Replying to customers by text
Not every customer wants to ring. Some text, some use the chat on your website, some message your Facebook Page at 10pm. Here’s how to answer them without living on your phone.
The short answer
Answer quickly, from your business name, and get to a booking. Let software handle the first reply and the routine bookings, and keep the tricky ones for yourself.
Whatever answers for you should say it’s an assistant, and should hand anything urgent straight to you.
Where the messages come from
- Texts to your business mobile
- Replies to a missed-call text
- The chat box on your website
- Messages to your Facebook Page and Instagram
- WhatsApp, if your customers use it
What to automate, and what to keep
| Hand it over | Keep it yourself | |
|---|---|---|
| The first reply | Thanks, and a question about the job | Nothing. Speed matters here |
| Routine bookings | Offer free times and book one | Jobs that need a proper chat first |
| Prices | Only the ones you’re happy to give word for word | Anything that needs a look |
| Emergencies | Spot them and send them to you | The job itself |
| Complaints | Take the details | The conversation |
A missed-call text that gets a reply
Short, from your business name, and ending with a question they can answer in one go. For example: “Hi, it’s Mario’s Plumbing. Sorry we missed you, we’re on a job. What do you need done, and what suburb are you in?”
Skip the long apology and the marketing. They rang for a reason. Ask what it is.
Rules worth keeping
- Say it’s an assistant. Customers forgive a robot. They don’t forgive being fooled
- Don’t text people at 11pm about a booking. Hold it until morning
- Follow up a quiet quote request twice at most, then stop
- Let any reply stop the follow-ups
- Read the conversations, at least for the first few weeks
Texting questions
Should my website have a chat box?
If people visit it at night, it helps. A chat box that answers and books is more use than a contact form that waits for Monday.
Can one assistant answer texts and Facebook?
Yes. Ours answers texts, your website chat, and messages to your Facebook Page and Instagram. WhatsApp has its own fees on top.
Will it give out prices I don’t want it to?
It shouldn’t. Ours only gives the prices you’ve told us it can give.
How fast should I reply?
Fast enough that they don’t message the next tradie first. An automatic first reply takes care of that.
This phone is answered.
Ring us on the number below, or email. Either way, a human gets back to you.
0468 075 000Or email hello@offsitemate.com.au