· 3 min read · Jason Youngjin Koh
The enquiries that did not book
Every clinic has a list of people who asked about a treatment and never booked. That list was paid for with ad spend, and most clinics never contact it again.
People who enquire about elective treatments often take weeks or months to decide. A clinic that keeps in touch over that time, with useful information rather than pressure, books a share of them later at no extra ad cost. Treat that list as people still deciding.
Why do enquiries not book straight away?
- The cost needs planning, or a conversation with a partner.
- They are comparing clinics.
- They are nervous about the procedure.
- The timing is wrong: a holiday, a wedding, a busy period at work.
Each of these is a not yet, and the clinic can help with every one.
What should the follow up contain?
| When | What to send |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | A personal reply with a consultation time and a way to ask questions |
| Week 1 | What the consultation involves, and what it costs |
| Week 2 to 4 | Common questions answered: process, recovery, payment options |
| Monthly | Useful information about the treatment and the team, and an open invitation to book |
What rules apply to clinic follow up?
Two sets. Australia's Spam Act requires consent, sender identification and a working unsubscribe in every commercial email and SMS. And every message is advertising for a regulated health service, so AHPRA's rules apply: no testimonials about clinical outcomes, no time limited offers that pressure people into treatment, no misleading claims. Information and reassurance are allowed. Pressure is not.
Can this be automated?
Most of it. Each enquiry can enter a sequence matched to the treatment they asked about, with messages written and approved once, and sent automatically. Anyone who replies goes straight to staff. An AI agent can also flag enquiries showing renewed interest, such as opening several messages or returning to the treatment page, so the team calls the right people first.
How do you measure it?
Count consultations booked from enquiries older than thirty days. For many clinics, that number becomes a meaningful share of new patients within a few months, and every one of them came from ad spend that was already counted as wasted.
For high value treatments, the decision period is longest and follow up matters most. What an implant enquiry costs