SMS Marketing for Tradespeople

The construction industry is a massive contributor to the UK’s economy, so much so it is often used as an illustrative measure of the health of the country’s economy. However, talk about the construction industry to the average person and they will think of big building projects like civil engineering and housing estates. The reality is the construction industry encompasses all the services required in both building and maintaining housing and the skilled people that supply these services. As a highly competitive sector where time and money are often the biggest challenges, it makes sense to use SMS Marketing as the primary means of communication with customers. Read on to learn more.

Time is Money

We all need somewhere to live and whether you rent or own your home, domestic situations frequently arise where a skilled person is required to deal with electrics, plumbing, plastering, building, carpentry, carpet laying… you name the job, there will be a tradesperson near you who specialises in it. These essential yet often overlooked hard working sole traders and small businesses all face the same pressures as any other business including how to attract and retain more customers.

Many rely on either local advertising and/or the proven method of steadily building their reputation by word-of-mouth but this is not always enough. Sometimes clearer marketing strategies are needed but for sole traders and very small businesses providing services, their time and money are considerably constrained. Email, postal and other advertising campaigns tend to be dismissed as too time-consuming and expensive to set up, especially when their precious time and money needs to be spent on their immediate core work and revenue source.

Most tradesmen and women are already perfectly comfortable with communicating dates, times and prices directly with their clients but not all are aware of how much more they could utilise this contact channel to increase their marketing. If you are a ‘tradie’ looking for a cost and time effective means to market your services, then consider SMS Marketing.

Benefits of SMS Marketing Compared to Other Channels:

• Direct and to the point. Because the number of characters allowed in a text message is limited, you have to get your message across concisely, unlike emails which are often too wordy, making the reader lose interest before they have got to the point.
• Unrivalled open rate. Ofcom statistics show 93% of people own a mobile phone and 98% of text messages are read within 2 minutes of receipt. In comparison, only around 20% of marketing emails are actually opened.
• Higher conversion rate. The rate at which recipients actually respond to your marketing messages is much higher with text messages, around 35%, compare that to email at just 2% and you see which is more effective.
• Reliable. While your emails may get filed in ‘spam’ or your postal flyers get lost in transit, text messages will go straight to where you send them.
• Cost effective. Depending on volume, costs can work out as little as 2.1p per text*. Click here for full pricing information.
• Time effective Texts can be adapted or personalised so you can send them to specific groups or individuals and it takes very little time to set up.

How to Use SMS Marketing With Private Customers:

• A simple means to book and confirm jobs.
• Quickly arrange quotes and prices.
• Remind customers of already booked appointments closer to the date/time to ensure they are present.
• Inform customers of materials ordered or required.
• Encourage return custom by reminding customers when routine inspections or maintenance work becomes due, such as gas boiler servicing.
• Update customers with brief work progress reports or notices of completion.
• Give clear instructions for householder care or checks once the job is completed.
• Receive and answer customer questions quickly wherever you are.
• Send payment requests or overdue reminders.
• Send seasonal reminders of maintenance tips at appropriate times of the year. For example: a plumber might choose to send information about protecting pipework during the winter.
• Provide offers or discounts for jobs. This could be tied in with tips or recommended maintenance ideas to increase enquiries and bookings.
• Request customer feedback.
• Availability to use contact groups to send multiple recipients the same message. For example: confirming job dates with both landlords and tenants.

Of course, running a business providing services means you are dealing not just with private customers but with a variety of individuals and other organisations on a daily basis. Text messaging also allows tradespeople to communicate quickly and effectively with contractors, sub-contractors and employees to arrange jobs, locations, prices and more. But as a tradesperson, you probably already know that and have been doing it for years because it’s the quickest way to organise them all.

What you might not have realised is that with an integrated solution such as that offered by Fastsms, it is now easier than ever to seamlessly join everything up and manage your SMS Marketing online, integrating it with your email inbox or using the cloud-based platform to manage messages and replies, as well as access all important data. Click here to learn more about sending and receiving messages.

For larger or growing companies, we also offer API integration with all the leading CRM platforms giving you incredible versatility.