is asked once to mark it held or a no-show; nothing is marked by itself. A no-show gets one offer of a new time, by email and in the chat while a normal message can reach them, and you can switch it off per meeting type. Reports → Sales shows the no-show rate.
- Meetings and reminders on every plan, Basic included
- Replies to a reminder start a chat that finds the meeting
- Opting out of marketing doesn’t stop reminders
Settings → Meetings in our demo workspace, with the Showroom visit type open at its reminders: a day and an hour before for the customer, 15 minutes before for the host, and one offer of a new time after a no-show.
Common questions
Does Axonave charge for WhatsApp reminders?
No. Meta bills WhatsApp messages to your own account at its rates, and Axonave adds nothing per message.
What if we haven’t set a reminder template?
Reminders inside the customer’s 24-hour window still go on WhatsApp. After it, they go by email only, when you have the customer’s address.
Does Axonave mark no-shows by itself?
No. The host is asked once after the meeting and marks it held or a no-show. The two can be swapped if someone taps the wrong one.
Can a customer move the meeting by replying to a reminder?
Yes. The Reschedule and Cancel meeting buttons work, and so does writing “change my appointment”, “tukar masa” or “改期”. Cancelling always asks first, and a moved meeting stays with its host.
Do reminders still go to someone who opted out of marketing?
Yes. Opting out stops follow-ups and marketing templates; replies and meeting reminders still go.
See it working with your own customers.
We reply within one business day by email or WhatsApp.