Drive Ganesh Chaturthi Appointments with Ferbz’s WhatsApp Broadcast Campaign

Below is a step‑by‑step walkthrough of creating a Ganesh Chaturthi WhatsApp broadcast for a typical clinic. Imagine Shree Health Care, a 12‑bed multi‑specialty clinic in Pimpri‑Chinchwad, Pune. The owner, Dr. Mehta, wants to invite his existing patients to book a “Post‑Ganesh Wellness Check” for ₹199 (GST‑exempt service). He expects roughly 150 responses, and he has a prepaid wallet balance of 2,000 credits.

1. Log in to the Ferbz dashboard

   • Open https://dashboard.ferbz.com/ and enter your credentials.
   • The home screen shows the main navigation bar on the left: Dashboard, Patients, Appointments, Billing, Doctors, Automation, Broadcasts, Reminders, Reports.

2. Prepare the patient segment

   • Click Patients → All Patients.
   • Use the filter bar at the top: select “Last Visit ≤ 90 days” and “City = Pune”.
   • Ferbz instantly shows 1,842 patients matching the criteria.
   • Click Save Filter and name it Ganesh Chaturthi 2024 List.

3. Create the WhatsApp template

   • Navigate to Broadcasts → New Broadcast.
   • In the Message Builder, choose WhatsApp Template.
   • Click Add Template → Create New.
   • Fill in the fields (all mandatory for WhatsApp Business API):
     • Header: Image of Lord Ganesha with clinic logo.
     • Body: “Namaste {{patient_name}}! 🙏 After Ganesh Chaturthi, book your free wellness check for just ₹199. Tap the link to choose a convenient slot.”
     • Footer: “Shree Health Care – Your health, our priority.”
   • Save the template; Ferbz automatically sends it for WhatsApp approval (usually within minutes).

4. Add the booking link

   • In the Body field, insert a placeholder {{booking_link}}.
   • Back on the broadcast screen, under Dynamic Variables, click Add Variable → Booking Link.
   • Choose the Appointments calendar, select Dr. Mehta – General OPD, and set the date range 15 Oct 2024 to 30 Oct 2024.
   • Ferbz generates a unique short URL that auto‑populates {{booking_link}} for each patient.

5. Select the audience

   • Click Choose Audience → Saved Filters → select Ganesh Chaturthi 2024 List.
   • Ferbz shows a preview: 1,842 contacts, 1,842 credits required.

6. Schedule the broadcast

   • Under Timing, select Schedule → Date & Time: 15 Oct 2024 20:30 IST (the evening of Ganesh Chaturthi).
   • Optionally enable Time‑zone handling if you have patients across multiple states.

7. Review and confirm

   • The Summary pane lists:
     • Message template: approved.
     • Audience size: 1,842.
     • Credits needed: 1,842 (deducted from the 2,000‑credit wallet).
   • Click Send Now (or Schedule) to lock in the broadcast.

8. Monitor delivery

   • Switch to the Reminders board (still under the left navigation).
   • The broadcast appears as a new entry under Broadcasts with three columns: Scheduled, Sent, Failed.
   • As messages flow through the WhatsApp Business API, the board updates in real time: e.g., “Sent = 1,800”, “Delivered = 1,765”, “Read = 1,432”.

9. Handle bookings

   • Patients who tap the link land on the Appointments page, see Dr. Mehta’s available slots, and book instantly.
   • Ferbz automatically sends a WhatsApp confirmation (via the Appointments module) and creates a Visit record in the Billing tab once the patient checks in.

10. Analyse results

    • After the campaign, go to Reports → Messaging Effectiveness.
    • Filter by Broadcast Name = Ganesh Chaturthi 2024 and date range 15‑30 Oct 2024.
    • The report shows:
      • Sent: 1,842
      • Delivered: 1,765 (95.8 %)
      • Read: 1,432 (77.7 %)
      • Bookings generated: 148 (8 % conversion)
      • Revenue from bookings: ₹29,452 (excluding GST, as the service is exempt).

11. Close the loop with automation (optional)

    • If Dr. Mehta wants to follow up with patients who booked but did not show up, he can create an Automation journey: trigger “Visit not completed within 2 days of appointment” → send a reminder WhatsApp message using the same template. This uses the same credit pool but only for the subset of patients, maximizing ROI.

By following these steps, Shree Health Care runs a fully compliant, credit‑based WhatsApp broadcast that turns a cultural festival into a measurable appointment surge, all from within the Ferbz dashboard.

Time saved – Before Ferbz, Dr. Mehta’s front‑desk staff spent an average of 2 hours each day (≈ 120 minutes) calling patients to confirm post‑festival visits. With a single broadcast, that manual effort drops to 0 minutes; the system handles confirmation automatically.

Revenue recovered – In the month before using broadcasts, the clinic saw a 12 % dip in visits during October (average 2,300 visits → 2,024 visits, loss of ≈ 276 visits). The Ganesh Chaturthi broadcast generated 148 new visits, recouping ≈ 53 % of the seasonal dip and adding ₹29,452 in revenue.

Higher conversion – The broadcast achieved a read rate of 77.7 % and a booking conversion of 8 %, far above the typical 2‑3 % response when staff call manually. Each extra booking costs only one credit (≈ ₹0.99), so the cost per acquired visit is ₹6.8, dramatically lower than the ₹150‑₹200 per phone‑call labor cost.

Reduced no‑shows – Because the booking link sends an instant WhatsApp confirmation, patients receive a clear reminder at the moment of booking. The subsequent automated reminder (triggered on “days until appointment”) further cuts the no‑show rate from the clinic’s baseline of 22 % to ≈ 14 % for the campaign cohort.

Compliance and brand trust – All messages are sent through the official WhatsApp Business API, so patients see a verified business name and a professional chat interface. This eliminates the risk of messages being flagged as spam, a common issue with personal‑number bulk sends.

Overall, the broadcast turns a seasonal cultural moment into a quantifiable pipeline, slashing manual workload, improving cash flow, and delivering a clear ROI measured in credits, revenue, and reduced no‑shows.

Ready to turn Ganesh Chaturthi into a surge of booked visits? Sign up for a free trial, top up your credit wallet, and launch your first WhatsApp broadcast in minutes. Visit the dashboard at https://dashboard.ferbz.com/ and explore the Broadcasts module, or email our support team at support@ferbz.com for a guided walkthrough. With Ferbz’s all‑in‑one operations platform, you can focus on patient care while the system handles reminders, confirmations, and seasonal marketing—all from a single, credit‑based dashboard.