Most articles about building SMS subscriber lists focus on website popups, social media contests, and online opt-in forms. That's fine if you're an e-commerce brand. But if you run a service business, most of your customer interactions happen offline: at job sites, during appointments, over the phone, at checkout counters, or through paper intake forms.
The best opportunity to collect phone numbers for SMS marketing happens during these real-world interactions when customers are already engaged with your business. Someone who just had excellent HVAC service is more likely to opt in for maintenance reminders than a random website visitor. A dental patient checking in for an appointment is already providing information and will easily add text consent. A restaurant customer paying their bill can opt in for weekly specials in the 30 seconds it takes to run their card.
This guide shows you exactly how to collect phone numbers during the everyday interactions service businesses have with customers. You'll get specific scripts for different scenarios, methods for training your team to ask consistently, and ways to handle the common hesitations customers express. These techniques work whether you're a solo electrician or managing a team of 20 service technicians.