Here are all posts by the author Frank Cort: Page 5 of 7

It’s always fun to see our clients making use of Apptoto in unique and creative ways.  Most of our readers/users know us as simply an Appointment Reminder system. However, Apptoto is an appointment messaging platform that can be used creatively. In this case, call reminders were used to set up a “reverse phone tree” two years ago to help our Founder’s family encourage their 83-year-old grandmother to go for a walk twice a day. Setting up a “reverse phone tree” like this in Apptoto was actually quite simple. In summary, we set up a calendar in Apptoto containing “fake appointments” for when various family members should be reminded to call Grandma. Apptoto sends a voice call to the family member at the start of each event on the calendar. The family members are given the option “press 1 to be connected”.  If 1 is pressed, the family member is directly connected to Grandma (using a hidden “Call forwarding” feature inside Apptoto). Since we set this up in 2016, Apptoto has orchestrated over 1,100 calls to our Founder’s grandmother from her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  During those 1,100 calls, countless stories […]

No matter where you live, you’ve probably experienced erratic weather patterns over the last few years that have completely changed your entire schedule/day last minute. In the U.S., changing weather patterns have brought floods, storms, and huge snowfalls to new areas at different times of the year. Weather—and life in general—is often unpredictable. Things change. For businesses, this can present logistical problems, especially when it comes to managing unpredictable schedule changes. It can create delays and cancellations that throw your entire schedule into disarray, causing confusion and frustration for your team and your customers. Whether it’s unprecedented extreme weather or a last-minute schedule change, no appointment is truly set in stone. The best way to deal with unpredictable schedule changes is to be proactive. Have a gameplan for each scenario that may be relevant to your business. That way, you’ll have an actionable way to deal with the unexpected on short notice. Here’s a short playbook to easily handle schedule changes using a service like Apptoto. This method minimizes disruption to your business and your customers’ lives, no matter the circumstance. Late start If there’s a delayed start to your […]

Now going on its 15th year as law, the 2003 CAN-SPAM Act was originally signed by George W. Bush. As the internet, online businesses, and online marketing were growing, the law was meant to reign in some of the more insidious marketing practices that had become commonplace online. While there is much debate about the overall effectiveness of the CAN-SPAM Act, its main regulations are fairly straightforward. The law’s intent was largely a mechanism to define commercial messages and enforce basic rules about how these messages are sent to consumers online. Let’s dig into the specifics. CAN-SPAM: The Basics At the core, this legislation comprises a few basic components: Definition of “commercial message” — Outlines specifics of which messages should be considered “commercial” and which should not. This is then used to define which messages are subject to the requirements laid out afterward. Requirements for commercial messages — Sets a number of standard requirements that all commercial messages must meet in order to be in compliance with CAN-SPAM. Penalties and punishment for noncompliance — Spells out specific punishments and penalties for companies that run afoul of these regulations. All told, […]