SMS texting is one of the most popular means of communication. After many years and transformation stages, texting is now reaching its peak, as by some estimates over 6 trillion text messages are exchanged per year. Companies and businesses are now joining in on the texting frenzy, especially since recent technological advances have made it possible to send and receive text messages to their old landline phone numbers. Indeed, nowadays you can use your landline number to exchange text messages and that’s what landline texting is all about.
How Does Landline Texting Work
Before you can start using this convenient communication option, you must understand how exactly landline texting works. First of all, keep in mind that you don’t receive text messages to your landline phone but your landline number. In fact, your landline number is where you receive both messages and calls and while calls are transferred to your landline phone, text messages get routed to a text messaging software. Having this messaging software is in some cases crucial for actually receiving the messages and being able to read them and respond.
The exact process of receiving and sending text messages to and from a landline depends on the service you use. Generally, when you text a landline number, first, the carrier checks whether the recipient number is eligible for text-to-landline service. If it is, the text message will be converted into a voice message; it will ring the recipient’s phone and read the message aloud. If the recipient doesn’t answer the phone, the converted messages will be delivered to the device or service as a voicemail. Here, it’s worth mentioning that common abbreviations are usually recorded as full words or read letter by letter, while emojis and texting acronyms are read as ‘happy face’ and ‘laughing out loud’ for LOL. Other services convert text messages into emails and send them to a certain designated email address.
The recipient can respond with a text, but indirectly through a separate device, service, or app. The exact responding process depends on the service they use.
Why Do You Need to Make Your Landline Phone Textable
Landline texting isn’t very popular among individuals, however, businesses can benefit greatly from enabling text-to-landline service. Why? Because it’s most customer’s preferred form of communication. Texting is actually four times more popular than sending emails. In addition, texting abilities are also a convenient communication method for business owners, as it gives them the freedom to respond whenever is good for them, instead of dropping everything just to take a client’s call.
While some companies send text messages through different numbers, which tends to be risky, as other numbers aren’t recognized by their clients, it’s best to use the same landline number that will easily be identified by the customer and more likely to get a response. Landline texting can also improve a company’s customer service and retention, save time, and increase efficiency. Besides, in the business world landline texting is currently the most popular trend, and keeping up with trends is crucial for remaining relevant.
Process That Allows to Text Enable a Landline
The process of enabling landline texting depends fully on your carrier or service you use. Generally, the process consists of a few simple steps.
General process in case you use a business texting service:
- Step 1: Find a reliable business texting service provider that fits your needs. Contact them and provide them your business number. They will check and inform you whether your number can be text-enabled.
- Step 2: If your number can be text-enabled, sign up for their service. The best business texting platforms provide a secure, automated, simple online process. Sign in and then you can text enable your number by entering the phone number. Once you do so, you will receive a call with a verification code. Enter the code and you will receive an electronic document (Letter of Authorization or LOA) in your email. Sign in electronically.
- Step 3: Once you did all of the above, your voice carrier will release a SPID (service profile identifier), which will enable the SMS part of the number to be transferred to the new business texting platform. The speed of this process depends on your current phone number provider. It may take a few hours or a few days. However, your voice service will remain uninterrupted throughout the entire process and you will be able to use your phone as normal.
Process if you use Birdeye:
If you decide to use Birdeye, you will have to enter your phone number into the Birdeye dashboard. Once you do so, you will receive a phone call with a verification code; that you will later enter into the Birdeye dashboard and click ‘Verification complete’. This will enable you to send, receive, and manage all your text messages within your Birdeye Inbox on your desktop or their mobile app.
What Happens If You Text a Landline
When you text a landline, either from your cell phone or a text messaging service, first, the carrier checks if the number you have texted is eligible for text-to-landline service. If it is, the message gets recorded in a female voice and the text-to-landline service calls the recipient’s landline phone. If the recipient answers, the message gets read aloud as a voice message, otherwise it goes straight into the recipient’s voicemail. Other services will send the message to an inbox where it can be read, sorted, and answered. A text-enabled landline can in this case be managed from a computer, tablet, or a smartphone – basically any internet-supported device.
However, if the recipient’s landline isn’t text-enabled, nothing will happen if you text them – you won’t even get notified that the recipient can’t receive text messages. In this case, the customer trying to reach a company will think that he or she is simply being ignored and the company will lose business.
How Can Your Business Benefit From Text-to-Landline
There are countless ways in which your business can benefit from enabling text-to-landline. Recent studies have shown that 85% of customers want to start conversations with companies via text messages and 90% of customers would prefer for the business to text them, rather than call. 80% of clients currently use text messaging to contact businesses. 81% of customers tend to get frustrated with over-the-phone customer service, as the waiting lines are long and the conversations with support team members seem to be more comprehensive via text messages. Clients mostly enjoy the fact that text-to-landline support is easy to access and very responsive. As approximately 80% of customers tend to research a product or service they are planning to buy, it’s not only important to give them a chance to reach your business directly through text-to-landline, but also to add a ‘Text us’ link to your company’s website.
If you haven’t yet invested in text-to-landline and if your clients are texting you anyway (which they probably are), they may be feeling underserved and ignored. As your competitors probably already offer this popular conversation method, your customers may simply go to them instead.
Not only is enabling landline texting important for receiving important messages and growing your business, but it can also help you collaborate with other companies, manage workflows, search conversations, save time, use advanced scheduling, centralize messaging, and help you achieve higher customer satisfaction (77% of clients are likely to have a positive perception of a company if it offers landline texting). It enables teams to send and receive text messages on any connected device, including computers, tablets, and smartphones.
Difference Between Landline and VoIP Service
VoIP is an abbreviation that stands for ‘voice over internet protocol’. Unlike Landline phones, VoIP phones don’t transmit calls through twisted-paid copper wire. Instead, they transmit voice calls through the internet using a normal broadband internet connection. In other words, they don’t’ rely on physical exchanges, but convert calls into digital signals within the phone. VoIP phones need an internet connection to work.
Many text-to-landline services also offer texting for VoIP phone numbers, but not all. If you have a VoIP phone, make sure to check which provider offers VoIP numbers to be text-enabled before subscribing to one.
Landline Texting Benefits and Limitations
As we live in the age of smartphones and other mobile devices, let’s first clarify what are the benefits and limitations of owning a landline phone number.
Benefits of landline phones :
- First of all, landlines tend to be very reliable, and the call quality is often higher and clearer than a mobile phone.
- Landline phones work without power. They have their own power supply (the copper wire), therefore they can work even during a blackout.
- Dropped calls are usually not an issue with landline phones, while mobile phones still experience these kinds of issues.
See more : Best Cheap Landline Phone Service For Seniors
Limitations of landline phones:
- Landline phone numbers get automatically listed in phone books and directories, which can lead to unwanted calls.
- Landline phones are limited to a certain physical location due to the fact that they are connected to a phone jack, even if you have a cordless phone.
- If you only have a landline phone, you won’t be able to respond to received texts.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the benefits and limitations of landline texting. As we have mentioned in chapter 6, there are numerous advantages of landline texting, but like almost every device or service, it also comes with certain limitations.
Benefits of landline texting:
- Landline texting is currently the most popular conversation method among customers. Clients prefer to contact a company with landline texting and they certainly prefer the company to text them.
- Landline texting is the new trend. If you can’t keep up with the trend you will likely lose customers to your competitors.
- Landline texting is currently the best marketing channel.
- Customers are way more likely to have a positive impression of a business and customer support if they offer landline texting.
- Landline texting allows customers to reach a business at their convenience, instead of just during business hours or when regular phone customer service is available.
- Landline texting setup is quick and simple. It allows you to keep your existing business number.
- Landline texting can help businesses to collaborate with other businesses, manage workflows, and search conversations.
- As landline texting allows the business owner or employee to answer the call at their convenience, it is time-saving and efficient.
- Landline texting enables advanced scheduling and centralized messaging.
- Landline texting enables teams to send and receive text messages on any connected device, including computers, tablets, and smartphones.
Limitations of landline texting:
- Not all phone numbers can be text-enabled.
- The service/software is not free.
- Some abbreviations and emojis cannot be read and delivered as intended.
- Some services require text messaging software.
- Sending messages through a landline is possible but indirectly, through a separate device, service, or app.
FAQs – Frequently Ask Questions
Which Telecom Providers Support Text to Landline?
Nowadays, most telecom providers support text-to-landline, including the ‘big four’ – Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint.
Which phone numbers can be text enabled?
Landline numbers, toll-free numbers, and most VoIP numbers can be text-enabled. Some VoIP numbers may require you to contact your current carrier and ask them to give up control over SMS capabilities by removing the SPID from your number. Mobile numbers, on the other hand, cannot be text-enabled, as carriers don’t allow text capabilities to be separated from voice capabilities.
Can I decline to receive a text-to-landline message?
If your phone number is not text-enabled, you won’t receive messages, even though some clients who think your number is text enabled may send them anyway. However, if your number is text-enabled, you can’t decline to receive a text to landline message. You can block a sender or the entire option or simply decide to ignore it.
Is it possible to send a text message to multiple landline numbers?
Yes, you can easily send a message to multiple landline numbers at once, simply by entering multiple recipients. However, the message will be charged accordingly as a separate message to each number. If you haven’t sent any text-to-line messages to a certain number yet, you will first need to confirm a fee.
Can you use a landline number for a cell phone?
Generally, it should be quite simple to move your old landline number to your new phone and transfer your contacts. Check your existing contract and initiate the switch to a cell phone by copying a recent bill from your current carrier.
Can you send an anonymous text message?
If you send a text message directly from your cell phone by regular means, there is no way to keep your number private. This way the receiver will always know the source. However, there are some other ways to send anonymous messages from your cell phone. All you have to do to keep your number private is to follow a few simple steps. You can find the exact methods online.
What happens when you text someone who blocked you?
If you try to text someone who blocked you, the text message simply won’t go through and you will never get the ‘delivered’ status note. The recipient, on the other hand, won’t even know you were trying to reach him or her. When it comes to phone calls, calls from blocked numbers usually go directly to voice mail.
How much does text-enabling a business landline cost?
The cost of text enabling a business landline number depends on the platform you choose to use. To measure the price of landline texting, it may be best to get a free quote. As nowadays many platforms offer these kinds of services, make sure to select the one the best fits your needs. Consider whether you need automated texts, payment by text, a texting widget for your website, or to review request templates. Sort out your priorities and set up a messaging strategy.
