Marketing automation for contractors: follow-up that works while you're on a job
When you’re under a sink or up on a roof, you can’t answer the phone. That call doesn’t wait. It goes to the next name on the list.
I was a plumber for five years. I know what the phone does while your hands are full. Marketing automation for contractors, the way I’d set it up for you, is three simple things that keep working when you can’t: a text back when you miss a call, a review request after every job, and follow-up for the big jobs people take weeks to decide on.
That’s it. No 40-email drip campaigns. No robot pretending to be you.
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1. Missed-call text back
Someone calls, you don’t pick up, and right away they get a text from your business number. Something like: “Sorry I missed you, I’m on a job. What do you need help with? I’ll call you back shortly.”
Now they’ve heard from a person, not a voicemail beep. And if they text back, you know what the job is before you call.
This matters most when you’re paying for the call. If you’re spending money on Google Ads or Local Services Ads, a missed call with no follow-up is money spent on nothing.
Texting has rules, and I follow them. More on that below.
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2. Review requests after every job
When a job’s marked done, the customer gets a text or email asking for a Google review, with a link straight to your profile.
Two rules I follow. Every customer gets asked, not just the happy ones. And nobody gets paid or rewarded for a review. Google bans both.
Good work doesn’t turn into reviews on its own. Somebody has to ask, every time. Your reviews live on your Google Business Profile, and that’s where these requests point.
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3. Follow-up for jobs people sit on
A water heater is a same-day decision. A kitchen remodel or a new roof isn’t. People get your quote, then go quiet for weeks while they compare, save up, or talk it over.
For those jobs I’d set up a short, spaced-out follow-up. A check-in a few days after the quote. Photos of a similar job a week or two later. A last “still thinking about it?” before the quote goes stale. Written in your voice, and it stops the moment they reply.
Not every quote comes back. But you’ll know where you stand instead of guessing.
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The texting rules I don’t skip
Texting customers isn’t a free-for-all. The phone carriers check who’s sending and whether people agreed to it.
Your number has to be registered. U.S. carriers require businesses that text from a regular 10-digit number through software to register under a system called A2P 10DLC. That means registering your business (the “brand”) and what you’re texting about (the “campaign”), including how people opt in and opt out. That registration has to be done in your business’s name before any texts go out. I set it up with you, in a tool you own.
People have to agree to get texts. Consent is required. I add consent language to your forms and a way to opt out on every message.
I’m not a lawyer, and I won’t pretend to be one on this page. I just don’t cut corners on the setup.
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What stays human
Automation handles the reminders. You handle the people. I don’t automate quotes, prices, scheduling promises, or anything a customer should hear from you. If a message would sound weird coming from a machine, it doesn’t get automated.
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Trades where follow-up pays off most
- Plumbing: emergency calls come in while you’re on another job. Missed-call text back earns its keep here.
- Remodeling: long decisions and big quotes. The quote follow-up does the heavy lifting.
- Roofing: replacement quotes that sit while homeowners deal with insurance and compare bids.
Questions
Will the texts sound like a robot?
Not if I do my job. I write them the way you talk, and you approve every message before anything goes out.
What software do you use?
I set it up in a tool you own, under your business’s name. The account and the customer list are yours, and they stay with you if you ever leave.
Can I text my old customers about a sale?
Only people who agreed to get texts from you. If someone never agreed, I don’t set up texts to them.
Is automating review requests against Google’s rules?
No, as long as every customer gets asked and nobody gets paid for a review. Google’s rules ban paid reviews and asking only the happy customers.
Do I still have to call people back?
Yes. The text buys you time. It doesn’t do the job for you.
Next step
Plug the leaks first
A missed call you never return is a job you paid for and handed to someone else. Follow-up fits into the 30-day pilot alongside your ads. The setup fee is one-time, paid up front and non-refundable. The 30 days start the day your ads go live. The monthly management fee doesn’t start until day 30 or your first qualified lead, whichever comes later. A qualified lead is a lead from my marketing that you send a quote to. See the 30-day pilot or see all services.