Text message templates by industry: 30+ SMS examples you can use today

Text messages get opened. Depending on whose research you look at, SMS open rates run anywhere from 90 to 98 percent, and most texts get read within minutes of arriving. That is a very different world from email, where a good open rate might crack 25 percent.

The hard part is not deciding whether to text your customers. It is knowing what to actually say, and saying it a little differently depending on whether you run a dental practice, a dispensary, or a home services company. This guide is a working library: a list of industries, and for each one, three text message templates you can copy, tweak, and send. If you are brand new to the channel, start with our beginner's guide to text message marketing for the fundamentals, or browse more general SMS marketing examples that work across almost any business.

Here is what this guide covers:

• Retail and ecommerce
• Restaurants and food service
• Healthcare and dental practices
• Real estate
• Home services (HVAC, plumbing, contractors)
• Fitness studios and gyms
• Salons and spas
• Automotive sales and service
• Cannabis and CBD retail
• Professional services (legal, financial, insurance)

Before you send: A quick compliance refresher

Every template below assumes you are texting people who actually opted in. That part is not optional. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), carrier rules enforced through A2P 10DLC registration, and the wireless industry's own CTIA Messaging Principles all govern what you can send and to whom. Consent rules have shifted more than once in the past two years (the FCC's proposed one-to-one consent rule was ultimately struck down and formally eliminated), so treat this as a moving target and check current guidance at fcc.gov rather than assuming last year's rules still apply.

One more technical note: a standard SMS segment is 160 characters (or about 70 if you use emoji or certain special characters). Longer messages still send, they just get billed and sometimes displayed as multiple segments, so keep an eye on length if you are watching cost per message.

Retail and ecommerce

Retail has the widest range of use cases in SMS, from flash sales to shipping updates. If cart recovery is your priority, we already cover that in depth in our SMS marketing examples post, so these three focus on other moments in the customer journey.

1. Flash sale alert

• Sample Text Message
• Hi Jordan! Flash sale today only: 20% off sitewide with code FLASH20. Shop now: example.com/sale Reply STOP to opt out.
• Just used it, thank you!

2. Order shipped

• Sample Text Message
• Good news! Your order #4821 has shipped and should arrive by Thursday. Track it here: example.com/track/4821
• Perfect, thanks for the update

3. Back in stock

• Sample Text Message
• The Aria jacket in size M is back in stock. It sold out fast last time: example.com/aria-jacket
• Ordering now before it's gone again

Restaurants and food service

Diners check texts far more often than they check email for a reservation confirmation or a same-day special, which makes SMS a natural fit for restaurants and quick-service brands alike.

1. Reservation confirmation

• Sample Text Message
• Hi Marcus, this is Table & Vine confirming your reservation for 4 tonight at 7:15pm. Reply C to confirm or R to reschedule.
• C

2. Today's special

• Sample Text Message
• Today only: our short rib special is back for lunch, 11am to 2pm. See you soon at Table & Vine.
• On my way!

3. Loyalty reward reminder

• Sample Text Message
• You have a free appetizer waiting on your Table & Vine rewards account. It expires Sunday, so come use it this week!
• We'll be there Friday

Healthcare and dental practices

Appointment reminders are the single most valuable text a healthcare or dental practice can send. Practices using SMS reminders have reported no-show reductions in the 25 to 50 percent range, with one dental office cutting missed appointments by 43 percent after adding a simple confirm-or-reschedule reply option, as detailed in our guide to SMS message marketing.

1. Appointment reminder

• Sample Text Message
• Hi Christy, it's Steve at Dr. Frank's office. Reminder about your appointment tomorrow at 8am. Reply C to confirm or R to reschedule.
• C

2. Prescription ready

• Sample Text Message
• Your prescription is ready for pickup at Riverside Pharmacy. We're open until 7pm today.
• Great, I'll swing by after work

3. Annual checkup reminder

• Sample Text Message
• Hi Priya, it's been about a year since your last cleaning. Ready to schedule? Reply YES and we'll text you some open times.
• Yes please

Real estate

Real estate moves fast, and buyers who see a new listing minutes after it hits the market are far more likely to act on it than buyers who find out days later through email. If you are also building out email nurture sequences for leads, see our guide to email marketing for real estate professionals to pair with these texts.

1. New listing alert

• Sample Text Message
• Hi Dana, a new 3BR just hit the market in Maple Heights, matching your saved search. Take a look: example.com/listings/4412
• Can we see it this weekend?

2. Open house invitation

• Sample Text Message
• Open house this Saturday, 1 to 3pm, at 214 Elm St. Come see the renovated kitchen in person: example.com/listings/214-elm
• We'll try to stop by

3. Post-showing follow-up

• Sample Text Message
• Thanks for touring 214 Elm St today. Any questions, or would you like to see comparable listings nearby?
• Yes, send me a few more options

Home services (HVAC, plumbing, contractors)

For home services businesses, texting solves a very specific problem: telling a customer exactly when the technician will show up, without a dispatcher playing phone tag all morning.

1. Technician on the way

• Sample Text Message
• Hi Tom, this is ProAir HVAC. Mike is your technician today and will arrive between 1 and 3pm. Reply if you need to adjust the window.
• Sounds good, thanks

2. Seasonal maintenance reminder

• Sample Text Message
• It's that time of year again. Book your fall furnace tune-up with ProAir HVAC before the cold hits: example.com/book
• Book me for next Tuesday if possible

3. Review request after service

• Sample Text Message
• Thanks for choosing ProAir HVAC today. Mind leaving us a quick review? It really helps: google.com/mybusiness
• Happy to, you guys were great

Fitness studios and gyms

Class reminders and win-back texts are the two workhorses of fitness SMS. Studios that send personalized class or workout reminders have reported attendance increases as high as 40 percent, per the data in our SMS message marketing guide. For broader gym marketing ideas beyond texting, see our 9 expert tips to market your gym online.

1. Class reminder

• Sample Text Message
• Hi Alex, your 6am HIIT class with Coach Dana starts in an hour. Grab your spot, it's filling up. Reply STOP to opt out.
• See you there

2. Membership win-back

• Sample Text Message
• We miss you at Iron Works Fitness! Come back this month and we'll waive your enrollment fee. Reply YES to claim it.
• Yes, I've been meaning to get back in

3. New class announcement

• Sample Text Message
• New at Iron Works: Saturday morning strength circuits start this week. First class is free, reserve here: example.com/classes
• I'm in, saving my spot now

Salons and spas

Salons live and die by their booking calendar, and two-way texting is especially good at refilling last-minute cancellations. One hair salon filled 78 percent of would-be canceled slots by texting an immediate rebooking offer, according to the numbers in our SMS message marketing guide.

1. Appointment reminder with rebooking prompt

• Sample Text Message
• Hi Renee, reminder: your color appointment with Sophie is tomorrow at 11am at Luxe Salon. Reply C to confirm or R to reschedule.
• C

2. Last-minute opening

• Sample Text Message
• We just had a 2pm opening today at Luxe Salon. Want it? First to reply YES gets the slot.
• Yes! I'll take it

3. Birthday offer

• Sample Text Message
• Happy birthday from Luxe Salon! Enjoy 15% off any service this month as our gift to you: example.com/book
• Thank you, booking a facial now

Automotive sales and service

Whether it is a dealership or an independent shop, automotive customers respond well to short, specific texts about their vehicle, especially when a reminder saves them from an overdue oil change.

1. Service reminder

• Sample Text Message
• Hi John, reminder: your oil change is due. Book online or reply R to schedule with our service team this week.
• R, Thursday afternoon works

2. Vehicle ready for pickup

• Sample Text Message
• Good news, your Civic is ready for pickup. We're open until 6pm today at Main St Auto.
• I'll pick it up after 5

3. New inventory alert

• Sample Text Message
• We just got in a lightly used model matching what you were looking at last month. Want the details? Reply YES for photos.
• Yes, send them over

Cannabis and CBD retail

Cannabis and CBD is the industry where SMS templates need the most care. Carriers treat these brands as part of the S.H.A.F.T. (sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, tobacco) content category, which means messages that mention pricing, say “buy now,” or promote recreational use are far more likely to get filtered or blocked, and some messaging platforms will not carry cannabis content at all. Even though SMS open rates for this category run around 95 percent according to our SMS marketing guide for cannabis and CBD marketers, the templates below stay deliberately informational rather than promotional. Before sending anything, read our full cannabis text message compliance guide and make sure your list is built on double opt-in.

1. Store hours notice

• Sample Text Message
• Green Leaf Wellness will be closed Monday for the holiday. We reopen Tuesday at our regular hours, 9am to 8pm.
• Thanks for the heads up

2. Educational content notification

• Sample Text Message
• New on our blog: a guide to understanding terpenes and how they're commonly categorized. Read it here: example.com/blog/terpenes
• Good read, thanks for sharing

3. Loyalty points update

• Sample Text Message
• Hi Sam, you now have 240 loyalty points on your Green Leaf Wellness account. Stop by the store to see what they can be used toward.
• Didn't realize I had that many, I'll stop in

Professional services (legal, financial, insurance)

Clients of law firms, financial advisors, and insurance agencies are usually juggling a lot, so a short, well-timed text about a document or a deadline tends to land better than another email buried in an inbox.

1. Consultation reminder

• Sample Text Message
• Hi Angela, this is Reyes Law Group confirming your consultation tomorrow at 10am with Attorney Reyes. Reply C to confirm.
• C

2. Document needed

• Sample Text Message
• We're missing one document to finalize your file: proof of income. You can upload it securely here: example.com/upload
• Uploading it now

3. Policy renewal reminder

• Sample Text Message
• Your auto policy renews in 2 weeks. Reply CALL if you'd like to review your coverage before it renews, or REPLY STOP to opt out of texts.
• Call me tomorrow morning if you can

Make these templates your own

None of these are meant to be copied word for word forever. Swap in your real business name, your actual hours, and language that sounds like how your team actually talks to customers. Then track what happens: which templates get replies, which get opt-outs, and which quietly get ignored. That feedback loop matters more than any individual template.

Once you have a few templates working, the next step is usually automation. Our guide to automated text message marketing covers how to turn one-off sends like these into scheduled or trigger-based campaigns, and our 5 ways to use SMS for customer retention is a good next read if win-back and loyalty messaging is where you want to focus.

Whatever industry you're in, DailyStory's SMS marketing tools can help you build, schedule, and track these campaigns from one place. Schedule your free demo to see it in action.

Frequently asked questions