Rebook last year's homes before the first leaf drops, and sell the off season to the same list.
A lighting company's list is the business. Last year's customers rebook at a higher rate than any new source converts, the waitlist from last November is next year's first sales, and the homes that just had lights taken down are the warmest permanent lighting prospects you will ever have. The messages are the same every year; the timing is everything.
The renewal is the sale, and it is made in August
Most trades email past customers hoping for the next repair. A lighting company emails past customers to sell them the identical job again, with the design already saved and the lights already cut to their roofline. That is as close to a guaranteed renewal as a service business gets, if the message arrives before the homeowner starts thinking about the holidays and before a competitor's door hanger shows up. The rebook campaign goes out in late summer, with a night photo of their own house, the design on file, what the coming season will cost, a deposit link, and install windows that open to renewals first.
The rest of the calendar follows the season. September opens booking to new customers with photos from last year and a plain deadline. Late October tells prospects how many install weeks remain, which is honest urgency because it is true. December carries the service reminder and the review ask while the display is up and the neighbors are asking who did it. January takedown is when the permanent lighting offer lands, because the customer has just watched a crew take down lights they will pay to put back up in ten months. Spring and summer sell permanent lighting for game days and summer holidays to the same list, plus the waitlist that never got a date.
What lighting email and text marketing has to do
Start with consent, then get the calendar right, then write the message.
Collect consent when the deposit is paid
The booking form and the rebook page ask for permission to text and email, record the date, and the CRM refuses to text anyone who did not agree. Marketing texts without written consent are where the lawsuits come from; our texting rules guide covers the details.
Send the rebook with their own house in it
The late-summer message shows the customer's lit home, names the design (roofline, two trees, wreaths over the garage), shows what this season costs and holds a window with one tap. Generic renewal emails get ignored; a photo of your own house does not.
Make deadlines true
A last-call message says the real date after which new customers go on the waitlist, and it stops when the calendar is actually full. Fake countdowns teach the list to ignore you.
Ask for the review while the lights are up
The review request goes out in early December with the direct link, when the display is lit and the customer is proud of it. January is too late; the lights are in a bin.
Offer permanent lighting at takedown
The takedown confirmation carries a short note on permanent track lighting with a daylight photo of the track, a color-scene example and a consult link. No pressure, one message, timed to the ladder leaving the driveway.
Keep the waitlist and the commercial accounts separate
Waitlisted homes get first access to next season's dates in July. Property managers and HOA boards get a proposal timeline in summer, because their budgets close before residential customers start thinking about lights.
How we build it for a lighting company
Your CRM holds the lists and the consent records, your own accounts do the sending, and the list stays yours if you stop paying anyone.
Segments that build themselves
Renewed, not yet renewed, lost last year, waitlisted, permanent lighting owners, commercial accounts and new quote requests that never booked, each updated by the job record without exporting.
A season calendar written in advance
Six to eight messages for the year, written in your voice from an interview with you, approved once and scheduled: rebook, new booking, last call, service reminder, review ask, takedown and permanent lighting offer, summer permanent lighting.
Photo merge from the property record
Each message pulls the customer's own night photo and design summary from the CRM, so the rebook email is personal without anyone building it by hand.
Registered texting with opt-out handled
Short texts for date holds and deadlines, sent from your business number, registered with the carriers, with STOP processed automatically and logged on the contact.
Results by message
Rebooks per campaign, deposits taken within a day of each send, replies, and permanent lighting consults booked from the January note, so you know which message earned its place.
What you own on day one.
Every account is opened in your company's name with you as the owner. If you ever leave, you change a password, not your business.
- Domain, hosting and the site files
- Phone numbers and call recordings
- The CRM and its database
- Email and text lists, with consent records
- Google Business Profile and every listing
- Analytics and Search Console
Email & SMS Marketing for holiday & permanent lighting, answered.
When should the rebook campaign go out?
Late summer, before the first fall weather and before competitors start marketing, with a second note a few weeks later to the homes that did not respond. Renewals then get first pick of install windows, and new customers see a calendar that is already filling.
Is a last-call deadline honest marketing?
Yes, when the date is real and the message stops when the calendar is full. Tell the list how many install weeks are left and what the waitlist means. The moment a deadline is invented, the list learns to ignore every message after it.
Can we text past customers about rebooking?
Only the ones who gave written consent, which the booking and rebook forms collect and date. Texts work well for date holds and deadlines; the design photo and the price belong in the email.
What should we send the homes that never got an install date?
An apology in December that says you are saving them a spot, then a first-access message in July before anyone else can book. A waitlist handled that way becomes a loyal customer; one ignored becomes a competitor's customer.
How often is too often for a lighting list?
Six to eight messages a year, each tied to a date that matters to the customer, is plenty. A weekly newsletter from a company that visits twice a year gets unsubscribed.
Email & SMS Marketing for holiday & permanent lighting. Owned by you.
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