How to Pick the Best Text to Landline Service
Imagine a message in a bottle, tossed from the bow of a ship into the ocean. It’s romantic, sure, but not a very effective method of communicating. There’s no guarantee of when the message will reach its intended recipient—or even whether it will reach them at all.
Running a business without the ability to send and receive texts in today’s increasingly mobile landscape is nearly as ineffective. Customers who have come to not only demand but expect SMS to be an option will try texting your number only to have their messages disappear into the void, leaving them feeling lost at sea. The worst part is that, more often than not, you won’t even know they ever tried to contact you.
Most people are more likely to simply walk away and find someone who will answer them than keep knocking on a door that never opens.
If you really want to connect with your customers, SMS and MMS texting are a must—especially given that around 80 percent of incoming calls would be more effectively handled via text. Below, we’ll discuss how text to landline services work as well as how to choose the best text to landline service with which to grow your business.
How Text to Landline Services Work
Text to landline services do exactly what the name implies—they allow text messages to be sent to, and received by, phones with fixed-wire connections.
Normally, when a text-enabled landline phone receives an SMS or MMS message, the text is converted to a voice message. However, by partnering with the right texting service, you’ll alternatively be able to reroute those messages from your landline phone to a messaging app you can access from any mobile or desktop device.
This means that whether or not you have a mobile phone for your business, your customers will be able to text you (as 75 percent of them will prefer to do). Even better, you’ll be able to text them right back.
Choosing the Best Text to Landline Service
If you want the best for your customers and your business, then it follows that not just any texting service will do. When looking for the best text to landline service, look for one that will allow you to:
| Keep your existing number. | This is critical for companies who have been using (and advertising) an existing landline or VoIP number for years. Keeping your number means keeping all of the customers who are already familiar with it. Even for new businesses, however, this option is important as it will allow you to more easily change services later should a change become necessary. |
| Easily manage and organize multiple conversations. | If you receive a large volume of messages per day or week, a user-friendly dashboard that makes it easy to keep track of all incoming and outgoing messages is essential. If you have multiple people involved in customer communications, be sure that multiple users can access and respond to messages with ease. |
| Save time and resources by streamlining communications. | The beauty of texting is that it allows you to offer a more personalized experience for your customers while expending fewer resources to do so. To maximize this benefit, look for a service that will allow you to schedule messages and responses ahead of time and even automate responses to common requests and FAQs like, “What are your business hours?” |
| Send MMS as well as SMS messages. | We live in the era of video, and sending multimedia messages (MMS) to your subscribers can be a powerful way to engage them in whatever announcements or offers you have for them. Make sure your chosen text to landline service allows you to send both SMS and MMS messages. |
| Accept text payments. | Text-to-pay offers a quick, convenient alternative to paying via webform or mail order, and many customers will be happy to utilize it. The right text to landline service will allow you to accept these payments via the app, just like any other text exchange. |
In short, the best text to landline service is one that will make it easier than ever to reach and effectively engage with your customers in a way that many customers prefer.
The Benefits of Enabling Text Messaging for Your Business
Still not sure whether a text to landline service is right for your business? Consider the following:
- Enabling text as well as phone calls allows your customers to contact you according to their preferences and empowers you to ensure no inquiry is left unanswered. This makes for happier customers, and happier customers are more likely to become repeat customers.
- Texts are quicker and easier to send and receive than other communications, taking only seconds to read and respond to. This means you’ll be able to address more messages more quickly, making for more happy customers.
- Utilizing a text to landline service with an app you can access from anywhere makes it easier to keep in touch with your customers and clients, even when you’re not physically in your office. This can prove especially useful if, for example, your business requires you to travel often or if you work remotely.
Working with the best text to landline service will allow you to connect with more people more quickly and efficiently than ever before—without sacrificing that vital personal touch that lets your customers know they are not only listened to but heard.
Looking for a text to landline service that will make it as easy as possible to get—and stay—connected with your customers by text? NorthText offers an innovative texting platform that allows you to keep your existing number and enable texting in just a few easy steps. Plus, our proprietary image reduction tool will automatically resize image and video files for you to optimize your MMS communications. Contact us online or call or text us anytime at (312) 869-9070.
