'How much for lips?' at 10pm
Most of your new enquiries come through Instagram. Someone sees a reel, taps the message button and asks how much lip filler is, or whether you do anti-wrinkle on a Saturday. Another asks on Facebook. A third messages the WhatsApp number on your profile. You see them on your personal phone, between clients, or late in the evening.
Some you answer straight away with a price and a link. Some you mean to answer and forget, because a new message pushed them down the list. By the time you get back to one, they have booked with the clinic down the road that replied in ten minutes.
Why DMs are where enquiries go to die
Social messaging was built for chatting, not for running a clinic's enquiries. It has no idea who has been replied to, who booked, and who needs a follow-up.
- Enquiries split across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, website forms and phone.
- Messages tied to one person's phone, often the practitioner's own.
- No record of who was quoted what, or whether they booked.
- Price questions for prescription-only treatments that need careful, rule-aware wording.
- The practitioner is in treatment for most of the day, with gloves on.
A receptionist could handle it, but many clinics are one or two practitioners, and even those with front desk staff find DMs sit outside the booking system.
What slow replies are costing
| Symptom | Effect |
|---|---|
| Replies hours later | Enquirers book with whichever clinic answered first |
| Forgotten messages | Enquiries never answered at all |
| Inconsistent answers | Different prices or advice given by different staff |
| No follow-up | People who asked but did not book are never contacted again |
| No idea what works | You cannot see which posts or ads bring booked consultations |
There is a regulatory edge too. Replies about toxin treatments need to stay within the advertising rules on prescription-only medicines, and a rushed answer typed at 10pm is where that slips. What wording is acceptable is for you and your adviser; the point is using it consistently.
One inbox for every enquiry channel
- Instagram and Facebook messages, WhatsApp Business, your website form and missed calls all flow into one shared inbox through their official business APIs.
- An instant first reply in your wording, outside treatment hours or when nobody picks it up within a few minutes, with a link to book a consultation.
- Saved answers for common questions (prices from, what a consultation involves, where you are), written and approved by you, so every reply is consistent.
- Each enquiry is a record: channel, treatment interest, status (replied, consultation booked, not booked), and who handled it.
- Follow-up reminders for enquiries that did not book, sent at the interval you choose, and stopped as soon as they book.
- The consultation booking link goes straight into your clinic software, such as Pabau or Fresha, so the booking lands where your diary is.
AI can suggest replies for staff to send, if you want it, but it never answers anything clinical on its own. Questions about suitability are routed to a practitioner.
A clinic that replies first
Every enquiry is answered quickly with a clear next step, even when you are mid-treatment. Staff see one inbox, not four apps on someone's personal phone. You can see which posts and ads produce consultations, not just likes.
Enquiries that did not book get a polite follow-up, and the ones who come back are already in the system when they do.
Your personal phone stops being the clinic's front desk. Evenings go back to being evenings, and holiday cover is possible because the inbox is shared rather than locked in one person's pocket.
Signs your clinic has this problem
- Most enquiries arrive by Instagram or Facebook message.
- You answer DMs on your personal phone between treatments.
- Some enquiries have gone unanswered.
- You do not know how many DM enquiries turn into consultations.
- Different staff give different answers to the same price question.