Text messages get read. Open rates crush email, replies come in minutes, and for a trade business it's simply how customers prefer to communicate. That's why every marketing agency now tells you to text your list.
What they often skip is that texting for business is regulated. Get it wrong and you're not just annoying people, you're exposing yourself to real penalties and getting your number blocked. The rules aren't complicated, but you do need to know them.
This is a plain-language overview, not legal advice. Rules vary by country and change over time, so check your own obligations.
1. Consent is the whole foundation
You need permission before you text someone for marketing. In practice that means a clear checkbox or statement where the person actively agrees to receive texts, not a pre-ticked box, and not buried in terms nobody reads.
Keep the two kinds separate:
- Transactional: appointment confirmations, reminders, "we're on our way." Tied to service they asked for.
- Promotional: offers, seasonal campaigns, reactivation. This needs explicit marketing consent.
A customer who booked a job consented to being told when you're arriving. That isn't the same as consenting to a spring promotion. Track them separately, that separation is exactly what protects you if anyone complains.
Record when and how each person consented, the form, the wording, the timestamp. If a complaint ever lands, proof of consent is the entire defence.
2. Register your number (A2P 10DLC)
In the US, business texting over standard numbers runs through a registration system called A2P 10DLC. You register your business and your campaign type with the carriers. Unregistered traffic gets filtered or blocked outright, which is why some businesses find their texts silently never arrive.
It takes a bit of paperwork, business details, sample messages, and it's not optional if you want deliverability. Similar frameworks exist elsewhere; check what applies in your market.
3. Always identify yourself
Your first message should say who you are. "Hi, this is Riva Kitchen & Bath" isn't just courtesy, it's usually required, and it dramatically increases replies. Nobody responds warmly to an anonymous number.
4. Honour opt-outs instantly
Every promotional message needs a clear way out, usually "Reply STOP to opt out." When someone stops, it must be immediate and permanent. Most platforms handle this automatically; the failure mode is a business keeping a separate list and texting an opted-out contact months later.
5. Respect the clock
Don't send marketing texts late at night or early morning. Common guidance is roughly 8am to 9pm in the recipient's own time zone. A promotional text at 11pm is a complaint waiting to happen, and it's a bad look besides.
6. Send things worth receiving
The rules keep you legal. Restraint keeps you welcome. Text like a person: short, specific, relevant, and infrequent. A seasonal reminder that saves someone a repair is welcome. A weekly "check out our services" is how you train people to opt out.
What good looks like
- Clear consent checkbox on every form, with separate marketing opt-in
- Your business name in the first message
- STOP honoured automatically and permanently
- Sending inside sensible hours
- Two to six promotional messages a year, not a month
- Consent records you could actually produce if asked
Do that and texting becomes your best channel instead of your biggest liability.
