How Plumbers, Electricians & Contractors Can Win More Clients with SMS

Leverage the power of SMS marketing for home service businesses.

Small businesses like plumbers, electricians, and contractors need a reliable communication channel for marketing and customer support.

Despite the rise of social media channels, the most effective marketing channel for these businesses is still SMS.

In this blog post, we’ll explain how home service businesses can use SMS marketing to gain more clients. Also, we’ll introduce the features of WP SMS to help you run a successful SMS campaign for your home service business.

Why Use SMS Marketing for Home Service Businesses?

Many marketers and business owners might think SMS marketing is no longer useful. If you’re one of them, you’re making a big mistake. 

Read the following reasons to see the benefits of SMS marketing for home service businesses:

1. High Open Rates: As you know, people can’t resist checking their texts. That’s why a whopping 98% of SMS messages get opened. This makes SMS way better than email, with a 20% open rate.

2. Instant Delivery: Texts go straight to your customers’ phones and get noticed quickly. Most people read their messages within minutes, so SMS is great for time-sensitive situations like emergency plumbing SMS campaigns. 

3. Connecting with Customers: Text messaging is a great way to open up friendly two-way communication with homeowners who need different services. Other channels are not so direct and personal.

4. Cost-Effective: SMS marketing is a budget-friendly way to reach new customers while also providing customer service. This is especially valuable for small businesses like plumbers, electricians, and contractors.

5. Convenient & Accessible: SMS can be used by everyone, everywhere. It doesn’t need an internet connection or a smartphone.

6. Improved Customer Experience: When you send automatic reminders or updates on people’s home services, they will trust your business and will come back to you when they have another problem.

Build an SMS Marketing Strategy for Home Service Businesses: Step-by-Step Guide

Now, let’s see how to build an SMS marketing strategy for your home service business:

Step 1: Define Your Goals

Every marketing campaign needs SMART goals to be successful, and SMS marketing is no exception.

So, try to write down what you want to reach before you kick off an SMS campaign for your home service business.

Here are some common objectives you can consider:

• Increasing appointment bookings
• Reducing no-shows with appointment reminders
• Promoting seasonal discounts and special offers
• Encouraging customer feedback and reviews
• Enhancing customer loyalty and retention
• Providing emergency alerts and updates

Try to choose measurable goals that are achievable according to your budget.

Step 2: Choose a Versatile SMS Tool

Another essential step in running a successful SMS campaign for home service businesses is to choose an SMS platform.

You need a text messaging tool with all essential features like automation, scheduling, and segmentation. Also, it’s important to check its compatibility with your current platforms, like your website.

If you’re using a WordPress website for your home service business, your best choice is WP SMS.

This SMS plugin integrates well with your WordPress dashboard and supports 350+ SMS gateways and APIs.

So you can automate your SMS marketing campaigns without much programming knowledge or having to switch your dashboard.

The good news is that it offers a free plan with basic features, which is great for small businesses like plumbers, electricians, and contractors.

Also, if you want to expand your business, you can upgrade to a premium package with advanced features such as:

• SMS Newsletter
• Manage Subscribers
• Outbox SMS Page
• Login With SMS
• 2-Factor Authentication SMS
• WooCommerce Mobile Verification
• Abandoned Cart SMS
• Bitly Short URL
• Bulk & Flash SMS

You can also use the demo version of the tool to make sure it’s suitable for your home service business.

Step 3: Build a Targeted SMS Contact List

Although all people need home services like plumbing, wiring, or refurbishment, you can’t just send your texts to random phone numbers.

Make sure your messages reach the right people who are highly likely to use your services. You have to use various methods to build a list of targeted subscribers. Use all opportunities to gather phone numbers from homeowners. 

Here are some ideas:

• Website Form: If you have a WordPress website, you’d better encourage them to enter their phone numbers in return for some perks like discounts.

• Send Opt-in Campaigns: You can also send cold text messages to homeowners in your vicinity and entice them to subscribe to your SMS list.

• Segment Subscribers: To send more relevant text messages, try to split your list according to different factors like the previous service they’ve used or their location.

Remember that getting consent is an essential task according to some communication regulations like GDPR or TCPA.

So, don’t continue sending SMS to those who’ve not accepted to receive SMS messages. Also, it’s important to include an opt-out method in each SMS so that your customers can unsubscribe.

Step 4: Use SMS for Appointment Scheduling & Reminders

Many times, you need to use systematic scheduling for appointments to make your home services fast.

SMS is one of the best tools to manage your appointment schedules and send automated reminders to homeowners.

This way, you can reduce no-shows and increase your revenues because you can make the most of your time.

Try to think of a plan for scheduling and reminding, like the following:

• Sending a confirmation text upon booking
• Sending a reminder 24-48 hours before the appointment
• Allowing customers to confirm, reschedule, or cancel via SMS

Example SMS:

WP SMS allows you to automate these transactional text messages and send personalized reminders and notifications without manual intervention. 

Combining an SMS confirmation and rescheduling service with a website booking system will create a perfect customer experience.

Step 5: Send Promotional Offers & Discounts

Running promotional SMS campaigns is another benefit of SMS for plumbers, electricians, and contractors.

Before sending promotional SMS, ask yourself why your audience should choose your home service.

You need to offer something different, like a special service, discount, or other perks. Look at the following SMS samples to see how to send promotional text messages for your home service business:

Sample 1: Plumbing Service

This text message offers a seasonal discount for drain cleaning services:

Sample 2: Electrical Service

This SMS reward encourages people to remain loyal to your home service business:

Sample 3: Emergency Service

You can use the following SMS template to promote your emergency plumbing service:

Step 6: Follow Up & Ask for Reviews

Nothing can encourage people to use your home services more than a positive recommendation from a happy customer.

Try to send a thank-you SMS to your customers to let them know they’re valuable to your business. Also, you can include a link to your business review page on valid sources like Google and ask customers to mention their experience.

Here is a good SMS sample:

Step 7: Emergency & Seasonal Alerts

As said earlier, SMS is perfect for emergencies and limited-time campaigns. If you’re a plumber, electrician, or contractor, texting is perfect for notifying your audience about emergencies or seasonal tips.

Here are some examples of seasonal emergency alerts:

Sample 1: Frozen Pipes in Winter

As a plumber, you send an emergency SMS like this one to let local people know you’re ready for any 24/7 services:

Sample 2: HVAC Service

In summer, many people want to have a regular HVAC service. Use SMS to encourage them to book your services:

Sample 3: Power Outage

In stormy regions, you can send a typical SMS like this one to let neighbors know your business is ready for electrical services in emergency situations:

Step 8: Customer Loyalty & Retention Campaigns

Loyal customers are valuable assets for your business. Try to pay special attention to them and send them regular messages with enticing offers.

Here are examples of loyalty ideas you can use for your home service business:

Sample 1: Referral Rewards

Encourage loyal customers to refer a friend in return for a perk. This way, you can increase your customers and keep your customers loyal to your business:

Sample 2: Birthday & Anniversary Offers

Show your loyal customers that you remember them. For example, send happy birthday messages and offer them discounts to appreciate their loyalty:

Extra SMS Tips for Plumbers, Electricians & Contractors

Apart from the SMS strategy, you need to consider some other factors. Here are some important tips for a successful home service SMS marketing campaign:

• Keep Messages Short & Clear: Don’t waste a single one because each SMS has a 160-character limit.

• Use a Call-to-Action (CTA): Tell people exactly what’s next. Use phrases like “Shoot back YES to snag your spot” or “Tap this to set it up.”

• Avoid Spamming: Only send valuable information using polite and friendly language.

• Monitor & Optimize: Check your results and try to tweak your approach to reach better results.

Conclusion

SMS marketing is a real game-changer for plumbers, electricians, and contractors. If you have a home service business and you’re looking for new customers, you need to think of a strong SMS marketing strategy.

SMS helps you keep people engaged and reduces your no-shows. Using transactional and promotional SMS messages, you can increase your customer loyalty and boost your revenue.

Of course, you need an effective SMS tool like WP SMS to run automated SMS campaigns. You can always count on our help during your SMS campaign. So, why wait? Get started right now!

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