Owned audience vs rented audience
Followers are rented. Email and customer lists are owned. The shops that survive platform changes own their audience.
Capture contact info every chance you get
Every quote, every job, every conversation. Email and phone. Permission to follow up. That's the asset.
Treat the list like a customer
A real monthly cadence. Useful content. The list dies of neglect faster than over-mailing.
Don't build your whole strategy on rented land
A Facebook page or Instagram account vanishes with one ban or algorithm change. The customer list doesn't.
Take your version of this question further
This is one operator-tested angle on the question. Your shop, your size, your trade, and your team change the answer. Ask your specific version inside Ask a Shop Owner to get a response grounded in how owners like you actually handled it.