Business texting etiquette: 12 rules customers notice

Good business texting is short, identified, timely and easy to answer. Say who you are in every thread, text only at sensible hours, keep messages to a few lines, ask one question at a time, reply quickly, never send anything the customer did not agree to, and switch to a call when the topic needs one. Customers notice these habits even when they cannot name them.

Twelve rules

1. Say who you are. "Hi, it is Sam at Northside Dental." Customers have many threads; do not make them guess.
2. Text at sensible hours. Replies to someone who just wrote in are fine any time. Anything you start, send between morning and early evening.
3. Keep it short. Two or three sentences. Long texts belong in email.
4. One question at a time. Three questions in one text get one answer.
5. Use their name, spell it right. And do not guess a name you were not given.
6. Match their tone. A customer who writes "hey" does not need "Dear Ms Gomez".
7. Reply quickly, or say when you will. "Checking with the hygienist, back to you by noon."
8. No surprises. Do not text people who did not agree to it, and do not add promotions to reminders.
9. Links on your own domain. Unknown shortened links look like scams and may be filtered.
10. No sensitive details. No diagnoses, account numbers or passwords by text.
11. Know when to call. Bad news, complicated quotes and complaints go better by phone.
12. Close the loop. "All set, see you Thursday" tells the customer nothing more is needed.

Emoji and exclamation marks

Match your brand and the customer. A salon can use one; a law firm should not. One is plenty.

Group texts

Avoid them. Customers do not want their number shared with other customers.

Frequently asked questions

Is it rude to text instead of calling back?

Most customers prefer a text they can answer when convenient, unless the matter is urgent or sensitive.

Should automated texts say they are automated?

Yes. Customers are used to automated messages; they dislike discovering one pretending to be a person.

How do we sign off?

A first name or the business name. No need for a full signature.

What Frontiva does here

In Frontiva every outbound message passes one check for consent, opt-out, quiet hours, purpose and a per-contact frequency cap, so rules 2 and 8 are enforced rather than remembered, and the AI agents take your tone in plain language. See what to say in a first follow-up text.