The average person will reply to a text message within 1-2 minutes, and by definition these are exciting numbers if you’re trying to incorporate texting into your communication strategy. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) revolutionized our calling experience, and it could be just what you need for your team’s messaging system.
How Does VoIP SMS Work?
Sending an SMS through VoIP works thanks to a text-enabled virtual phone number regardless if it’s used as a primary or secondary phone number. Plus, VoIP doesn’t limit you only to a physical phone and it’s also much cheaper than a standard cell phone service. Messages can be accessed by a single user or an assigned group from any device with internet connection.
Trouble Receiving VoIP SMS?
If you’re facing any issues, the first thing you’d want to check is your VoIP app to ensure it’s up-to-date and set up correctly. If so, another explanation could be your current plan. Check the details of your plan. Most IP providers require a subscription before enabling certain features. Finally, check your internet connection, run a speed test to ensure that it has enough bandwidth and that there are no errors interrupting your SMS deliveries.
How Can Businesses Use SMS
Phone calls and emails are some of the traditional ways businesses communicate with their customers. Now with SMS, businesses also have a less intrusive method to reach out to their customer in order to:
- Send appointment reminders
- Provide a quick call-to-action i.e. a discount or to inform about another offer
- Send out order and delivery confirmations
- Give access to customer support team round-the-clock
- Prompt customer feedback
Benefits Of VoIP SMS Functionality
1. Bulk Messaging
IP texting allows you to send bulk SMS messages to groups of people at a cheaper rate than you’d normally get on traditional services. This can be very useful if you’re trying to include a text element in your marketing strategy. Many providers already have features such as automated follow-ups to boost their conversions.
2. Automation
A thriving business is never too busy to automate and IP messaging is yet another layer that can help boost productivity and conversions. For instance, your messages can be scheduled according to your customers preferences. This gives you a chance to communicate with them at the time when they are most likely to respond.
You can also segment your customers based on their demographics. By mirroring the area code of your customer base for your VoIP number, you will appear more local and improve the chances that they will open your message in the first place.
3. Shared Phone Numbers
When you get your virtual business number set up for texting, you may need more than one employee to handle the flow of the incoming messages. You can easily guarantee this thanks to IP telephony.
Many team members can share a dedicated number, collaborate on conversations, and manage missed replies and referrals – all in a single dashboard. This is particularly important for SMS conversations that might involve different departments in your team. This way, the customers don’t get double replies, and everyone can have access to the conversation history for additional context. In this one step you can drastically improve your customer experience standards.
4. Voicemail To Text
Some IP telephony providers allow you to receive your voicemails as texts where you can review them or forward them to your email. You can even set it up to be sent out to both. The transcript can also help to quickly prioritize your messages and deal with more urgent requests as a priority while leaving the others for later.
5. Reduced Cost
VoIP providers offer a much more cost efficient solution for small businesses when it comes down to business SMS. Even though in the short-term it may require additional spending, in the long run – the cost proves to be significantly lower.
Depending on your provider, you can have access to free unlimited texting, international texting or a per-user pricing. Always opt for a flexible plan that works for your business.
How Do You Know If A Phone Number Is Virtual?
It’s difficult to find out if a number sending you messages is a virtual number or not. Since VoIP gives an option for a fixed (assigned to an address) and non-fixed number – caller data won’t reveal a lot.
This can be a good thing if you’re a business; if you aren’t, it might mean receiving a lot of spam messages from different spoofed IP numbers. These can be blocked at any point, directly from your phone or with the help of your provider. That’s why businesses are urged to respect different texting guidelines to protect their customer base.
Final Thoughts
SMS marketing is quickly gaining traction among small businesses, and thanks to VoIP texting – all you need is a standard internet connection to get you started. This guide, along the others on Voip-Info.org, will help to efficiently transition from a traditional telephone carrier and onto a modern VoIP service.
April 7, 2023
Phone System 