A simple guide to texting from landline

Texting from a landline allows businesses to send and receive SMS messages using their existing business phone number by enabling it through a messaging platform. This helps businesses communicate with customers more efficiently, improve response rates, and manage conversations without relying solely on calls.

Summary

Texting has become one of the most effective communication channels for businesses, with significantly higher open and response rates compared to email. Enabling texting from a landline allows businesses to modernize their communication without changing their existing phone number.

By making a landline textable, businesses can send reminders, respond to customer inquiries, and manage conversations more conveniently from a single system. However, to make the most of this channel, it’s important to follow best practices like personalization, timely responses, and compliance with messaging regulations such as 10DLC.

In this blog, we covered how landline texting works, why it matters, how to set it up, and the key guidelines businesses should follow to use it effectively.

Why should businesses enable texting from landline? 

Studies show that the open rate for text messages is more than 4x the open rate for emails. While it’s easy to miss an email, customers almost always check their text messages. And texting from a landline makes sure that customers do not block your message, not recognizing the number. 

Adding text capabilities to your official business landline numbers means:

• Communicating is more convenient for the business owner. You don’t have to drop what you’re doing to take a customer’s call. You can text your customers while you’re taking care of your business. 
• Sending mass text messages with links and preformatted templates is easier 
• You can keep track of all official individual communication chains that arise from the mass communication
• You can send appointment reminders, confirmations, and payment links from your computer 
• Access all official communications from a single device than juggling multiple devices 
• You can automate messages based on rules such as completion of payment, survey responses or appointment requests from your official number. 

Can landlines receive text messages? 

Landlines cannot receive text messages by default, as they are stationary phones traditionally used only for calling. 

That is why landline and text messages sound like an unlikely combination, but times have changed. Customers can now text a business on their landline number, which is usually the go-to number on all business listings, with a small process. 

Yes, businesses can make their landline number textable with a service like Birdeye that can enable the texting provisions on their phone number by making it compliant for 10DLC messaging.  

Once that is done, customers can text a landline number, and businesses will be able to receive and respond to them via a computer or a mobile device.

How does texting from landline work? 

Once you have enabled texting on your landline number, customers can send messages to you. The next step in the process is to understand how to initiate conversations from this number and respond to incoming messages. 

To enable texting on your landline, 

• Sign up for a cost-effective service like Birdeye that allows you to do that. Birdeye can enable texting on your landline number with a quick verification call once you have signed up for the service. 
• Set up your account. Birdeye integrates with 400+ systems, making it easier for businesses to import contacts and other vital information. 
• Choose between an individual contact or a list of contacts to send messages to. 
• Compose your message
• Hit send 

Once you have done this, you can view a copy of your messages in your Birdeye Inbox, where the replies will also land. 

As soon as a message comes in, Birdeye will notify you, and you can start communicating with your customer using a computer or a mobile phone. You can also set up an auto-response to show your customers you are present and working on their queries. 

A quick note:  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, you should be able to connect your phone to Birdeye Messaging.

Guidelines for texting from landline

Now that you can leverage text message marketing for your business from your landline, you must do it right. While customers prefer the convenience of text messages, you can’t over spam or send text messages at the wrong time. 

To help you leverage this marketing channel, follow these landline texting best practices: 

10DLC Compliance 

 To avoid spamming customers from unregistered numbers, wireless carriers have implemented a best practice for businesses. Businesses must register an A2P 10DLC (Application-to-person Digital Long Code) regulation to continue texting customers. 

For businesses in the United States, this regulation determines how wireless carriers impose restrictions on message volume, delivery rate, and spam regulations on them. 

Registering for 10DLC builds trust in your business via transparency on who is sending the message and what is the content. 

Failure to comply can lead to wireless carriers blocking messages from businesses to customers and that is a scenario all businesses must avoid. 

To know more about 10DLC, read our detailed blog on the subject. 

Give your customers the option to opt-out 

Some of your customers might not want to be contacted via text messages. Make sure that they have an easy out, so they don’t become frustrated with your business. 

Include a button where customers can opt out of your texts. To prevent customers from wanting to opt out in the first place, make sure they understand from the beginning how often you’ll be contacting them and why. 

In the United States, you can only text customers between 8 am to 8 pm, so make sure you follow these rules and the service you use does not send automated messages in this timeframe, like Birdeye. 

Personalize your interactions 

Customers won’t answer a generic text message that seems like spam. That’s why it’s important to make sure that your texts are personalized. Remember, texts that connect with your customers have a higher chance of being opened and answered. 

Use services that allow you to customize templates, add unique information, and send pertinent text messages in one click.

Monitor the responses 

When you start a new communication channel, you must be also available to respond to customers instantly. No one likes a one-way communication process, especially not customers who expect a high level of service from every business. 

For best results, 

• Set up alerts so that you can know whenever a message comes in
• Set up automated responses that tell customers an estimated time of response for every message 
• Use a service like Birdeye that helps you create templated responses for your frequently asked questions 

Frequently asked questions about texting from landline 

Manage customer conversations with Birdeye 

Enabling texting on your landline is only part of the solution. As message volume grows, brands need a way to respond faster, stay organized, and deliver consistent customer experiences across every interaction.

Birdeye is the #1 Agentic Marketing Platform built for multi-location brands that want to move beyond basic texting and deliver fast, consistent, and high-quality customer communication at scale.

Birdeye Messaging AI helps brands manage and scale customer conversations across channels, while continuing to use their existing landline number. Birdeye’s Messaging AI Agents work around the clock to capture new leads, segment audiences, and send tailored messages that drive engagement across SMS, webchat, email, and social channels.

The Lead Generation Agent ensures you never miss a customer inquiry. It engages customers instantly with context-aware, human-like responses, helping capture and qualify leads the moment they reach out.

The Contact Segmentation Agent automatically identifies and organizes your audiences using real-time data. This allows organizations to send more relevant and targeted messages, improving engagement and communication efficiency.

The Template Design Agent helps you create on-brand messages quickly. It generates ready-to-use templates for texts, emails, and campaigns, enabling faster responses without relying on manual drafting or design support.

All conversations are managed through a unified inbox, where messages from SMS, email, webchat, and social platforms are organized in one place. Teams can respond efficiently, track conversations, and ensure no message goes unanswered.

With Messaging AI, brands can move beyond basic texting and build a more structured, responsive, and scalable communication system, making it easier to engage customers, manage conversations, and improve overall experience.

Want to see how you can manage landline texting and customer conversations more efficiently? Watch a free demo to see Birdeye in action.