Visify SMS Service
SMS notification system for a cosmetics company to manage customer appointments and marketing.
Project Overview
The Visify SMS service was created for a small cosmetics business to streamline their customer communication. Built with Laravel, the system automatically sends SMS notifications to customers when appointments are confirmed, changed, or about to start.
Beyond notifications, the system includes a comprehensive dashboard for analytics and a marketing feature for sending out product offers and promotions. This tool helped the business improve customer attendance rates and increase engagement with their services.
The Story Behind the Project
I developed the Visify SMS service for a friend who ran a cosmetic business. They needed a solution to maintain contact with patients and manage appointments effectively. Having gained experience with Laravel from my Art Map London project, I was eager to apply my skills to building backend services and customer management systems.
Dashboard View
Marketing Feature
The system was designed to maintain a catalog of patients and track their upcoming appointments. Before each appointment, an SMS would automatically be sent as a reminder. What made this system particularly useful was its ability to receive replies from patients, allowing them to confirm or cancel appointments directly via text message.
Beyond appointment management, the system included basic analytics to track business growth metrics. This allowed the clinic to monitor how many new customers were joining and track appointment trends over time. I also implemented a marketing feature that enabled the business to send promotional messages to customers who had opted in to receive them.
This was one of my more complex projects at the time, incorporating customer management, automated messaging, two-way communication, and analytics. Though the service only ran for about a year, it provided valuable experience in building comprehensive business management systems and working with emerging JavaScript UI packages.
Key Features
Automated Notifications
Automatically sends SMS notifications when appointments are confirmed, rescheduled, or about to start.
Two-Way Communication
Allows patients to respond to messages directly, confirming or canceling appointments via SMS.
Analytics Dashboard
Tracks key business metrics including new customer growth, appointment volume, and customer engagement rates.
Marketing Tools
Enables bulk messaging for promotional offers and product announcements to opted-in customers.
Technical Implementation
This project was built using a stack of technologies chosen to provide reliable service with minimal maintenance requirements:
Backend Development
- Laravel framework for robust API development and MVC architecture
- MySQL database for customer and appointment data storage
- Third-party SMS API integration for message delivery and receipt
- Queue system for handling high-volume message processing
Frontend Features
- Responsive dashboard with real-time data visualization
- Bulk messaging interface with message scheduling capabilities
- Customer management with filtering and data export tools
- GDPR-compliant messaging with automatic unsubscribe options