What the first text needs
Keep it to these four parts:
- Your business name. The caller may have dialed three companies in a row. “Sorry we missed you” from an unknown number tells them nothing.
- A plain reason. “We’re on a job” is true for most contractors, and customers accept it.
- One question they can answer in a line. “What can we help with?” works for every trade.
- How to stop the texts, such as “Reply STOP to opt out.” When you register to send business texts, the review looks for who is sending and how people opt out (Twilio).
Leave prices, discounts and links out of this first text. It answers a call, and it should read that way. A promotion turns it into a marketing message, which has stricter consent rules (see Can you text a customer who called you?).
Messages you can copy
Put your business name where it says [Business]. Each one asks one question, and the trade versions ask the question that tells you how urgent the job is.
Any trade
Hi, this is [Business]. Sorry we missed your call, we're on a job. What can we help with? Reply STOP to opt out.
Plumbing
Hi, this is [Business]. Sorry we missed your call. Is water leaking right now, or can it wait a day? Reply STOP to opt out.
HVAC
Hi, this is [Business]. Sorry we missed your call. Is it heating or cooling, and is the system running at all? Reply STOP to opt out.
Roofing
Hi, this is [Business]. Sorry we missed your call. Is this a leak or storm damage, or a quote for a new roof? Reply STOP to opt out.
Electrical
Hi, this is [Business]. Sorry we missed your call. Do you have power, and what's going on? If you smell burning, call 911 first. Reply STOP to opt out.
After hours, say when a person will call. Only offer an urgent option if someone is on call to see it.
After hours, no one on call
Hi, this is [Business]. We're closed for the night and will call you after 7:30 am. What can we help with? Reply STOP to opt out.
After hours, someone on call
Hi, this is [Business]. We're closed, but our on-call tech can help with emergencies. Reply URGENT and they'll call you. Reply STOP to opt out.
What to send after they reply
Their reply usually tells you the problem. The next text should move toward a time. Offer two times instead of asking when they’re free: one answer books the job, where an open question starts a back-and-forth.
Offer two times
Got it. We can come tomorrow at 9:00 or 1:30. Which works?
Ask for a photo
Thanks. Can you send a photo of the leak? It helps us bring the right parts.
Hand it to a person
That sounds urgent. Mike will call you in the next 10 minutes.
Only promise a callback time you can keep. A text that says “10 minutes” and a call that comes an hour later is worse than no promise.
Keep it short, without emoji or curly quotes
A standard text holds 160 characters. One emoji, or one curly apostrophe of the kind word processors insert, switches the whole message to a character set that holds 70. A longer message is then split into parts of 67 characters, and providers bill each part (Twilio).
Type the messages straight into your texting tool, or paste them from a plain text editor. The examples on this page use straight apostrophes for that reason.
If you add a link, use your own domain
Twilio says US carriers strongly discourage shared link shorteners like the free ones anyone can use, because spammers use them so often. Messages with them are more likely to be filtered, and there’s no appeal if they are (Twilio). If you need a link in a later text, use a link on your own website.
Mistakes that cost you replies
- Texting from a number the customer doesn’t know. Text from the number they called if you can (see Can you text from your business landline?).
- Waiting. A text that arrives an hour later competes with whoever picked up in the meantime.
- Sounding like a recording. “Your call is important to us” reads like hold music. Write the way you talk on the phone.
- Asking for everything at once. Name, address, problem, photos and a time in one text is a form. Ask one thing, then the next.
- Texting every caller. Suppliers, inspectors and your own family call too. Most tools let you exclude numbers.
How we handle it
We write these messages with each client, in the owner’s words, and nothing goes live until they approve it.