TL; DR
Benefits of using a virtual SMS number:
- Privacy – you can keep your personal number hidden from the public domain.
- Static number – 2-way SMS messages actually use shared pool numbers.
- Control – having a number not connected to a member of your company or organization means they can leave and you maintain the same number.
- Generate inquiries – virtual SMS numbers mean you can place your number on your existing marketing and have people text you, this is not possible with shared pool numbers.
When it comes to sending SMS messages you have 4 options available:
- Personal number
- Sender ID
- Shared Pool Numbers
- Virtual Numbers
Let’s dive into each option in greater detail including the pros and cons of each.
Personal Mobile Number
Businesses that typically use their own personal number are ones that are dealing with known contacts.
i.e. a property manager, or a tradesperson, manager of a team, teacher to parent, coach to team members, etc.
This is not ideal if you’re sending a message out to people who do not know you personally.
I.e. marketing promotions, schools sending SMS out to students.
It’s also not ideal if you’re looking to generate new sales leads.
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of using your personal mobile number:
Pros
- You control the number
- The number never changes so recipients get instant recognition
- Texts come back to your personal mobile
Cons
- Your personal number becomes public
- Texts come back to your personal mobile
- People have the ability to call you back directly
Sender ID
This is quite popular with businesses because it allows you to use your business name or abbreviated version instead of your personal mobile number.
The Sender ID option is ideal for businesses or organizations that are using updates, reminders, or alerts.
Here’s the downside.
The problem with using a Sender ID is that you cannot receive replies, it is strictly a one-way text message.
This means Sender ID is more ideal for retirement villages, schools, medical facilities, sports clubs, etc. where you’re not concerned with replies you’re just looking to get information out there.
This is not ideal for marketing promotions since people will not be able to unsubscribe since unsubscribing requires the person to reply back to your message.
Pros
- People cannot text you back
- Perfect for one-way updates, alerts, reminders, etc. since it creates instant recognition for the recipient
- You control what Sender ID is displayed (e.g. you have different branches or teams you want the message to come from)
Cons
- Can’t be used for promotion since people cannot opt-out
- Only one-way
Shared Pool Number
A shared pool number is a virtual mobile number that you share with other customers.
For our SMS service, you will be using a shared pool number when you select the option “Send replies back to my email”.
The benefit of using a virtual number is that you maintain privacy, send and receive SMS messages while also having your replies sent back to your email address which is makes handling replies much easier.
The downside is that your number will likely change every time you send out a text message.
This can cause a little confusion from the recipient’s side.
Pros
- Privacy
- Receive replies to your email
- Send and receive SMS messages
Cons
- You don’t control the number
- The number rotates on each send
Dedicated Virtual SMS Number
The dedicated virtual SMS number combines most of the pros from the above options which makes it an ideal solution in most cases.
Who would benefit most from having a virtual SMS number?
If you want the most control combined with having the most options available.
Let’s look at the pros and cons:
Pros:
- Complete privacy – your personal number is not displayed on the recipient’s phone plus it is not connected to your mobile phone.
- The number never changes (brand recognition) – in terms of brand recognition, the best option would be having the Sender ID option that allows you to receive replies but the next best option is having a static number.
- 2-Way SMS – having a virtual SMS number allows you to receive SMS messages back to your email just like the shared pool number.
- Generate inquiries – unlike a shared pool number you can have your virtual SMS number on your website, business cards, windows, POS, etc. and people can send text messages back to you directly. The only other option where you can do this is by using your personal mobile number, but this is not practical having your personal number “out there” for a lot of businesses.
Cons:
- Not free – while the other solutions are free, they lack key features that the virtual number makes up for.
- Not able to make or receive calls – currently, our virtual SMS numbers are single-purpose and only allow for sending and receiving SMS messages.
Conclusion
In the majority of use-cases, our clients will only need to use the free options available, these are fine.
But if you’re a business or organization that would benefit from the specific features that a virtual SMS number provides then we now have this option available.