How to Write the Perfect Welcome Text Message for New Customers

Make a great first impression using a welcome text message.

SMS marketing is an effective channel for generating leads and guiding them in the sales funnel until they become loyal customers. You must plan every step of this journey based on a strong strategy to target as many relevant customers as possible and retain them.

One of the most important steps you must take is to send an SMS immediately after the first action taken by your audience. You need to prepare a warm, compelling welcome text message template to send after this interaction.

Remember that this message can impact the whole customer journey, so it’s important to pay attention to the content, timing, and the offer you include in the SMS.

This article will explain how to write a compelling welcome text message to reach the highest engagement rate.

Why Send a Welcome Text Message?

First, we need to explain why sending a welcome SMS is essential for businesses of all sizes and types:

1. Best Time for Engagement

When someone signs up on your site or makes a purchase, they’re curious and excited about your services/products.

This is a “golden window” and the best time for sending a welcome text to keep your interaction going and prevent drop-off.

2. High Open Rates

Text messages have an average open rate of 98%, making them the best channel for opening a conversation with your new customers. In fact, you’re almost sure that they open and read your message.

3. Personalization and Relationship-Building

SMS is more direct and personal than other channels like email or social media. So, it’s an ideal tool to welcome customers with a friendly tone.

You can call them by their first name, include their purchase details, or mention their specific interests. This is a great way to build a long-lasting relationship.

4. Guiding New Customers

In a welcome message, you can include some instructions about the process and even redirect customers to FAQs to let them find the answers to their questions. This transparency helps reduce queries and shows your professionalism.

5. Offering Immediate Value

SMS greetings for customers usually come with a perk, like a discount code, free guide, or bonus feature. This gives new customers an extra reason to take action right away.

In fact, this not only rewards them for joining but also makes them interact with your product or service sooner.

6. Shows Professionalism 

Even a short welcome SMS can make a big difference between your brand and other brands in your industry. This is especially important for small businesses.

A timely, well-crafted welcome message is a signal that indicates your business is organized and values communication.

7. Encourages Two-Way Communication

SMS is a two-way communication channel, and a welcome message is a great way to start your conversation with new customers.

8. Easy Automation

SMS has the power to be automated using simple tools. So you can easily send welcome messages without manual intervention.

Successful Welcome SMS Examples for New Customers

Let’s review some welcome SMS samples for different industries to learn how to write a great first impression.

1. Online Food Store

As you know, there are lots of online food stores, and finding loyal customers is really difficult. So, you need to pay special attention to your new customers to make them get back to you and become loyal.

A warm welcome with a human tone can set a friendly first impression. This is really impactful, especially if you personalize the message in the right way.

Here is how to write a welcome text message to an online food store’s new customer:

2. Home Goods Retailer

Home goods retailers are widely using online platforms to sell their goods. A welcome SMS to new customers can make a store different from others.

Try to send an immediate welcome with a discount code to appreciate their presence. Also, make the message personal by using their first name and redirect them to your purchase page to drive conversion.

Here is an example:

3. Fitness Center

Fitness centers should take care of new customers and try to make them loyal. So, prepare a smart SMS workflow from welcome messages to loyalty points. 

Here is a sample SMS message to build trust from the first contact with your Gym’s new customer:

4. Fashion Brand

If you want to have repeat purchases for your fashion brand, you must create an exclusive club feel for new customers. A friendly welcome and some perks like early access or a discount can work miracles.

Here is an SMS sample for a welcome message for new customers of fashion brands:

5. Dental Clinic

Clinics should have a warm relationship with their patients during their journey, starting from the first impression.

It’s good to make them feel you pay attention to their health, and make your interaction different from normal businesses.

You can also include practical schedules or any instructions in your message. Look at the following example:

6. Streaming Platform

Every subscription to your services is important, and you need to welcome them. Try to personalize the SMS and include details like a trial period and a clear CTA to guide the subscriber to the next step.

The following sample welcome SMS shows how to do that:

7. Boutique Hotel

The hospitality industry is all about respecting customers and gaining their satisfaction. That’s where welcome messages play a crucial role. 

It’s super important to make it friendly while keeping a polite tone of voice. Personalize your message and include details and a link to more information to provide everything the guest needs.

Look at the following sample to learn how:

8. SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)

SaaS businesses can use SMS to update customers on their trial service, expiration date, future upgrades, etc.

You must start these informative messages from the welcome SMS, like this one:

How to Automate Your Welcome Message Directly from Your Website?

Now that you know what you have to say in a welcome SMS, it’s time to learn how to automate it.

1. Select an SMS Gateway Provider

An SMS gateway is a piece of software that connects your website and your mobile carriers. This is what you need to automate your welcome messages from your system.

You have to choose a reliable provider based on deliverability rates, good customer support, global coverage, and pricing.

If you have a small business, you can start with a local SMS gateway. If you’re going to expand your customer circle, you can go for international SMS gateway providers like:

Provider	Known for	Price per SMS (US)	Ease of Setup	Features	Free Trial / Credit
Twilio	Developer-friendly APIs	~$0.0075	Moderate (API focus)	Wide range of channels (SMS, Voice, WhatsApp)	$15 trial credit
Nexmo (Vonage)	Reliable delivery & carrier relationships	~$0.0067	Moderate	Built-in number lookup & fraud prevention	€2 free credit
Clickatell	Enterprise messaging tools	Custom pricing	Medium	WhatsApp Business API integration	Request-only trial
Plivo	Competitive pricing	~$0.0065	Easy	Call tracking & cloud IVR	$5 trial credit
Sinch	Rich messaging options	Varies by country	Moderate	RCS & video messaging support	No public free credit

2. Choose an SMS Platform

Implementing an SMS gateway API on your system needs expertise. Fortunately, there are easier ways for beginners and small businesses.

There are SMS tools that simplify API integration and let you automate your welcome SMS messages.

The following tool compares some of the most effective SMS tools:

Plugin Name	Gateways	Free Plan	Starting Price
WP SMS	300+ Gateways	✅	$59/year
SMS Alert – WooCommerce	India-Focused	✅	Credit-based
YITH WooCommerce SMS	40+ Gateways	❌	$79.99/year
BulkGate SMS for WooCommerce	BulkGate only	✅	Pay-as-you-go
Texty – SMS Notification	Twilio, Clickatell	✅	Free
SMS for WooCommerce	Multiple Gateways	✅	Freemium

WP SMS is a great SMS plugin for WordPress websites and offers everything you need for welcome messaging automation.

Screen capture from dashboard to be added.

It has a free plan with basic features and diverse pricing packages for advanced features, like:

• Scheduling
• Segmentation
• WooCommerce integration
• Booking integration
• CRM integration
• Dynamic content

3. Configure the SMS Gateway on the Platform

You just need to get your SMS gateway API credentials and enter them into your SMS platform’s settings.

This way, you connect your website to the gateway so messages can be sent to mobile carriers, and from there, to your customers’ phones automatically.

4. Get Consent

Before running promotional and transactional text messages, you need to collect explicit opt-ins from customers.

You can add a checkbox at checkout, sign-up forms, or account creation pages. Also, you can use other methods like QR codes on your carts and also invitations in your social media bios.

This keeps you compliant with data protection regulations like TCPA and GDPR. Remember that if you continue sending text messages without consent, you will annoy your customers or even face legal fines.

5. Write Engaging Templates

WP SMS allows you to create SMS templates for different triggers like new subscriptions, bookings, and purchases.

It also allows you to include place holders in these templates to customize the content of the message based on the details of the recipients.

Try to include the important factors like the following in the welcome text messages template:

• Customer’s first name (use personalization tags).
• A warm greeting.
• Key next steps or a perk (discount code, link, or instructions).
• A clear call-to-action.
• Opt-out

6. Test, Run, and Optimize

Now, you’re all set. You just need to test your SMS templates to make sure everything is working well. Try to send some messages to your own phone number to check the format, timing, delivery speed, etc.

Then, you can go live and wait for the results. Once launched, you need to monitor the performance of your welcome messages. For example, track the number of clicks and try to optimize your SMS strategy gradually.

Expert Tips for Effective Welcome Messaging

SMS marketing is all about writing a warm sentence. Try to consider the following factors to improve the performance of your welcome messaging:

1. Respect Quiet Hours

Although welcome messages are set to be sent immediately after the user takes an action, you must avoid sending next follow-ups late at night or early in the morning. Also, try to check local time zones to schedule efficiently.

2. Pick the Right Sender

Choose the channel that matches your goals and appears valid. Here are some options:

• 10DLC for local presence (requires A2P registration).
• Toll-Free for blended voice + SMS with verification.
• Short Code for the highest throughput.

3. Keep it Short and Clear

Try to stay under ~160 characters for GSM-7 encoding. If you write more than that, you must pay for two SMS messages. More importantly, you might bother recipients with lengthy messages. Try to use short links to save space.

4. Localize and Personalize Responsibly

It’s good to use the recipient’s language, currency, and local references to personalize the message with relevant details. However, you must minimize data usage and storage to comply with GDPR/TCPA.

Final Thoughts

The first impression is always important, and business communication is no exception. SMS is the best channel for sending a warm welcome message.

This is the first and most important step of your SMS workflow, so you need to spend time creating friendly, compelling content with relevant info and links to important pages.

You also need to use an automation tool like WP SMS to reduce manual intervention and maximize your efficiency in communications.

You can always count on our help if you need more information about welcome SMS automation. So, why wait? Contact us right now!

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