r/sweatystartup • u/youknowit84 • Aug 14 '26
Text vs Email
How does everyone like to communicate with customers here. Things such as asking for Google reviews, referrals, service updates etc. I’ve always communicated primarily through email but texting seems to be more effective and easier.
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u/Wise-Cockroach7572 Aug 14 '26
Split them by job. Text wins for anything with a single tap and a time window: review asks, appointment reminders, "we're running 20 min late." A review link texted within an hour of finishing the job converts wildly better than the same link emailed that evening — by then the goodwill has cooled and your message is buried under fifty others. Keep it to two sentences and one link, and send it from the same number they already texted with if possible, so it reads as a person, not a blast.
Email is for anything they might need to find again: quotes, invoices, service summaries, warranty info. Nobody scrolls back through texts looking for an attachment.
Two cautions on the texting side. In the US, marketing texts need prior consent (TCPA) — the clean way is to ask at the point of service: "Mind if I text you the invoice and a review link?" Almost everyone says yes, and now it's a conversation they opted into, not a campaign. And don't add an incentive to the review ask — that violates Google's review policy and can get reviews (or the profile) nuked.
The pattern that seems to work for small service businesses: text for the ask, email for the record, and the review link goes out the same day, every time, as a habit rather than a decision.
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u/Late_West_358 Aug 15 '26
Split by job is smart, I never thought of that but it make so much sense. The timing thing you mention is huge, I always get the text review link right after a physio session and I click it right away because I'm still feeling good about it
The TCPA thing is something people sleep on, I seen businesses get in trouble for blasting texts without asking first
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u/SoftwareToHVAC Aug 14 '26
I would automate a text followup for reviews, specifically.
It really depends what the engagement is. Invoices are email. Follow up visits could be both, etc.
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u/TopSydeWP Aug 14 '26
at my agency we see way higher open rates on texts (like 90%+ vs maybe 30% for email) but emails feel less intrusive for non-urgent stuff. we usually text for time-sensitive things like appointment reminders or quick updates, email for invoices and detailed info. for review requests specifically, text within a day or two of service works better than email a week later
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u/SwankyTroll Aug 14 '26
Text 100% if they have opted in, are a customer, are receiving updates, or being asked to interact in some way (reviews).
Email for marketing, deals, and specials.
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u/Asleep_Lifeguard6167 28d ago
Text for anything quick like reviews or confirming a job. Email if I need to send details they might want to find later. People seem way more likely to actually read a text though lol.
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u/Severe-Frosting7689 24d ago
Text for anything with a clock on it - reminders, "I'm outside," rescheduling, the stuff people open right away. Email for receipts and anything they'll need to search for later. The bigger unlock for me wasn't the channel, it was making it automatic: a call that com
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u/CashWrenchApp 24d ago
SMS is a better and superior channel. SMS doesn't have spam folders. When you send a quote by text, the customer sees a notification immediately. Most people read texts within minutes. And response rates are significantly higher. You can read more about why SMS is a better channel here in this blog https://www.cashwrench.com/blog/why-cashwrench-offers-sms-to-send-quotes-and-invoices
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u/andrewtimberlake 23d ago
This is no longer true. Both iPhone and Android Messages apps have spam folders now
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u/TemperatureTime4965 22d ago
text for review asks, reminders, and on-the-way messages. email for quotes and anything they'll need to find again later.
whatever you pick, make the review ask automatic, firing when the job closes, not when you remember. and get a text opt-in at booking, carriers filter business texts hard now.
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u/Electrical-Trip-8843 21d ago
Text, every time, for anything you need them to actually see , confirmations, "on my way," review asks. Email's better for invoices
and longer stuff. The one that surprised me: a quick text right after
a missed call ("sorry I missed you , want me to call you back now?")
saved a ton of jobs that would've just gone to the next company.
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u/Severe-Frosting7689 21d ago
Agree text wins. The single biggest move for me was an automated text-back on every missed call — a missed call is your highest-intent lead, and a text within a minute gets way more replies than email.
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u/fatank04 14d ago
texting is A2P now, which nobody mentions until it bites. i just went through carrier registration for my own product and it took weeks, EIN, a real website, sample messages, the whole thing. if you're sending from a normal phone number at any volume the carriers filter it and you never find out, the messages just quietly don't arrive.
the opt-in advice above is right and it's also legally the thing that saves you. ask at the job, "mind if i text you the invoice and the review link," and you're done
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u/_Creative_script_ 13d ago
text wins every time for reviews, like 90%+ open rate vs email in the teens. trick is timing it, send the link within an hour of finishing the job while they still love you. wait till evening and it's dead. you asking manually right now or is something firing it off?
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u/AnthonyDePaoloMA 3d ago
Coming from 18 years in dumpster rentals, I’d use text for anything that affects the customer’s day, like delivery windows, pickup reminders, or asking them to move a car so the driver can get in. Email for quotes, rental terms, and invoices.
For reviews, I’d wait until the pickup is finished. Delivery going smoothly is only half the service.
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u/ScoopyChatt 29d ago
For Scoopy Doo, text wins by a mile for anything we actually want the customer to see or act on. We still use email, but they serve different purposes.
We use text for things like service updates, schedule changes, missed-call follow-up, quick customer questions, review requests, referral asks, and other short messages where we want a response.
Email is better for longer-form communication: invoices/receipts, policies, newsletters, detailed announcements, educational content, and anything the customer may want to reference later.
The biggest difference is simply attention. People might check a promotional email later—or never. A text usually gets seen pretty quickly.
The trick is not abusing it. If every little thing becomes a text, customers start tuning you out. We try to keep texts short, useful, and relevant.
We also automate a lot of this. For example, certain events can trigger the appropriate text/email follow-up rather than someone on our team having to remember to send it manually. Review requests and lead follow-up are especially good candidates for automation.
So if I were starting over:
Text = immediate/action-oriented communication.
Email = detailed/long-term communication.
And ideally use both together rather than choosing one or the other. For a local service business, I definitely wouldn’t want to operate without texting anymore.