The three rules of a text that lands well
An SMS is read in one second and never read twice. So it has to say at a glance who is writing, why, and what the customer should do. First rule: your business name right at the start of the message, because an unknown number means nothing to anyone. Second rule: one action per SMS, never two. A message that asks both to confirm and to call back gets neither.
Third rule, the most concrete: length. A standard SMS fits in 160 characters, but as soon as it contains certain special characters or emojis it switches to another encoding and drops to 70 characters per segment. You then pay for several SMS without realising. Write short, reread, cut. And watch the sending time: between 09:00 and 19:00 on weekdays you are fine, outside that you come across as an intrusion.
Confirm and remind an appointment
“Salon Marie: that is booked in for Thursday 12th at 14:30, cut and colour. See you Thursday.”
“Garage Vernay: reminder of your appointment tomorrow at 09:00, 14 rue des Docks. Reply YES to confirm or NO to cancel.”
“Cabinet Perrin: your session is in 2 hours. Please arrive 5 min early with your prescription.”
Tell customers an order is ready
“Boucherie Bellec: your order is ready, pickup until 19:30 today. Thank you!”
“Fleurs & Co: your bouquet is waiting in the shop. We close at 19:00, see you shortly.”
“Atelier Roux: part received, your bike is fixed. Collect it Tuesday to Saturday, 9:00-18:00.”
Follow up without annoying
“Menuiserie Dumas: your quote of 12 March is still valid until the 30th. A question, an adjustment? Reply here and I will take care of it.”
“Institut Lila: it has been a while, is everything all right? Your Thursday evening slot is still free this week if you fancy it.”
“Cave Saint-Just: the case you reserved goes on Friday. Would you like me to hold it?”
Handling the unexpected
“Plomberie Aubert: something came up this morning, I will be about 40 min late for our 10:00 appointment. Does that work for you, or shall I reschedule? Sorry for the disruption.”
“Auto-école Rhône: a slot has just come free tomorrow at 16:00 after a cancellation. It is yours if you want it, reply YES.”
“Restaurant Le Comptoir: we have to cancel your table on Saturday, a technical problem in the kitchen. I will call you back to rebook, and the aperitif is on us.”
Say thank you and ask for a review
“Thanks for coming in! If you enjoyed everything, a Google review helps us a lot: [link]. Boulangerie Marest.”
“Toiture Lyon Sud: job finished, thank you for your trust. A word on our Google Business Profile would mean a lot to the team: [link].”
“Institut Lila: we hope you enjoyed your treatment. Your feedback in 30 seconds: [link]. Thank you!”
Two rules not to forget
A service SMS, confirming an appointment or announcing that an order is ready, can be sent freely to a customer whose number you hold as part of the job. A promotional SMS requires prior consent and must always offer a free, simple way to unsubscribe, the STOP wording at the end of the message. Mixing the two, slipping an offer into an appointment reminder, is the best way to lose both.
One more point: keep a record of what you send. A customer who gets the same reminder twice because two people entered it by hand cancels more often than they confirm.
These texts can go out on their own
Writing a good text takes two minutes. Thinking of it thirty times a week, at the right moment, for the right person, is what does not hold up. That is exactly what we wire up when we automate bookings and appointments: confirmation when booked, reminder the day before, follow-up if there is silence, in your tone and with your name. Same logic for orders ready in a food trade, such as a butcher and delicatessen, where the text replaces the end-of-day phone calls.