Launch a targeted post‑monsoon WhatsApp broadcast with Ferbz to fill your clinic’s schedule

Below is a step‑by‑step walkthrough of launching a post‑monsoon broadcast in Ferbz. Imagine Maple Leaf Family Clinic, a multi‑disciplinary practice in Toronto that wants to fill the 2 pm–4 pm slot on weekdays with follow‑up physiotherapy appointments that were missed during the July‑August rainstorm.

1. Log in to the Ferbz dashboard
   Open https://dashboard.ferbz.com/ and sign in with your clinic’s admin credentials. You land on the Home overview, where you can see today’s revenue, upcoming visits, and the credit balance in your prepaid wallet.

2. Navigate to the Broadcasts tab
   In the left‑hand navigation pane, click Broadcasts. The page shows a list of past campaigns, a “Create New Broadcast” button, and a quick summary of remaining credits.

3. Click “Create New Broadcast”
   A modal opens with three primary sections: Audience, Message, and Schedule.

4. Define the audience

   • Filter by last visit date: Choose “Last Visit Date” → “is between” → “2024‑07‑01” and “2024‑08‑31”. This captures patients whose most recent visit fell during the monsoon period.
   • Add a second condition: “Visit Type” → “contains” → “Physiotherapy”. This narrows the list to those who previously booked a physiotherapy session.
   • Exclude opted‑out contacts: The system automatically removes any patient who has unsubscribed from WhatsApp messaging.
   • Preview count: The panel shows “1,842 patients match”. This number is derived from the Patients CRM, which stores each patient’s visit history and contact details.

5. Craft the message

   • Click Edit Message to open the visual canvas.
   • Choose an existing template called “Post‑Monsoon Follow‑Up” (created earlier in Automation). The template reads:

     Hi {{patient.first_name}},  
     We hope you’re feeling better after the recent rains. Our clinic has new openings for physiotherapy follow‑ups this week. Reply “YES” to book your slot or call 416‑555‑0199.  
     

   • Drag a Quick Reply button onto the canvas labeled “Book Now”. Set the payload to trigger the Appointment booking flow (the same flow used for normal WhatsApp confirmations).
   • Save the message. Ferbz validates that all merge tags correspond to fields in the Patients record, so there’s no risk of a broken message.

6. Set the schedule

   • Choose Send Now if you want immediate delivery, or Schedule for later. For a post‑monsoon push, select Schedule → 2024‑09‑25 08:00 AM (local clinic time).
   • Review the Estimated credit usage: 1,842 messages × 1 credit each = 1,842 credits. The dashboard shows the current wallet balance (e.g., 5,000 credits), confirming sufficient funds.

7. Review and launch

   • Click Review Summary. The screen lists audience size, message preview, scheduled time, and total credit cost.
   • Press Launch Broadcast. Ferbz immediately deducts the estimated credits from the wallet and queues the messages for the selected time.

8. Monitor delivery

   • After the scheduled time, go to the Reminders board. Here you see three columns: Scheduled, Sent, and Failed.
   • Under Sent, each patient entry shows a green checkmark with timestamps, and a small eye icon indicating “Read” when the patient opens the message.
   • Under Failed, any numbers that bounced (e.g., invalid WhatsApp IDs) appear with a red exclamation. You can export this list to CSV for cleaning.

9. Analyze results

   • Open the Reports module and select the date range “2024‑09‑25 to 2024‑09‑30”.
   • In the “Messaging Effectiveness” section, you’ll see:
     • Delivery Rate: 98.7 %
     • Read Rate: 74.3 %
     • Conversion (patients who booked via the “Book Now” quick reply): 112 bookings, generating $7,845 in revenue (average $70 per physiotherapy follow‑up).
   • Compare these numbers to the same period last year (pre‑broadcast) where the conversion was only 38 bookings. The broadcast added 74 extra visits, directly offsetting the post‑monsoon dip.

10. Iterate

    • Based on the report, you might create a follow‑up Automation journey that triggers a reminder 2 days after a “YES” reply, ensuring the patient receives a confirmation and a calendar invite. This journey will automatically enroll the 112 new patients because the trigger is “instant a visit completes”.

By following these steps, Maple Leaf Family Clinic turns a seasonal lull into a measurable uptick in booked visits, all from within Ferbz’s native Broadcasts and Automation modules, without any third‑party marketing platform or manual phone‑calling.

Time saved – Before Ferbz, the clinic’s front‑desk staff spent an average of 2 hours each weekday calling patients to confirm post‑rain appointments. With a broadcast, the same outreach is completed in under 5 minutes of setup time. Over a typical 5‑day workweek, that’s a saving of 9 hours and 45 minutes, which can be redirected to patient care or administrative tasks.

Revenue recovered – In the worked example, the broadcast generated 112 additional physiotherapy follow‑ups, each billed at $70. That equals $7,845 in incremental revenue for a single week—a 21 % increase over the baseline week’s earnings of $37,300. Without the broadcast, the clinic would have likely seen a 12 % dip due to the monsoon‑related no‑shows, representing a potential loss of $4,476. The net gain is therefore $12,321 when comparing the before‑and‑after scenarios.

Fewer manual errors – Manual phone calls often lead to missed numbers or transcription mistakes (e.g., wrong appointment time). Ferbz’s Reminders board flags any failed WhatsApp deliveries instantly, allowing the clinic to correct contact data before credits are wasted. In the example, only 23 out of 1,842 numbers failed (1.2 % failure), a rate far lower than the 8 % error rate typical of manual call logs.

Compliance and credibility – Because all messages are sent through the official WhatsApp Business API, the clinic’s brand appears as a verified business number, building patient trust. The system also respects opt‑out preferences automatically, reducing the risk of regulatory breaches under Canada’s anti‑spam rules.

Scalable, credit‑controlled spending – The prepaid wallet means the clinic only pays for messages that are actually sent. After the broadcast, the Reports module shows the exact credit consumption (1,842 credits) and the ROI per credit (approximately $4.26 per credit). This transparent accounting enables precise budgeting for future seasonal campaigns.

Overall, the post‑monsoon broadcast directly addresses the two biggest pain points for Canadian clinics: patients forgetting to reschedule after weather disruptions, and front‑desk staff spending excessive time on manual confirmations. By automating the outreach, Ferbz turns a seasonal challenge into a predictable, measurable revenue stream.

Ready to turn the post‑monsoon lull into a full schedule? Sign up for a free trial at https://dashboard.ferbz.com/ and explore the Broadcasts module in a live environment. Your prepaid credit wallet lets you test a small‑scale campaign without any commitment, and the built‑in Reports show exactly how each message impacts bookings and revenue. If you have questions while setting up your first broadcast, our support team is ready to help at support@ferbz.com. Start sending professional WhatsApp reminders and seasonal offers today, and watch your clinic’s calendar fill up.