Toll-free SMS refers to the sending and receiving text messages (SMS and MMS) using a toll-free number, which typically begins with 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833, or 800. Toll-free messaging allows a customer or user to send text messages from their mobile phone number without being charged for the incoming message. The toll-free number is provided directly by carriers and generally works globally across different countries.
Toll-free SMS can be beneficial for businesses in many ways. It can help run cost-effective campaigns, allow two-way communication, and lets companies create custom messages. This type of messaging works well for surveys, notifications, and other marketing campaigns. According to CTIA best practices, toll-free messaging falls under application-to-person (A2P) messages. They can be sent at higher message-per-second (MPS) rate limits like shortcodes. Despite being a popular option, many businesses still need to learn to use toll-free messaging. This article will help us understand the definition, factors, and how various industries use it.
What is Toll-Free SMS?
Toll-free SMS is a messaging service that enables businesses to send and receive regular SMS messages with a phone number with a prefix of 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, or 833. Various industries use it for different purposes but are commonly employed in sales, support, and marketing.
Many people believe that sending messages from a local area code will increase the number of people who read them. While this may have been true for automated voice calls, where people could choose to answer or ignore them, it no longer applies to text messages. That’s because most people assume that messages sent from a toll-free number are legitimate and from a business.
Ninety-eight percent of text messages are opened regardless of whether they are sent from a local or toll-free number. Text messages are always delivered and displayed in a preview message list. It doesn’t make sense to think that local numbers are better for texting.
Some organizations may hesitate to give up their local number for toll-free SMS. The truth is that most consumers still expect a business to have an 800 number. It’s even more critical for national or nationwide companies, as customers may need to recognize local area codes.
How Does Toll-Free SMS Work?
Toll-free SMS is a service that allows you to send text messages from toll-free numbers such as 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, and 833 to mobile phones. For businesses with a toll-free phone number, it is possible to enable texting. By using the same number for both voice and messaging, customers will have a better experience.
Toll-free messaging is ideal for two people texting back and forth, such as customer support or sales. Although toll-free numbers can handle more messages per phone number than traditional ten-digit numbers, some businesses use them for one-way communication, like sending alerts and notifications.
Toll-free sms works on both GSM and 2G connections. It is important to note that the message delivery rate may be slower with a 2G connection than with a 4G or 5G connection. For businesses looking for faster delivery times, it is recommended to use a 4G or 5G network. Additionally, toll-free text messages are limited to 160 characters per message.
How Does Toll-Free SMS Help Business?
Toll-free SMS can help businesses connect with their customers quickly and easily. It is a cost-effective way to send messages, as there are no charges for incoming text messages. Additionally, the messages are read almost immediately, and there is no need for additional investment in hardware or software.
It is a great way to send out notifications, reminders, and other messages that customers need to know about. Businesses can also use it for marketing campaigns, customer service inquiries, product feedback requests, appointment reminders, confirmations, etc.
For businesses with limited resources or staff to manage their text messaging, it is easy to set up automated responses that can send personalized messages in response to customer queries. It saves time and money and allows businesses to respond quickly and accurately.
What are the Factors Toll-Free SMS Can Help the Business?
Businesses using toll-free SMS enjoy the advantages of a seamless text marketing campaign. Your business’s customer communication strategy should include text messaging and SMS services, which are becoming increasingly popular among companies. However, you might be unaware of the following factors if you have a toll-free phone number:
1. Can Run Cost-Effective Campaigns
It is more cost-effective than other forms of marketing. It has a higher return on investment than other traditional methods like email or direct mail campaigns. By sending timely reminders or automatic replies to customers’ questions, businesses can improve customer satisfaction levels and provide a better experience for their
2. Can Be Beneficial for Two Way Messaging
Toll-free SMS is a valuable tool for two-way messaging. It allows businesses to quickly and efficiently respond to customer inquiries or provide support with personalized automated messages. It also helps customers get timely updates on their orders and account information, which can help increase loyalty.
If you send messages from the US and Canada, the recipients can reply and start conversations via SMS. When you text-enable and voice-enable your 800 phone number, your customers can have a smooth experience.
3. Can Create Customized Messages
Toll-free SMS allows you to create custom messages that fit your business’s needs. You can customize the text’s tone, content, and frequency to ensure they are relevant for each customer. It helps build loyalty because customers receive only helpful information from you.
You may also automate text message replies by setting up keywords and personalizing messages with custom fields like first names and dates.
What Are The Ways To Utilize Toll-free SMS?
Using a consistent sender ID when sending messages can help expand your audience, build trust, and enhance communication. You can achieve this by utilizing a toll-free SMS service, which enables you to maintain consistency throughout your campaign.
Here are a few ways to utilize toll-free SMS:
1. SMS Campaigns
Toll-free SMS helps businesses to send out marketing messages quickly and is an effective way to promote products, services, or events. You can also create automated campaigns that allow customers to opt-in and receive promotional messages.
Consider using toll-free numbers to update your customers on promotions, coupons, or sales events. You can also inform them about loyalty club benefits, grand opening details, or personalized offers. Obtaining opt-ins for marketing content is essential, and make sure your messages are direct marketing rather than third-party offers. You may also explore How to A/B Test SMS Campaigns to determine the best campaign strategy for your business.
2. SMS Surveys
Toll-free SMS can also be used to conduct customer surveys or polls. These surveys are a great way to gather general feedback on products, services, and customer experience. They can help you measure customer satisfaction levels and make improvements where necessary.
Send an SMS survey to customers asking whether they would recommend our brand using toll-free numbers. The survey will determine if they are promoters or detractors of our brand. Using a toll-free number to follow up on survey responses to gauge customer satisfaction and engagement is essential.
3. SMS Appointment Reminders
Toll-free SMS can be used to send SMS appointment reminders to customers. It helps reduce no-show rates and ensures all appointments are kept on time. You can also use it to confirm reservations or bookings, update customers about changes in their schedule, and remind them of upcoming events or meetings that may interest them.
Alerts for appointments, such as those for dentists, doctors, cable, or internet setup, can assist customers in planning their day and rescheduling as needed. Missed appointments can result in significant revenue loss for businesses. Implementing toll-free numbers can help prevent this loss.
4. SMS Notifications
You most likely received service disruption notifications (for example, for internet or power outages) or package delivery updates (such as shipping information or delivery confirmation) through a toll-free number. It is an effective way to keep customers informed and updated with relevant information. Notifications are also a great way to build trust and engage your customers.
This notification provides customers with essential and applicable updates. By simply tapping on the toll-free number provided in the message, customers can contact a care center for further assistance. Read What is SMS Notification: Definition, Examples and Tips to learn more.
How to Get a Toll-Free Number for SMS?
Getting a toll-free number for SMS may be done in three simple ways. You can use a text-enabled existing toll-free number provided by your text message marketing service or apply for a new memorable number.
Text Enable an Existing Toll-Free Number – Most businesses already have a toll-free number that they use for their customer service or sales line. You can text-enable this existing number, which becomes your toll-free SMS number.
Receive a Toll-Free Number from Your Text Message Marketing Service – Businesses can use unique toll-free numbers provided by most text message marketing services to send messages to their customers. These numbers are registered specifically to the business.
Apply for a New Memorable Number – You can also apply for a new memorable number that you can use for your SMS campaigns. It gives customers an easy-to-remember number and allows you to customize the messages sent or received from this number.
How Can the Toll-Free Number Get Verified?
If you want to use a toll-free number for SMS marketing, mobile carriers will require you to verify it first. It involves filling out a form with your business details and explaining how you intend to use the number.
Filling out the form may seem bothersome, but it is an essential step for maintaining the integrity of SMS marketing. It helps carriers prevent spam texts from businesses as more companies adopt SMS marketing. Such measures are necessary to preserve the credibility of text messaging as a reliable method of communication.
As carriers verify toll-free numbers, limits are placed on their traffic. These limits will gradually increase until the submission of the verification form. Luckily, our verification process is quick, so you can start texting without any restrictions in no time.
What are the Benefits of Toll-Free SMS?
If you have a toll-free number, it can make your business look more professional and dependable. Toll-free messaging provides more accurate delivery information and the option to send large amounts of traffic after approval, distinguishing it from local messaging.
- More Deliverable – Using toll-free messaging is a widely accepted channel for business text messages. Some businesses are now using local numbers for this purpose, but be aware that there may be limitations such as volume limits, text blocking, and filtering issues when using local numbers for texting.
- Offers More Accurate Information – Toll-free messaging provides more accurate delivery information for messages than local messaging. Toll-free messaging supports delivery receipts for the handset, confirming the message was received. In contrast, local numbers only receive delivery information based on whether the message was sent to the carrier.
- Less Expensive Than Local – Using toll-free texting is more cost-effective than local texting. Text-Em-All offers toll-free numbers to all customers without any extra charges. Therefore, toll-free texting is a good option for budget-conscious organizations.
- Equipped for Mass Texting and Conversations – Local numbers are only ideal for one-on-one texting, while toll-free text numbers are suitable for group and individual messaging. Using your Text-Em-All account, you can conveniently manage conversations through our mobile app on your cell phone or desktop.
Can Toll-Free SMS Send Text Blasts?
Yes. Toll-free SMS by text message marketing platforms allows businesses to send SMS blasts. It is a great way to reach a large audience quickly and effectively with personalized messages.
Can You Automate Your Toll-Free SMS Responses?
Yes. Most text message marketing services provide an automation feature that allows you to set up automated responses for your toll-free number. This makes it easier for businesses to respond quickly and accurately to customer inquiries. Automation also helps cut costs, eliminating the need for manual labor.
You can use automation to send automatic notifications or reminders to customers about upcoming events or promotions and automated replies when a user sends a text message. It ensures that you always provide your customers with the best possible experience. Automating your toll-free SMS responses is a great way to save time and money while increasing customer satisfaction.
Can You Send a Photo or MMS on Toll-Free Sms?
Yes. Many text message marketing services now allow sending of multimedia messages (MMS). Businesses can include pictures, videos, and other media in their SMS messages using MMS, an excellent way to make your messages more noticeable and grab customers’ attention. MMS provides a higher degree of involvement, which can boost customer loyalty and retention. Read about What is MMS? MMS Differences for SMS and Text Messages to learn more.
Can You Text a Toll-Free Number?
Yes. One of the advantages of toll-free SMS is that customers can contact you by sending a text to your toll-free number. Customers may simply send an SMS to the toll-free number by replying to a text message or directly. It will be routed directly to your business. It makes it easy for customers to reach out with inquiries or concerns without calling or visiting your website.