How to Build a Successful Text Message Program: Best Practices for Financial Services Organizations

Building a compliant texting program can feel like solving a Rubik's Cube in the dark. Staying on top of record-keeping responsibilities, making sense of complex regulatory language, managing consent, and building effective compliance workflows is more than a full-time job. But there's so much upside — for prospects, clients, and your field.

Beyond obvious productivity and convenience gains, prospecting, nurturing and servicing get easier, and the field gets access to a preferred communication channel.

So, how do you balance the pros and cons?

Yext Director of Compliance Bill Simpson says, "I've worked closely with leading financial services firms navigating this very challenge. Many ultimately turn to Yext Relate (formerly Hearsay Relate) — a purpose-built tool designed to streamline compliance while allowing field teams to text with clients and prospects."

Here are the text program management best practices top firms are using — and how Relate simplifies the process.

Regulations like the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) require firms to capture "prior express consent" before sending marketing text messages, and the FCC's new "opt-out rule," effective April 11, 2025, further tightens expectations.

Now, firms must remove contacts who revoke consent within 10 days of a request being made. Noncompliance can be costly, potentially resulting in significant financial penalties.

Firms with best-in-class text programs manage consent using a dynamic process that balances state-level laws, client preferences, and advisor workflows.

More specifically, they:

• Use robust lexicon-based keyword monitoring to manage consent: When a client says "stop," it's usually clear. But what about "all done," "no thanks," or even just a stop sign emoji? Consent revocation comes in many forms — and Relate's lexicon-based keyword monitoring helps firms detect the nuances with automated precision. Top firms use robust opt-out lexicons to achieve broad coverage.

• Incorporate smart rules to minimize false positives and maximize productivity: Neglecting to build in redundancies into your lexicon can cause issues. For example, if your system flags "I can't stop thinking about this product," it's not just annoying — it can lead to unnecessary review cycles, delayed outreach, and can even block productive sales conversations. Relate includes smart rules that can distinguish between actual opt-outs and innocent phrases to keep compliance and productivity intact.

• Use smart tech to simplify multi-state consent management: Leading national firms use Relate to centralize opt-ins, allowing them to track consent across states and channels in a single hub. Relate's digital opt-in system supports state-by-state requirements, helping firms that operate across geographies stay compliant and reduce manual errors. Taking these steps to proactively mitigate risk can save compliance time while helping support a productive field.

Consent management is one small piece of an effective text message program. When managed well, these programs allow the field to communicate on preferred channels, earn prospect trust, and even service clients. This frees up agents and advisors to focus on what matters most — building relationships.

Customer analysis shows that firms using Relate are spending up to 80% less time on client follow-up, increasing lead conversion rates, and dramatically reducing the number of hours spent on manual supervisory review each year.

Features like delegation, bulk messaging, pre-approved templates, action-triggered workflows, and scheduling remove administrative burdens. Better yet, Relate can integrate directly with your CRM. By working within the tools your team already uses, outreach becomes easier than ever.

Compliance has become more complicated in recent years. Regulators aren't just watching what you say; they're watching how you supervise what's being said.

Relate offers:

• Pre-approval workflows to help you manage messaging at scale

• Real-time compliance dashboards to oversee activity across channels

• Seamless archive integrations to capture contextual records for audit-readiness

Relate's built-in Do Not Call Lists, TCPA quiet hours, and opt-out management equip your team to text with confidence — without sacrificing regulatory control.

Off-channel behavior monitoring also helps you minimize risk. Even with great systems, bad habits can creep in. Regulators increasingly expect firms to monitor for signs of "channel hopping" — for example, moving from text to WhatsApp or Signal.

Relate allows firms to use real-time alerts for profanity, fraud signals, or unmonitored communication to block risky behavior—and it makes a difference. One in six Relate users was prevented from sending a message that included language that is not permitted by the firm.

You can also monitor communication volume to spot unusual activity spikes or dips and use your lexicons to catch cues to off-channel communication like "WA#" or "move this convo."

Firms with the most sophisticated programs also offer regular training sessions to the field and incorporate self-checks as part of their rigorous monitoring and management workflow.

An effective, compliant texting program is more than a set of rules. It's a strategic asset that empowers advisors to be more responsive, human, and effective while helping compliance teams stay ahead of risk.

Relate gives you the tools you need to make the field more productive while you streamline compliance.

Success is giving the field tools that work, building smart compliance controls behind the scenes, and staying nimble so you can respond as rules inevitably shift. Learn more or request a demo today.

Looking for smart ways to use compliant texting in your prospecting and servicing workflows? Check out this post for some great ideas.