SMS Marketing for New Square Locations

Week 0–1: connect and clean

Connect Square. Confirm phones import. Set send windows and quiet hours. Do not blast on day one just because the list looks big.

Week 2: thank-you and soft follow-up

Recent buyers get a short thank-you or second-visit nudge. Keep offers light. Watch opt-outs like a hawk.

Week 3–4: introduce win-back bands

As soon as you have 30-day gaps, start gentle win-back. Use favorites when history exists; keep copy local and humble.

Multi-location brands

Do not dump another store’s list into the new unit. Scope audiences to the location people actually visit.

Common mistakes to avoid

Buying cold phone lists, blasting the same coupon to everyone, skipping STOP language, and measuring only “messages sent” instead of return visits. Fix those before you scale volume. A smaller clean list with attributed tickets will beat a huge hostile list every quarter.

• No purchased SMS lists
• Segment by visit cadence and relevance
• Track attributed visits, not vanity sends
• Exclude same-day visitors from marketing batches

A simple next step

Connect Square, verify phones import cleanly, send a small approved batch inside your hours, and review delivery + opt-outs before raising volume. Most operators learn more from one careful week than from a giant first blast. Document what worked so the next batch is intentional.

How this fits a Square-first stack

Keep Square as the system of record for payments and customers. Add SMS as the retention layer that reads visit history, respects cooldowns, and attributes return tickets. You do not need a second CRM project to start — you need clean phones, clear STOP handling, and a weekly review habit.

• OAuth sync beats CSV sprawl for accuracy
• Approve drafts until the brand voice is trustworthy
• Raise volume only after opt-outs stay stable