The Clients category in Auto Messages has two sub-sections that handle relationship-building messages — nothing time-sensitive, just nice touches that make your shop feel personal.
Reminders — "Remind clients about upcoming events" (birthdays)
New Client Form Follow Up — "Send a welcome message after a new client submits the intake form"
Celebrates a pet's birthday with a special message.
If you set a pet's Birthdate when creating or editing them (see Adding a client), Teddy will automatically send the client a happy-birthday text or email on that date every year. The message is addressed to the pet by name — "Happy birthday, Toto!" — and comes from your shop.
Why it matters: it costs you nothing, it takes zero ongoing effort, and it's genuinely delightful for clients. Pet people love their pets. A shop remembering their pet's birthday is the kind of small touch that builds the emotional loyalty that keeps a client for years.
Available via Email and Text.
The default template is usually something like: "Happy birthday to {pet_name}! We hope they have a wonderful day. 🎉"
Things to consider adding:
An offer — "Happy birthday, Toto! Bring him in this month for a 10% birthday groom discount 🎂" (turns the birthday into a booking)
A photo prompt — "Happy birthday, Toto! Send us a photo of the birthday pup, we'd love to celebrate with you!" (engagement + content for your socials)
Just warmth — the plain default is already fine if you don't want a commercial angle
Things to avoid:
Generic corporate birthday messages with no pet name (always use the {pet_name} variable)
Treating every pet the same — some clients only want the sentiment, not a discount offer
If the pet has no birthdate set, no message is sent. The birthdate field is optional when creating pets, and a lot of clients don't remember the exact date — which means you need to ask for it explicitly at intake if you want this feature to work for all your clients.
If the reminder is toggled off, obviously.
If the client has blocked messages on their client record (see Blocking, deactivating, and deleting clients).
Send a welcome message after a new client submits the intake form.
This one lives under its own section called New Client Form Follow Up. It's a welcome text that fires the moment a new client completes your intake form — either by filling it out in your lobby, or through a link you sent them before their first appointment.
Available via Text only.
The goal of this text is three things:
Confirm the form went through — a small but important piece of reassurance
Introduce the business — who they're about to work with
Set expectations for what happens next — will you call, text, or will they hear from you closer to the appointment?
A solid template:
Welcome to {store_name}, {first_name}! We got your intake form and we're so excited to meet {pet_name}. Someone will reach out before your first appointment to confirm details. Reply here any time if you have questions in the meantime!
As soon as a client submits the intake form (see Intake Form submissions for how forms flow through Pipeline). Because Teddy also auto-creates the client record at form-submission time, the welcome text arrives within seconds of the client hitting Submit.
If you use intake forms, leave this on. It's a free, instant touchpoint that makes new clients feel taken care of before they've even met you. Shops that skip it miss one of the easiest relationship-building moments they'll ever get.
The edit flow is the same as every other Auto Message:
Open Auto Messages → Clients.
Tap the reminder you want to edit.
Customize the template and, if applicable, switch between email and text bodies.
Use the variable pills (Store name, pet name, client first name) to insert placeholders.
Make sure the toggle at the bottom is on.
Save.
Worth noting what's not in the Clients category:
Win-back / reactivation messages — not built in yet. If a client hasn't booked in 3 months, there's no automatic "we miss you!" text. You'd need to find those clients in the Clients list and text them manually.
Review request messages — the Appointment Completed reminder (in the Appointments category) is usually where shops put this. See Appointment reminders and updates.
Marketing / promotional blasts — Teddy isn't a marketing tool and there's no way to send a bulk message to all clients.
Tip: If you're setting up Teddy for the first time, add a mandatory Pet Birthdate field to your intake form. That way every new client you sign up from that point forward will automatically benefit from the Birthday Notification reminder for the life of the relationship.
