Great communication is at the heart of great customer service. Keeping your customers in the loop as a project progresses and answering their questions as soon as they arise will help the work go more smoothly and improve customer satisfaction. But it’s equally important to be sure you’re reaching out to customers using their preferred method of communication, so they’ll see and respond to your business texts in a timely manner.

An increasing number of homeowners would prefer to communicate with your roofing business via text messages. In fact, 69% of customers across all age groups would like to contact a business over text, and 54% are frustrated when they are unable to do so. If you’re looking to improve your customer service, adding text messaging to your communication toolbox can make a big difference. Here are 5 types of roofing business texts to send that will help you keep homeowners informed and increase customer satisfaction.

Read: The Top 6 Business Texting Stats Roofing Contractors Should Know

The 5 Roofing Business Texts You Should Be Sending

Business Text Message #1: The Appointment Reminder

More and more businesses are sending appointment reminders via text message—and as a result, your customers are coming to expect them. 83% of customers want to receive a text as an appointment reminder. In addition to being preferred by homeowners, reminder text messages help ensure that appointments are kept and your customers are always prepared for you. You’ll not only be reaching out using a preferred method, you’ll also save yourself time and avoid having to play phone tag if a customer can’t make an appointment.

Appointment reminder business texts don’t need to be long. Just include the date and time of the appointment, a brief description of what the appointment is for, and how to confirm or reschedule. If you use a roofing software system that includes the option to automate messages, you can even automate these texts to send within one day of every appointment scheduled in your system, saving you even more time.

Business Text Message #2: The “Change of Plans” Message

Heavy rain in the forecast? Accidentally double-booked? Material delivery delayed? At your roofing business, there are a lot of reasons you might have to change your schedule. When it happens, it’s important to update your customers in a timely manner and work together to find a new time that works.

Recent surveys found that 98% of text messages are opened. Sending a roofing text when there’s a change of plans will get the information in front of your customers more quickly than an email or phone call. Customers will be grateful that you’re keeping them in the loop, and you’ll get things rescheduled more quickly.

Business Text Message #3: The Progress Photo

Your customers know that work is moving forward—but they can’t get onto the roof and see it. One great way to keep them in the loop on your progress and help them understand the work you’re doing is to show them photos of the job. Since your business is likely already taking lots of photos for your own documentation, getting photos to share with your customers won’t require any extra tasks on your part.

Sending a text message with a photo or two of the job is a great way to get those photos in front of your customers. We’re all used to receiving photos over text, so it will seem natural to your customers. And since it’s quick and low-effort, you can keep customers in the loop without adding more work to your busy schedule.

Business Text Message #4: The Quick Question

Sometimes, you need a fast answer to a simple question about the job. When you need a speedy response and the question is straightforward, calling or emailing the customer can slow you down—and the customer might not respond in a timely manner.

When it comes to these types of questions, the best way to reach customers is via text message. 78% of customers respond to texts in 10 minutes or less, so you’ll get your answer quickly (vital if you’ve forgotten the gate code or you’re trying to figure out if you can lean your ladder against the fence). Quick back-and-forth communication is a natural fit for the medium of text messaging, and you won’t take up too much of the customer’s time (or yours!) for something that can be answered easily.

Business Text Message #5: The Follow-Up Message

Checking in with customers at different stages of the project helps improve customer service, gives homeowners opportunities to provide feedback, and establishes a connection that can be leveraged for more business in the future. In particular, if you’re working on a complex job with many stages, regular check-ins and follow-ups will help your customers stay in the loop throughout the process. You can also send a follow-up message after a meeting with the customer to keep the conversation going and give them an opportunity to mention anything they forgot in the moment.

You may be used to sending messages like these over email or making follow-up phone calls, but your roofing business can easily send text messages as well. Keep it short, simple, and personal. For example, “We just finished installing the gutters. How do they look?” Sending simple follow-up messages over text not only connects you to customers using their preferred method of communication, it also helps customers feel more comfortable expressing their concerns and asking questions. Instead of waiting until a job is done to find out what your customer thought, you’ll receive real-time feedback that can help you adjust if a customer is unsatisfied.

Read: How Software can Simplify Text Messaging for Roofing Contractors

Serve Customers More Effectively With Roofing Business Texts

Great customer service is essential to the growth of your roofing business. Using text messages to communicate throughout the job process will help establish your reputation as a business that is committed to customer satisfaction. From the first meeting to the final invoice, you’ll stay connected and build great relationships with your customers that you can leverage for positive reviews, referrals, or future business.

Many contractors are using software systems like AccuLynx to send roofing business text messages. Texting through roofing software enables contractors to see past messages more easily, keep business information secure, save a record of all messages associated with a given job, and set up automated business texts. To learn more about using AccuLynx to send business text messages, visit our texting page.