Why SMS is the Most Reliable Channel for Home Repair & Maintenance Updates

Have you experienced this? You have booked a plumber to fix your leaky faucet, but they don’t show up on time. You tried many times to call them, leave a voicemail, and wait. After waiting for many hours, you still have no clue whether or not they’re coming. It’s quite frustrating, right? Well, you’re not alone. The exact pain the homeowners face when home repair updates are delayed or missed. A communication gap, or breakdown, becomes a reason for wasted time, unhappy customers, and missed workdays. Home service businesses understand this struggle. If they fail to keep their customers informed, it hurts their reputation and decreases bookings. That’s why, these days, more and more home repair and service companies are switching to SMS, which is the most reliable, fastest, and simplest way to keep customers informed.

In this blog, we will discuss why SMS is the most reliable channel for home repair and maintenance updates. However, before diving deep into it, let’s first understand what communication problems the home repair and maintenance businesses face.

The Home Repair Communication Problem

Every day, home repair and maintenance businesses deal with multiple businesses. Therefore, managing appointments, rescheduling jobs, and sharing service updates takes a lot of time and effort. Traditional communication methods, such as phone calls and emails, have their own limitations. Let’s understand how different communication channels perform.

The above comparison table clearly shows that SMS stands out because it offers the highest open rate and fastest engagement. It makes it the most reliable way to keep customers informed about service updates. Moreover, when customers receive updates through SMS, most of them will see your message instantly.

Why Do Home Repair Companies Rely on SMS?

Did you know that 98% of text messages are opened, and most of them are read within 3 minutes? It makes SMS the fastest way to inform customers about any updates. Let’s understand it better through a simple scenario.

Imagine a pipe burst in Emily’s kitchen at 8 AM. She booked a repair service and waits for the confirmation. Hours passed, but there was no update. It increased her anxiety. Nowadays, customers prefer instant updates instead of endless waiting. Here is where SMS comes in handy. It is fast, reliable, and most customers always read it.

Moreover, home repair companies are realizing that email inboxes get crowded, phone calls often go unanswered, and app notifications can be missed. However, SMS cuts through the noise. It lands directly on the customer’s phone, right where they will see it.

Why Do Local Pros Prefer SMS for Service Updates?

Usually, local pros are constantly on the move. Therefore, SMS makes it super easy for them to confirm appointments, send ETA updates, or inform customers regarding delays while they’re still on the job site. Using SMS, they can communicate fast and get a higher response rate. This is because customers generally respond faster to text messages compared to emails or calls. It is convenient for both local pros and customers because there are no more phone calls or missed emails. They will receive quick updates.

Real-World Use Cases

1. Plumbing

A local home repair service company can send a text message confirming that a plumber is on the way with an estimated arrival time.

2. HVAC

HVAC companies can notify customers about upcoming seasonal maintenance so that they never miss a tune-up.

Hi Mark, it’s time for your annual HVAC tune-up!

Reply BOOK to schedule a convenient time, or call us at [phone number].

Reply STOP to unsubscribe – XYZ HVAC.

3. Electrical Work

Electricians can share real-time updates if the repair takes longer than expected.

When local pros send such messages, it makes communication easy, transparent, and actionable for both service providers and customers. Due to this, home repair companies can enjoy fewer missed appointments, more 5-star reviews, and happier customers who will give repeat business.

How to Track and Optimize Customer Engagement With SMS!

Sending updates to customers is not enough; companies must also understand how customers interact with their text messages. It helps them understand their customers better, optimize their SMS strategy, and run targeted SMS marketing automation. Here is where SMS tracking and analytics can help.

Analytics and SMS delivery tracking are helpful in knowing if your messages reached the customer. It also helps you know how many people opened your message. Click-through rate helps measure how many people clicked on offers or payment links. When you have this data, you can refine your message timing and content to get better results.

For example, if most customers open messages in the morning, you can schedule reminders early in the day for maximum impact. Automated SMS marketing software like Textdrip helps you do this. The tool helps you track several metrics like delivery rate, response rate, etc.

If you want to learn more about which SMS metrics you should track and how to improve them, we have covered an in-depth blog on it. Please read it thoroughly. Also, read how to measure the success of your SMS marketing campaign to learn how your SMS campaign is performing.

How Can SMS Marketing Act as a Growth Engine for a Home Repair Business?

If you’re thinking SMS is just for reminders, you’re mistaken. SMS is a powerful marketing tool that helps you grow your business. Here’s how it can help!

1. Building and Growing a Subscriber List

You can ask your happy customers to opt in to receive future updates, special offers, and seasonal tips. It will help you build a loyal subscriber list. They will be more likely to rebook and refer you to others.

2. Automation, Retargeting, & Promotion

Using SMS automation, you can send follow-up offers such as “10% off your next service” and run seasonal campaigns such as “Get your AC checked before summer.”

Besides, you can even retarget inactive customers with the friendly push. All this happens automatically, which saves you hours of manual follow-ups.

How SMS Helps in Never Missing Scheduled Maintenance and Sending Reliable Reminders?

Scheduled maintenance is easy to forget. However, by sending your customers SMS reminders, you can reduce it. Let’s understand how SMS reminders can play a major role in decreasing missed scheduled maintenance.

For example,

Mark always forgets his AC maintenance until it’s too late. However, this summer, he got a quick SMS reminder from his local HVAC company a week before the due date. He replies, “BOOK.” Then he confirms a convenient slot for him. This way, he avoids an expensive emergency repair.

SMS is not only for reminders, but it also works as a support channel. If the customer has any questions or wants to reschedule, they can reply to the reminder text instead of waiting on hold.

By sending SMS reminders, businesses can reduce no-shows, increase repeat bookings, and improve customer trust. SMS marketing software, such as Textdrip, even lets you automate these reminders. Therefore, your team can save time and keep your customers engaged.

Let Textdrip Help Thrive Your Home Repair and Maintenance Service Business

It’s a fact that home repair businesses thrive when communication is fast, smooth, and highly reliable. SMS is the easiest and quickest way to make that happen. It reduces missed appointments, keeps customers informed, and drives repeat business. One software that enables all this is Textdrip. It’s an automated SMS marketing platform that makes SMS effortless. Using Textdrip’s impressive features, such as drip SMS campaigns, SMS automation, two-way texting, personalization, and scheduling messages, you can send reminders to automate follow-ups and track engagement. Therefore, start using Textdrip today and turn your every update into an opportunity to impress your customers.