How to enable texting from your business landline

You can enable texting from your business landline by using a business messaging platform that converts your existing landline number into a text-enabled number. This allows your business to send and receive SMS messages from customers while keeping the same contact number they already recognize.

Summary

Text messaging has quickly become the preferred communication channel for customers. While many organizations still rely on landline numbers as their primary contact point, modern messaging platforms now allow those same numbers to send and receive SMS messages. With open rates as high as 98% and most texts read within seconds, texting from landline helps businesses respond faster, handle multiple conversations simultaneously, and deliver more convenient customer experiences. By enabling SMS on your existing business number, you can maintain a consistent contact channel across listings, websites, and marketing materials while engaging customers in the way they prefer.

In this blog, we’ll explore how businesses can enable texting from their existing landline numbers and what to look for in a business text messaging platform.

Why is it important to have a text-enabled landline?

‍Here are some compelling reasons to make your landline textable.

• Most calls to businesses go unanswered. Businesses fail to pick up 62% of calls. 
• 70% of consumers think SMS marketing is a great way for businesses to get their attention.
• Only 33% of people check voicemail from a business, and a mere 18% of consumers listen to voicemails from unknown numbers. Rather than calling, confirm that appointment or accept customer payments over text instead.‍
• The open rate for SMS is 98% and 90% of texts are read within 3 seconds. 

‍The case for using SMS in business communication is undeniable. Consumers text more than they call, respond faster to text messages, and prefer the medium to any other channel. There are additional benefits for you and your business.

1. You won’t have to use your personal number to communicate with customers

You or your employees may not always feel comfortable giving out their personal cell number to customers. A benefit of landline text messaging is that sharing personal numbers isn’t necessary. You can share the company’s landline number and still deliver personalized, quality customer service over SMS. 

2. Increased efficiency

One of the limitations of phone calls is that you can only take one phone call at a time. With texting from your landline enabled, It is much easier to have multiple conversations at once. This helps employees to multi-task and get more done. It also makes it easier to manage customer interactions. Your business can continue using your current landline number, with the benefits of both calls and text messaging. You’ll be able to increase customer loyalty by providing them with personal and friendly service by text and phone from one number.

3. Provides consistency

Your business won’t need to have separate numbers for “text us” and “call us”. Instead, you can provide customers with one general “contact us” number that can be included on your website, business listings, business cards, and advertisements. Customers can use the same number for an initial text, and then follow up with a voice call later if they want to seek more details or resolve a customer service issue.

How to enable texting from your business landline

Enabling texting from your business landline actually isn’t a complicated process. In fact, there’s zero technical expertise needed. With business text messaging software like Birdeye, you can setup landline texting in just two steps.

All you have to do is enter your business’s landline number on the Birdeye dashboard. Shortly thereafter, you’ll get a call with a verification code, to make sure that you’re actually the owner of the phone number. And just like that, within 24-48 hours, you’ll be able to send texts through your landline.

Once the texting functionality is added to your phone, you can start sending texts to your customers as well as receive texts within Birdeye Messaging. 

You can then monitor and manage your text messages, social media messages, emails, Google messages, and more, on your desktop or on your smartphone with the Birdeye mobile app. 

A quick note here:  While landline phones can be enabled for text messaging, VoIP phones cannot. If you’re not sure what that is, think of it this way: a VoIP phone is a phone that needs the Internet to work. If your phone doesn’t need the Internet, then you should be able to connect your phone to Birdeye Messaging.

Related: 7 easy ways to do business texting from a computer

What to look for in a business text messaging platform

1. View all customer messages in one Inbox

Text messaging is just one channel among multiple that your business uses to engage with prospects and customers. When your employees are sorting through texts, emails, chat, etc — it can get overwhelming. Your software should include a centralized inbox, where you can bring all conversations together to manage and respond to all messages from multiple channels from one place.

2. Create templates

Using a customer messaging platform, you should be able to create message templates that reflect the tone and voice of your business. No matter who is communicating with the customer, the voice of the business will remain consistent.

3. Use attachments

When texting from your landline, you shouldn’t need to struggle to describe something to your customer, or suffer because your customer can’t describe an issue to you. Look for a business texting software that supports sending attachments.

4. Internal notes

Customers hate having to repeat themselves just because they’re speaking to a different employee. Want to cut down on loss of information because a new employee is responding to the customer? Your business texting software should have one inbox where everyone can work together and add internal notes to conversations so they can collaborate, and be on the same page to ensure success. 

5. Get notifications and take your landline on the go

Your landline may be limited to one location, but you’re not. The right business texting software will send notifications by email, SMS text messaging, and also provide desktop notifications so you can stay on top of every incoming query. This way you’ll never miss any of your landline text messages, or messages from any channel, whether you are at your desk, out to lunch, or taking a walk.

FAQs about texting from your business landline

How Birdeye can enable texting from your business landline

For multi-location brands, customer communication happens across many channels, text messages, emails, social media, and web chat. Managing these interactions across separate tools can slow response times and create fragmented customer experiences.

Birdeye helps businesses centralize customer communication in one place. As the #1 Agentic Marketing Platform for multi-location brands, Birdeye brings together customer interactions, data, and automation into a single platform designed to help businesses respond faster and deliver better customer experiences.

1. Manage all customer conversations in one inbox

Birdeye Inbox allows businesses to manage messages from multiple channels, including SMS, web chat, email, and social messaging, in one centralized dashboard. This makes it easier for teams to monitor conversations and respond quickly without switching between tools.

2. Reach customers through text and other messaging channels

Birdeye enables businesses to communicate with customers through SMS text messaging, web chat, social media messaging, and email, helping brands meet customers on their preferred communication channels. This allows businesses to send and receive messages, respond to customer inquiries, and manage ongoing conversations directly within the Birdeye platform.

3. Capture and qualify leads automatically with AI

Birdeye’s Lead Generation Agent helps turn incoming conversations into qualified leads. When a new message arrives through text, website chat, or social messaging, the agent activates automatically. It analyzes the message to understand intent, starts a contextual conversation, collects lead details such as name and phone number, and routes the conversation to the appropriate team when needed. This ensures businesses never miss an opportunity to engage with potential customers.

3. Organize and segment customer contacts with AI

Birdeye’s Contact Management system helps businesses keep customer information organized so teams can communicate more effectively. Through the Contact Segmentation Agent, Birdeye automatically generates smart audience segments, keeps them updated in real time, and shows which segments engage and convert best. This makes it easier to send relevant messages, personalize outreach, and maintain consistent communication across locations.

4. Measure messaging performance and response times

Birdeye’s Messaging Reports provide insights into how teams communicate with customers. Businesses can track metrics such as active conversations, received messages, and median response time, helping them evaluate team performance and identify opportunities to improve response speed and customer engagement.

Want to see how it works? Discover how Birdeye Messaging helps businesses turn everyday conversations into leads and customer relationships. Watch our free demo.