Dealer Text Marketing: How Dealerships Use SMS Without Burning the List
Dealer text marketing gets read. That is the reason to use it and the reason to be careful with it. A text that helps the customer earns a reply. A text they did not ask for earns an opt-out, a complaint or worse. Here is how dealerships use SMS well.
Start with permission
Marketing texts require the customer’s consent, and carriers expect proof of it. Before you send anything:
- Collect opt-in in writing, with clear wording about what they will receive.
- Register your business and your campaign with the carriers through your texting provider. This is often called 10DLC registration.
- Include your dealership name in the message and tell people they can reply STOP to opt out and HELP for help.
- Honor every opt-out the same day and never add that number back.
- Send during reasonable daytime hours in the customer’s time zone.
This is a summary, not legal advice. Have your compliance counsel review your consent wording and process.
Six uses that earn replies
- Appointment confirmations. A confirmation the day before with the time and the name of the person they will meet.
- Fast lead follow-up. A short, personal reply to a customer who just asked a question.
- Service reminders. Due for service, vehicle ready, recall notice.
- Trade and equity offers. A specific reason to come in, sent to customers it applies to.
- Event invitations. A sales event with dates and a way to book a time.
- After the sale. A thank you, a review request and a contact for questions.
How to write a dealership text
- Say who you are in the first line.
- Keep it to one idea and one question.
- Write the way a person texts. No all caps and no stack of links.
- Make the next step easy: a time, a yes or no, or one link.
What to measure
- Reply rate. Replies divided by texts delivered.
- Appointment rate. Appointments set from text conversations.
- Opt-out rate. If it climbs, you are sending too often or to the wrong people.
- Delivery rate. A drop can mean a carrier registration problem.
Text works best as one channel of several
Customers answer where they are comfortable. During a Facebook Sales Event our live US-based bilingual BDC follows up through Messenger, text and email in English and Spanish, 24/7/365, and sets the appointment in whichever channel the customer replies in. Our lead response rate is 98.6%.
Frequently asked questions
Is text marketing legal for car dealerships?
Yes, with the customer’s consent and a working opt-out. Review your process with counsel.
How often should a dealership text customers?
Only when there is something useful to say. For marketing messages, a few times a month is plenty for most lists.
What is the best time to text a customer?
Late morning through early evening in their time zone, and right away when they have just contacted you.
See what an event would look like for your store
Willowood Ventures runs Facebook Sales Events for 600+ dealer partners and manages $4 million per month in social advertising. Dealers see approximately 800% average ROI, and 90% of them rebook. Book a demo and we will walk through your market, your inventory and your set appointment target.
