Marketing and presence
Text messaging
Should you send marketing texts, and how do you do it within the rules?
Six short steps. No email or account.
- Who needs it
- Appointment-based and recurring-service businesses.
- When it matters
- Once no-shows or reminder calls cost real time.
- Compare first
- Consent and compliance
- Matters most when
- growing, mature
Is this the right tool for you?
Customers tend to read texts more reliably than email, which makes texting effective for reminders, offers and win-back messages. It is also more regulated and more intrusive, so texting without permission or too often can bring complaints, blocked messages and legal exposure.
Signs you need it now
- You text offers or reminders to customers one by one from your mobile.
- Appointment no-shows or last-minute cancellations cost you work.
- You have customers' mobile numbers but no record of their consent to marketing texts.
- Email campaigns go unread by the customers who matter most.
When another area fits better
- You need two-way texting with customers about their jobs, not marketing campaigns. Read the business phone and messaging guide
- Your main need is automated appointment reminders from your booking system. Read the appointment booking guide
Recognise two or more of these? Sort out text messaging next.
Tell us how your business runs and get a plan that puts text messaging in order with everything else: what to set up first, your must-haves and what to compare.
What matters at your size
Working alone
Start with service texts customers expect, such as reminders and on-the-way messages. Add marketing texts only to people who have explicitly agreed.
A small team
A texting tool with consent capture, automatic opt-out handling, segments and scheduled campaigns, connected to your customer list.
Several teams or locations
Consent records you can produce on request, approval before campaigns go out, quiet hours by time zone and reporting by campaign.
How the way you work changes the choice
- Appointment-based services: salons, clinics, detailing
- Reminders and last-minute openings do most of the work. Keep promotional texts occasional and relevant.
- Trades and home services
- Seasonal maintenance reminders and follow-ups after a quote. Customers tolerate few messages; make each one useful.
- Shops and restaurants
- Offers and events to customers who signed up at the counter or online. Make signing up and opting out equally easy.
What to compare
Consent and compliance
Text marketing is legally regulated. Penalties are per-message and serious. Consent handling is not optional.
Registration requirements
Business texting now requires carrier registration. Check the provider handles it.
Per-message cost
Volume pricing varies widely and adds up quickly.
Cost and setup effort
- Texting tools usually charge by messages or credits sent on top of a monthly plan; longer messages and images can count as more than one.
- You need clear permission before sending marketing texts, must honor opt-outs immediately and keep records of consent. Rules are federal and state and do change, so check current requirements or get advice before your first campaign.
- Business text numbers usually must be registered with your business details and message type before carriers deliver them reliably; allow time for approval.
Trade-offs to weigh
- Standalone texting tool or built into your other systems
- Built-in texting in a booking, job or CRM tool keeps consent and history together; standalone tools offer more campaign features.
- Reach or goodwill
- Texts get read, so every unwanted one spends goodwill. Fewer, better-timed messages usually beat frequent promotions.
When to sort it out
Once no-shows or reminder calls cost real time.
Your next step
Answer six short questions about how your business runs. You get an operating plan: where text messaging fits among your priorities, the must-haves to hold every option to, and what to compare when you choose.
Where this comes first
Trades and businesses that usually sort this out early.
Often decided alongside
Other parts of marketing and presence.