Text marketing sends short messages, such as appointment reminders, offers and order updates, straight to customers' phones. Use it by collecting clear written opt-in consent, sending a few genuinely useful texts a month, honoring every opt-out and tracking results against sales. Pew Research Center finds 98% of U.S. adults own a cellphone, so the channel reaches nearly everyone.
What is text marketing, and is it worth it for a small business?
Text marketing, also called SMS marketing, means sending permission-based promotional or informational messages to customers' mobile phones, and it pays off best for businesses with repeat customers, appointments or time-sensitive offers.
The case starts with reach. Pew Research Center's 2025 survey found that 98% of U.S. adults own a cellphone and 91% own a smartphone, up from 35% smartphone ownership in its first survey in 2011. Texts are short and land where people already look many times a day, which suits messages with a deadline: a table open tonight, an appointment slot that just freed up, a sale that ends at 6 p.m.
It suits some businesses better than others. Salons, dental and medical offices, auto shops, restaurants, gyms and home-service companies have natural reasons to text, such as reminders and confirmations. A business that sells once every few years has fewer of them and will usually get more from email marketing for small business, which handles longer content better.
What are the legal rules for marketing texts?
Before you send a single promotional text, you need the customer's prior express written consent, a working opt-out and records that prove both, because the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is strict and its penalties apply per message.
The FCC's enforcement advisory on robotexts explains that the TCPA prohibits autodialed text messages to mobile numbers without the recipient's prior express consent, that the sender carries the burden of proving consent was obtained, and that recipients can revoke consent at any time using any reasonable method. For marketing messages the bar is higher: FCC rules require written consent, which can be collected electronically through a website form, a keyword text or a sign-up sheet that clearly says the customer agrees to receive marketing texts from your business. Having a customer's number from a past invoice is not consent.
- Use a sign-up message that names your business, describes what you will send and how often, notes that message and data rates may apply, and explains how to opt out.
- Honor STOP, “unsubscribe” and similar replies promptly. Under the FCC advisory you may send one final text confirming the opt-out, and nothing after it.
- Keep consent records: the date, the source and the wording the customer agreed to.
- Check state law too. Several states add their own telemarketing rules, including limits on sending hours, so have an attorney review your program before launch.
Reputable SMS platforms build in opt-in confirmation, automatic STOP handling and carrier registration, which is one of the best reasons to use one rather than texting customers from a personal phone.
What should a small business send by text?
Send messages a customer would be annoyed to miss, such as reminders, confirmations, updates and genuinely good offers, and keep pure promotions to a few a month.
- Appointment reminders and confirmations reduce no-shows, the most direct return for service businesses.
- Order and service updates: “your car is ready,” “your order shipped,” “technician arriving in 30 minutes.”
- Time-limited offers to people who opted in for deals: an off-peak discount, a last-minute opening, early access to a sale.
- Review requests sent shortly after a good visit, with a direct link; see how to get more customer reviews.
- Loyalty perks tied to a customer loyalty program, such as a points balance or a birthday reward.
Write each text so it stands on its own: name your business in the first words, state the one action you want in plain language, add a short link if needed, and stay under 160 characters when you can, since longer messages may be split or cost more to send. Send during normal daytime hours in the customer's time zone, and never repeat the same promotion within a week.
How do you measure whether text marketing is working?
Measure text marketing by what it produces, such as booked appointments, redemptions and sales per message, rather than by how many texts you sent, and treat the opt-out rate as your early-warning signal.
Give each campaign its own trackable link or offer code so you can tie sales back to the message. Compare no-show rates before and after you start reminder texts. Check opt-outs after every send; if one type of message triggers a spike, send fewer of them or make them more useful. A small, engaged list that buys is worth far more than a large one that tunes out.
Budget for it like any other channel. Most SMS platforms charge a monthly fee plus per-message costs, so set a test budget, run it for 60 to 90 days and keep it only if the revenue it produces clearly beats the cost. If a channel proves itself and you want to scale it faster than cash flow allows, our guide to business funding for marketing explains how owners finance growth campaigns through a broker like The Broker Shop, which has competing lenders bid on one application, and a small business marketing budget keeps texting in proportion with your other channels.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need permission to send marketing texts to customers?
Yes. Under the federal TCPA and FCC rules, autodialed marketing texts require the recipient's prior express written consent, and the sender must be able to prove it. A phone number on an old invoice is not consent. Collect opt-in through a form or keyword that clearly describes the messages, honor every opt-out, and have an attorney review your program.
How many marketing texts should a small business send per month?
There is no legal number, but promotions lose their effect quickly when they arrive too often. Many small businesses keep promotional texts to a few a month, plus the reminders and confirmations customers expect. State the frequency when people sign up, stick to it, and cut back if opt-outs rise after a send.
Sources: Pew Research Center — Mobile Fact Sheet (2025) · Federal Communications Commission — Enforcement Advisory No. 2016-06: TCPA rules on robotexts
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See What I Qualify For →The bottom line: Text marketing works when every message is something the customer asked for and would want to receive, so build on written consent, keep promotions rare and useful, and judge each campaign by the sales it produces.