Every trade business has a list it never uses: everyone it has ever invoiced. Those people already trust you, already have your number, and own a hot water system, an air conditioner or a roof that is a year older than the last time you saw it. Reactivation is the practice of texting them once, at the right moment, about the thing that is about to need you. Done properly it is the highest-return marketing a tradie can run, because there is no click to buy and no stranger to convince. Done badly it is spam, and the Spam Act treats it as such. This guide is general guidance, not legal advice.
The short version
- Three triggers, not a newsletter: the season, the age of what you installed, and how long since the last job. One relevant text each, not a monthly blast.
- Past customers can usually be texted without a new opt-in, because consent is inferred from an existing relationship, but only about the work you did for them.[6][7]
- Every text names your business, and STOP has to work within five business days across every tool that holds the number.[6][8]
- Perth timing is set by the weather: about three quarters of the rain falls May to September and the 26 days over 35° fall November to March, so the texts go out in March, April, September and October.[1]
- The maths is forgiving. A 300-name list at a 2% booking rate is six jobs; at Perth hot water and air conditioning prices that is thousands of dollars from a campaign that costs the price of the texts.[2][3]
What a dormant list is worth, with the assumptions shown
Nobody can promise a response rate, so this works it as a range on a list most two-van businesses already have. Every number in the first two columns is an assumption; the job values are current Perth prices.[2][3]
| Booking rate (assumed) | Jobs booked | If the job is a hot water replacement, $1,450 – $4,300 | If the job is an air con service and repair, about $250 – $700 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2% | 6 | $8,700 – $25,800 | $1,500 – $4,200 |
| 3% | 9 | $13,050 – $38,700 | $2,250 – $6,300 |
| 5% | 15 | $21,750 – $64,500 | $3,750 – $10,500 |
The air conditioning column uses the Perth plumbing callout range as a stand-in for a service visit because that is the published figure we have; a full split system replacement is $1,250 to $4,725 and moves that column into the hot water range.[3] The point is not the exact number. It is that the campaign costs a few dollars in texts and ten minutes of your time, so even the 2% row is the best marketing return in the business. Compare it with a paid click at $10 to $25 that still has to be answered.
The three triggers
1. The season. Perth has two of them that matter to trades. About three quarters of the city's rain falls between May and September, and it averages 26 days a year over 35 degrees, almost all between November and March.[1] Roofs, gutters and hot water systems fail in the first; air conditioning fails in the second. The text goes out in the month before, when the customer is not yet thinking about it and your diary is not yet full.
2. The age of what you installed. Electric storage hot water systems last about 10 to 15 years and gas storage about 8 to 12.[5] An air conditioning unit averages 15 to 20 years, less near the coast or with poor maintenance.[4] If you installed it, you know the date. A replacement conversation at year nine is a quote you win before anyone else is asked. The HVAC page and the plumbing page carry the replacement prompts by trade.
3. Time since the last job. Anyone you have not worked for in twelve months. The text is not an offer, it is a check-in that names the work you did and asks if anything needs looking at before the season. It reads as service because it is.
The consent rule that makes it legal
A reactivation text promotes your business, so it is a commercial electronic message under the Spam Act 2003 and needs three things: consent, identification and a working unsubscribe.[6]
Consent. You do not usually need a fresh opt-in from a past customer. The Act allows consent to be inferred from an existing business relationship, provided the message relates to that relationship.[7] A hot water check for the system you installed is inside the relationship. A promotion for solar when you have only ever done their plumbing is a stretch, and ACMA has said publicly it expects businesses not to stretch inferred consent past what the relationship supports.[7] A bought, scraped or inherited list has no consent at all, and the burden of proving consent sits with you, so the record of what you did for each person and when is the compliance.
Identification. Your legal name, or your name and ABN, in the message.[6]
Unsubscribe. A free, working way out, such as "Reply STOP", actioned within five business days in every tool that holds that number: the SMS platform, the job software, the old marketing tool someone set up in 2023.[8] An opt-out that only reaches one of them is not an opt-out.
The full rules, penalties and a checklist are in the SMS compliance guide for tradies, and the sender name rules in the ACMA Sender ID guide.
Three templates you can copy
Each one names the business, names the work, gives one action and carries STOP. The ABN and numbers are placeholders. Keep them under 160 characters where you can so they arrive as one message.
Plumber, April, hot water:
Smith Plumbing (ABN 12 345 678 901): we fitted your hot water system in 2017. Winter is when
they go. A pre-winter check is $99 for past customers, reply YES for a time. Reply STOP to opt out.
Air conditioning, September, pre-summer service:
Cool Air (ABN 12 345 678 901): your split system is due a service before the heat. We are
in your suburb the week of 6 Oct, reply with a day that suits. Reply STOP to opt out.
Roofer, March, before the rain:
Jones Roofing (ABN 12 345 678 901): we did your roof in 2022. Gutters and valleys checked
before the May rain, $149 for past customers, reply YES to book. Reply STOP to opt out.
What is not in them: a discount code, an emoji, a link to a landing page, or "we miss you". Past customers of a trade business respond to a specific job on a specific date from a name they know.
When to send in Perth, by trade
| Trade | Send in | Ahead of | The job it books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbing | April | Winter hot water failures | Check now, replacement at 8 to 15 years[5] |
| Air conditioning | September to October | The 26 days over 35°[1] | Pre-summer service, replacement at 15 to 20 years[4] |
| Air conditioning (heating) | April | Reverse-cycle heating season | Service, filter and ducted check |
| Roofing and gutters | March to April | The May to September rain[1] | Gutter clean, valley and flashing check, restoration quote |
| Solar | September | Summer generation and the battery decision | Panel clean, inverter check, battery quote on an existing system |
| Electrical | October | Summer load and storm season | Switchboard and safety switch check |
Building the list from ServiceM8 or Simpro
- Export your clients with their last job date and the job type. Both ServiceM8 and Simpro can do this from the client list; if yours cannot, the invoices can.
- Remove anyone who has ever replied STOP, anyone with no job on record, and anyone whose only contact was a quote that never booked. The last group gets the quote followed up, not a promotion.
- Segment three ways: by trade of the last job, by install year where you know it, and by months since the last visit. Each segment gets its own message; nobody gets two.
- Send in batches of a few hundred, on a weekday morning, from your own number with your business named, and have someone able to answer the replies that day. A reactivation text that produces twenty replies into a phone nobody is holding is a missed-call problem, and the missed call text back page covers that.
- Log the sends and the opt-outs. The record is the compliance.
What not to do
- Do not buy a list. No consent, no defence, and the fines are per day.
- Do not text monthly. A trade business has three or four honest reasons a year to text a past customer. More than that and the STOP replies arrive, and each one is a customer gone for good.
- Do not send from a shared platform number with no business name. It reads as spam and from 1 July 2026 an unregistered sender name shows as Unverified.
- Do not text a quote-only contact a promotion. Follow up the quote they asked for. The quote follow-up sequence is a different message with a different consent basis.
How this fits what we build
Every build we run for a Perth trade business includes the pre-season reminder to past customers, with consent, as a standing sequence: we hold the list from your job software, segment it by install age and last job, write the messages in your voice with your business name and a working STOP, send before each season, and book the replies into your diary. If you would rather run it yourself, the templates above are the whole method. If you would rather it happened without you, that is the half-hour call.
Frequently asked questions
Can I text old customers without them opting in?
Usually yes, if the text relates to the work you did for them, because the Spam Act lets consent be inferred from an existing business relationship. A service reminder for the hot water system you installed fits. A promotion for a service you have never done for them does not, and a bought or scraped list has no consent at all. Keep a record of when and what you did for each person, because the burden of proving consent sits with you.
What is a reactivation campaign for a trade business?
A short, timed text to customers you have not worked for in a while, sent before the season that brings their next job: a hot water check before winter, an air conditioning service before summer, a gutter clean before the rain. It is not a monthly newsletter. It is one relevant message, with your business named and a working way to opt out, sent when the customer is about to need you anyway.
How many past customers will actually book?
Nobody can promise a rate, and anyone who does is guessing. Work it as a range: on a list of 300 past customers a booking rate of 2% is 6 jobs and 5% is 15. At a Perth hot water replacement of $1,450 to $4,300 or a split system service and repair, even the low end pays for the campaign many times over, because the only cost is the texts and ten minutes of your time.
When should a Perth tradie send a reactivation text?
Before the trigger, not during it. About three quarters of Perth’s rain falls between May and September, so roof and gutter texts go out in March and April. The 26 days a year over 35 degrees are mostly November to March, so air conditioning service texts go out in September and October. Hot water systems fail more in winter, so plumbers text in April. During the season your phone is already ringing; the campaign is for the weeks before.
Can you run this for me?
Yes. We hold the list from your ServiceM8 or Simpro, segment it by install age and last job, write the messages in your voice with your business name and a working STOP, send them before each season, and book the replies into your diary. It is one of the standing sequences in every build, and the SMS compliance is handled as part of it.
Sources
Every figure above traces to one of these. Lifespan and climate figures checked 14 October 2026; prices as on the linked pages.
- Wikipedia — Climate of Perth. About three quarters of annual rain between May and September; 26 days a year over 35 °C, nearly all November to March.
- What's The Damage — Plumber cost Perth 2026. Emergency callout $250 to $700, hot water system replacement $1,450 to $4,300.
- What's The Damage — Air conditioning cost Perth 2026. Split system supply and install $1,250 to $4,725.
- CHOICE — Air conditioner installation and replacement costs. "The average lifespan of an air conditioning unit is 15 to 20 years."
- Australian Hot Water — How long do hot water systems last. Electric storage 10 to 15 years, gas storage 8 to 12. An installer's guide, treated as indicative.
- ACMA — Avoid sending spam. The three rules: consent, identify, unsubscribe.
- Addisons — ACMA's expectations on consent for e-marketing. Inferred consent from an existing relationship, and its limits.
- Prosper Law — Unsubscribe requests and the five-day rule. Five business days to action an opt-out.
Consent, identification, unsubscribes and the penalties, in plain English.
ServiceQuote follow-upDay 2, 7 and 21, in your voice, for the quotes that got compared.
ServiceMissed call text backFor the replies that come back while you are on a roof.
More for Perth trade businesses: every article and free tool.