Using SMS for Non-Intrusive Client Check-Ins

# Using SMS for Non-Intrusive Client Check-Ins Text is the most intimate channel you have access to, which is exactly why it is so easy to ruin. > **TL;DR** Get explicit written consent and keep the record. Identify yourself in the first three words. Under 160 characters. Personal check-ins, not campaigns. Two or three a year, maximum, outside of transactional messages. ### Consent first, and properly **This is a legal requirement, not a courtesy.** In the US, marketing texts fall under the TCPA, which requires prior express written consent for promotional messages, and rules on automated dialling and artificial voices are treated strictly. Rules vary by country, so check the ones that apply to you. **Transactional and marketing are treated differently.** An appointment confirmation for a job they booked is not the same as a seasonal promotion, and consent for one is not consent for the other. **Practical minimum** - A checkbox at booking, unticked by default, with clear wording about what you will send. - A record of when and how consent was given, stored on the contact. - STOP handling that actually works and is honoured immediately. - Your business name in every message. **If you are unsure whether you have consent, you do not have consent.** ### Why text works when it works **It is read.** Nearly always, and quickly. That is precisely why misusing it is so damaging. **It is short.** The format prevents the padding that makes email marketing tiresome. **It is two-way.** A reply is one tap. Email replies require intent. **It reaches people who never open email.** Particularly relevant for older and trade-adjacent customer bases. ### The check-in message **This is the whole technique and it is not a campaign.** > Hi Sarah, Tiff from Sicc Heating. Been about six months since we did the boiler. All still running OK? No need to reply if all's well. **Why it works** - **Named, both ways.** You and them. - **References the actual job.** Not "your recent service". - **Asks nothing.** No booking link, no offer. - **Explicitly releases them from replying**, which counterintuitively increases replies. **Send from a number that can receive replies**, and answer them personally. A no-reply shortcode kills the entire effect. ### Frequency **Two or three non-transactional texts per customer per year.** That is the ceiling. | Message type | Counts against the limit? | |---|---| | Appointment confirmation | No, transactional | | Arrival window the night before | No, transactional | | Invoice or receipt | No, transactional | | **Six-month check-in** | **Yes** | | **Seasonal booking window** | **Yes** | | **Weather alert** | **Yes, use sparingly** | **Opt-out rate is your signal.** If it rises after a send, you were too frequent or too promotional. ### Writing them - **Business name in the first three words.** Unknown numbers get deleted unread. - **Under 160 characters** so it stays one segment and displays fully in the notification. - **No links in a first check-in.** Links convert a personal message into a marketing message visually. - **No emoji**, unless that is genuinely how you talk to customers. - **No shouting, no urgency, no all-caps.** - **Opt-out on promotional sends.** "Reply STOP to opt out." **Read it aloud.** If it sounds like a person, send it. If it sounds like a brand, rewrite it. ### Segment before you send The same text to your whole list is what makes it feel like marketing. - **Recent customers, under 6 months.** No check-in needed. Leave them alone. - **6 to 18 months.** The check-in message. Highest return group. - **Over 18 months.** Softer reintroduction, mention the job by name and date. - **Members and contract holders.** Different message entirely, service-focused. ### Handling replies **Replies are the point.** Plan for them. - **Answer within the hour** during business hours. - **Answer as a person**, not a script. - **Do not pivot straight to selling.** If they say all is fine, say good and end it. - **If they raise a problem, ring them.** Text is a poor medium for problem-solving. **Batch your sends** so you are not fielding forty replies at once. Twenty or thirty a day is manageable. ### Conversational AI, with a caveat Automated responders can handle first-line replies, and they are genuinely useful for out-of-hours acknowledgement. **Rules if you use one** - **Disclose that it is automated.** Pretending otherwise is both a trust risk and, in some jurisdictions, a regulatory one. - **Hand off to a human quickly**, on any complexity or any negative sentiment. - **Never let it handle a complaint.** - **Voice is stricter than text.** Regulators treat AI-generated voice as artificial or prerecorded, which brings its own consent requirements. Keep outbound AI voice consent-gated. ### Measure it - **Reply rate.** A good check-in gets a meaningful proportion of replies. If yours gets almost none, it reads as automated. - **Bookings within 30 days of a check-in.** - **Opt-out rate per send.** Watch the trend, not the absolute. - **Delivery failures**, which indicate list decay. Send the six-month check-in to twenty past customers this week, from your own number, with no link in it. The reply rate will tell you more about your customer relationships than any survey. **Need a pro to set it up?** [BOOK A CALL]