For those of you using VOIP providers for your business phone line, how do you deal with only sending 160 character long messages? I understand that texts that long are not needed often, but sometimes they are. I use grasshopper for mine and I read online that they also offer MMS, but then they made a statement contradicting that saying that they only offer messaging up to 160 characters or it will be split into multiple messages.
Call instead…
I get that. Like I said I understand that it’s not used often. Sometimes it’s very handy though when they don’t answer the phone and you want to just get the message across without having to keep calling them.
Leave a voicemail… if they aren’t answering their phone they probably aren’t looking at it for texts either… other then discussing numbers (to have it in writing) I can’t think of a single instance where a long-winded multi-text message would be better suited then just a phone call/voicemail. If it’s long enough that it needs to be sent over multi texts, it’s a phone call. I think this is more of a generational thing though, based off your profile pic, I feel like the younger generations don’t like talking on the phone as much… but it really is the quick and easy option to convey a longer message.
I hate the sales call that goes straight to voicemail. Someone from pwra does that to me occasionally. Super unprofessional.
Do they at least leave a voicemail? I hate the calls that go straight to voicemail and then they don’t even leave a voicemail.
Yes, that’s the thing. it rings one time and then goes to voicemail.
Yea I get those, but they never leave a voicemail
I disagree. So many people work from home now that they’re able to text but not call. I do the same leave a voicemail and then send a quick follow up text then give them a few days before I do anything else.
There are a few times i’ll get a call while driving or getting ready and rather than letting it ring several times i will just hit the side button and sent it to voicemail.
Yea that’s probably true. My point was that if it’s much more than a quick text (I.e. over 160 characters) then just call them.
If it were me, and I determined that a somewhat longer text was better than a phone call for whatever reason, I’d just let it get split up. Or maybe use the character counter on my phone and split the message myself. This ain’t rocket surgery 
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I find text messages or emails are way more convenient than calls. You’ll have to write down all the info that’s in that voicemail, might as well send it as text. Phone calls require both persons to be available at exactly the same time, and often end up in a voicemail response to another voicemail. Waste of time. Plus half the time the phone signal isn’t good or you can’t hear what they said, speaking too fast or heavy accent on a voicemail etc. Or they call at the most inconvenient times. I direct every phone call to our online contact form. If someone doesn’t go to fill the form they most likely weren’t a serious customer to begin with. It also helps avoiding errors when giving contact info and end up with the wrong email or adress.
That said, a lot of people want to speak to a human, and i do try to answer the phone and return calls. Then direct them to the contact form.
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Yeah I mean you’re kinda right with that. I just feel like the world is advancing and text is becoming the most convenient thing for everyone. You don’t have to go out if your way immediately to receive it, you can take a second to reply if you need to, you can think out your response, so it just makes it super convenient if they don’t answer the phone, then you leave a voicemail and shoot them a text saying the same thing. They’ll usually reply with a text and not a call. Thorough communication is value and I just wanted to be able to maybe see if there was MMS that offered like 250 characters. Because I think around 250 characters could be warranted by a text at certain times and gives the customer the option to choose what they want to reply to
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Exactly, getting them into that funnel is so important. It also allows for us to curate a better experience that way. It’s fast easy, convenient, and more effective than actually calling if you set up your funnel with the right systems and cues and CTAs
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I’m still trying to wrap my head around a situation that would warrant such a long text… Seems like this is happening to you quite a bit (since, after-all, you made a thread about it). Could you give some examples of when it’s totally necessary?
I’m with you on the importance of adding value with clear communication, but I see a wall of text or multiple texts as the exact opposite. Take, for example, Bottomless, a coffee subscription service I belong to. Every time they send a text (like about upcoming deliveries or shipments), it’s like a text storm—three or more texts back to back! First comes the whole spiel about why they’re texting, then a link to their site for review, and finally, a gif… seems rather unnecessary and unprofessional to me (but hey, at least they are a young cool start-up or something so it kinda makes sense). But come on, if you’re hitting me with multiple texts in a row, it better be because the house is on fire or something important, and if it is an emergency you better be calling anyways.
For sure. You just gotta be able to strike a balance. I definitely don’t spam my people, but I keep them updated with offers for sure. It’s a great way to build an army of people that really support you and come back over and over, and shed off wasting ad spend on messaging the people that don’t want your stuff because they’ll unsubscribe. Sucking all the juice out and really cheating the experience of loyal customers is worth 10x more than and more grow your business 10x more than losing a few random people who will unsubscribe from thinking you’re spammy
It’s never completely necessary. Never. So your logic is flawed. You’re always going to be able to say my example can be solved by a call or something else. Texting on its own is unnecessary. But something doesn’t have to be NECESSARY to be USEFUL, so I was just using my resources to see if there were any solutions to being able to send longer texts for if I wanted to
I agree, it is a useful tool to have, and I would also say it is necessary and preferred in some instances. Originally, it was a service for shooting off short, informal messages (hence the name SMS). The perfect tool for sending quick updates like “just arrived at the property” or “check out these before/after photos” or “all wrapped up, I’ll send the final invoice via email soon”. In those situations, a quick text gets the job done without needing to dial or leave a voicemail, and definitely not an email… where I find it really handy is for grabbing personal info like name, email, or address, where spelling matters. Having it all written out (by the person that knows the information) is an easy way to make sure it’s correct.
I’ve worked in corporate marketing departments, so my bias may be showing, but the majority of the budget always got spent on email campaigns. Emails allowed for better structure, longer messages, and bigger images… they were the go-to. I did see a small shift towards SMS ads… but it was never long winded, blocks of texts… Just a snappy headline and a call-to-action, with a link to a webpage for more info. That may be the way to go for you in the future.
Yeah I can see how e-mail has a lot of benefits. I leverage email as well because it’s great for lead nurturing. But the more I’ve geared my business toward welcoming people to texting me the more and more I find people texting me for an estimate instead of calling. People email big businesses because they cant text them. If they could text them they would. Texting is personal, and allowing yourself to create new messages on the fly that aren’t automated creates a lot of value and personalization. What businesses can you think of that would take time our of their day, several times, to text you and communicate with you thoroughly with completely custom messages that answer your previous texts. None. That’s value and differentiation right there. Not to mention the convenience and preference for many customers. Long form text is amazing and useful and a lot of people in our industry would be warranted to have and use it frequently
