4 Best Practices for Contractors to Consider When Texting Clients

If you call someone on your cell phone and they don't recognize your number, what are they most likely to do?

They’re probably going to ignore or reject the call. To make matters worse, your typical cell phone user doesn’t even have their voicemail set up anymore.

Text messaging is used as the modern-day voicemail. Ninety-eight percent of text messages are read within three minutes of delivery, and more than half of them are responded to within 90 seconds.

Here are four best practices for contractors to consider when using text messaging services to connect with prospects and customers:
 

1. Text Prospects to Confirm Receipt of New Lead Inquiries

When a prospect fills out a form online requesting information from your company, you can bridge the gap between the time of the request and when your company calls them by sending a text message immediately after they submit the form.

The sooner you communicate with a prospect, the more likely they will become a customer.

If someone familiar with your brand submits a form directly through your website, the message can be more direct and to the point. But, if they've gone through a third-party lead aggregate site where they haven’t yet engaged with your brand, then you want to approach them more carefully by introducing who you are and what products or services you offer.
 

Listen to Andrew Martin discuss how contractors are using text messages on the Rock Stars of Remodeling podcast.

2. Use Text Messaging Throughout Your Home Improvement Business

You can use text messaging all across the consumer experience to elicit responses.

In marketing, you can implement a text strategy from when a lead inquiry comes in to when the appointment is set. Then, you can send messages with pictures of your salespersons who will be meeting with each customer. Be sure to include your logo so they know which company is texting them.

In production, you can send customers text messages with updates on installation lead times.

For a service or a repair, you can text a customer and ask them to take a picture of the issue and text it back to you for an instant service response.

Finally, getting reviews by text after the sale is critical to growing your online presence. The more reviews you have on review sites and on your website, the more favorable you appear to prospective customers.
 

3. Be Authentic When Sending Text Messages

The trick to a successful text messaging campaign is to be real. You want to set it up to come from your business landline phone number and include a logo. This adds authenticity and offers transparency on who is sending the text. Don’t try to deceive the customer. Tell them who you are and what you want and they'll reward you with responses.
 

4. Play by the Rules of Commercial Texting

Texting from your business is much different than texting from a personal cell phone. You have to play by the rules and register your numbers. You need to fly under the radar of the spam filters that are set up with cell phone carriers. So, it's necessary to work with a text messaging service company that knows what they're doing to navigate those areas of commercial texting.

 Andrew Martin is the Vice President of New Services at Marlimar Mobile Strategies.