SMS is short, direct, and high-open-rate — it's still the fastest way to bring customers back for a service due, a stock clearance, or a seasonal special. Here's how to send one without spamming.
Before you start
- You need a marketing-enabled plan (Auto Grow or above). Settings → Billing → Plan.
- SMS credits — visible top-right of Marketing. Out of credits = campaign won't send. Top up under Subscriptions.
- An audience defined, or you'll be picking a pre-made one.
Creating the campaign
- Marketing → Create campaign.
- Name — internal only. Be specific: "Brake-pads stock clearance Apr 28" beats "Promo".
- Channel — SMS.
- Audience — pick a saved audience, or build one inline (filter by tags, last visit, vehicle type, spend range).
- Message — keep under 160 characters or it splits into 2 SMS (= 2 credits per recipient). Use variables:
{{first_name}},{{shop_name}},{{shop_phone}}. - Send-time — Send now, or Schedule for a specific date and time. Always preview the cost (credits × audience size) before scheduling.
Message examples
Hi {{first_name}}, your last service at {{shop_name}} was 6 months ago. AC service free with any oil change this week — call us {{shop_phone}}.
{{first_name}}, brake pads at flat ₹999 fitted, this Saturday only at {{shop_name}}. Reply STOP to opt out.
Compliance: include a way to opt out (Reply STOP) — required by most countries' SMS regulations. Customers who reply STOP are auto-tagged do-not-message and excluded from future campaigns automatically.
Reading the report
Marketing → click the campaign:
- Sent — handed to the SMS gateway.
- Delivered — confirmed delivered to the device. Number lower than Sent? Likely invalid numbers in your audience.
- Failed — number invalid, ported, or out of service.
- Click-through (if your message had a short link) — recipients who tapped it.
- Opt-outs — replies with STOP / UNSUBSCRIBE. Always <1% on a healthy list.