A homeowner fills out your contact form at 7:45pm. They've got a leaking shower. They're comparing three plumbers. Who wins?
Usually the one who texts back first — not the one who calls back Tuesday morning.
Trade enquiry emails sit in inboxes next to supplier invoices and spam. Open rates for small business email hover around 20%. SMS open rates exceed 98%, typically within three minutes.
We're not saying ditch email. We're saying SMS is the first response layer for time-sensitive local services.
"Thanks [Name] — got your enquiry about [job type]. We'll call you within 2 hours. For emergencies: [number]. — Pulse Plumbing"
"Hi [Name], still need help with [job type]? Reply YES and we'll prioritise your callback. — Pulse Plumbing"
"Last check-in — happy to quote your [job type] anytime. Book online: [link] or reply CALL. — Pulse Plumbing"
Polite. Short. Branded. Not spammy. We configure timing and copy to your trade and tone.
SMS marketing has rules. Transactional messages — responses to enquiries the customer initiated — are different from cold outreach. We set up opt-out language where required and only message people who contacted you first.
Across our trade clients, SMS follow-up typically recovers 15–25% of leads that would otherwise go cold. For a plumber getting 40 enquiries a month, that's 6–10 extra conversations — often 2–3 extra jobs.
At $297/mo for Full Stack (AI + SMS + website + Google), two extra jobs covers the quarter.