SMS
marketing
SMS marketing works when a message is short, expected and useful right now: a reminder for tomorrow's appointment, a note that the car is ready, a heads-up that the first snow tires are in. I set up texting that customers agreed to, with consent records and a STOP keyword that works.
Free: a 30-minute call, an action plan and a price range in writing.
Six jobs SMS
does better than email
Fewer no-shows at clinics, salons, garages and tutoring centres, with a reply option to confirm or reschedule.
Repairs, alterations, prescriptions or online orders: one line, sent the moment the job is done.
Tire changeovers, furnace checks, patio season, back-to-school. Short and timed to the calendar.
A cancelled slot offered to regulars who opted in for exactly that.
A quick check-in for customers who asked for a price and went quiet.
A link to your Google profile right after a visit, while the experience is fresh.
An email series
that works for you
After signing up, customers get the next messages at the right moment, and you see what they opened and clicked.
- Welcome and tips
- An offer on the right day
- Reminder about the next appointment
Setting up SMS
in 4 steps
SMS marketing
pricing
SMS work is quoted individually after a short call. Per-message fees are charged by the texting platform and paid by you directly. Prices are in Canadian dollars.
Fixed scope and deadlines in writing.
- Tool and number setup
- Consent and opt-out flow
- Reminder and follow-up messages
- Connection to booking or CRM
If you already text customers and want a check on consent and wording.
- Review of your messages
- CASL questions answered
When SMS marketing makes sense
SMS marketing is the most direct channel you have. A text usually gets read within minutes, which is exactly why it should be used sparingly. The businesses that get the most from texting are the ones with appointments, pickups or seasonal services: clinics, salons, garages, tutoring, cleaning, home services, small restaurants that take reservations. For them, a short text at the right moment saves real money in no-shows and forgotten pickups.
For a shop selling clothing online, text is a supporting player. Email carries the newsletters and longer offers; SMS is reserved for order updates and the occasional launch. I set up the split so each channel does what it's good at, and both feed the same email marketing list and reporting.
Consent, identification and opt-out
Canada's anti-spam law covers commercial electronic messages, which includes texts. In practice that means:
- Consent before promotional texts. A checkbox at booking or checkout that isn't pre-ticked, a keyword customers text to join, or another clear sign that they want to hear from you. Implied consent from a recent purchase can apply too, for a set period.
- Who's texting. Each message names your business. When there's no room for full contact details, they should be one click away.
- A working opt-out. STOP and similar replies must be honoured. A good platform handles this automatically and keeps a record.
You can read more about the rules in my article on SMS marketing in Canada. I'm not a lawyer, and for unusual cases you should ask one, but most small businesses fit the standard pattern well.
Writing texts people don't hate
A good marketing text is one sentence, maybe two. It says who you are, what's happening and what to do, without ALL CAPS or a string of emojis. Compare:
- Weak: HUGE SALE THIS WEEKEND!!! Visit us now!!!
- Better: (Your garage name): winter tire changeovers open next week. Reply BOOK and we'll text you two times. Reply STOP to opt out.
The second one gives a reason, an easy action and an exit. It also avoids links where they aren't needed, because unknown links in texts make people nervous after years of scam messages.
Connecting texts to the rest of your system
On its own, a texting tool is another inbox to check. Connected to your booking software or CRM, it becomes part of the process: reminders go out automatically, replies are logged on the customer's card, and someone who opts out of texts can still receive email if they agreed to that. For businesses already using email automation, SMS can slot in as one step of a flow, for instance a text the day before an appointment after an email confirmation a week earlier.
The number itself matters too. A local long code feels personal and supports conversations. Short codes suit high volumes but take longer to approve and cost more. Many small businesses do fine with a regular Canadian number that's enabled for business texting.
What it costs to run
You'll have two kinds of cost: my setup work, quoted after a short call, and the texting platform's fees, which usually include a monthly charge plus a small fee per message. Those fees go straight to the platform, on an account in your name. If you also want a booking assistant that talks to customers in chat, the booking bot page explains how that works alongside reminders. To start, book a free 30-minute consultation and bring a rough count of appointments or orders per month.
Texting fits
with these
SMS marketing
questions
Do I need consent to text my customers in Canada?
For commercial texts, yes. CASL treats text messages the same way as email: you need express or implied consent, you have to identify your business, and every message must offer a way to opt out. Purely transactional texts, like a reminder for an appointment the customer booked, are treated more leniently, but they still shouldn't carry sales offers.
How often can I send marketing texts?
Far less often than email. For most businesses, a few promotional texts a year plus reminders tied to real bookings is plenty. Texts feel personal, so too many quickly lead to opt-outs. I usually suggest keeping offers by email and saving SMS for things that are time-sensitive.
Can customers reply to the texts?
Yes, if the number is set up for two-way messaging, which I recommend. Customers reply to confirm, ask a question or reschedule, and the replies go to a shared inbox or straight into your CRM. Keywords like STOP are handled automatically, so nobody has to unsubscribe people by hand.
Is SMS better than WhatsApp?
It depends on your customers. SMS reaches every phone without an app. WhatsApp is popular with many immigrant communities and allows richer messages, but it has its own rules and approved templates. Some businesses use both: SMS for reminders, WhatsApp for conversations. I'll suggest the split after looking at who your customers are.
What time of day should texts go out?
During normal waking hours in the customer's time zone. A text at 7 a.m. Pacific sent from an Eastern schedule is a good way to lose a subscriber. I set sending windows by time zone, and for reminders I usually aim for late morning or early evening the day before.
Let's start with
the reminder text
Tell me what booking or store system you use. On a free 30-minute call I'll check whether it can send reminders by text and what it would take.