Texting on Another Level: Key Differences Between Business SMS Texting & Mobile SMS Texting

SMS (Short Message Service) texting is a widely used form of communication, both in the business world and in our personal lives. However, there are some key differences that organizations and individuals should to be aware of between business SMS texting and mobile SMS texting. In this article, we will explore these differences and some of their implications.

High-level Overview of Differences Between Business and Mobile SMS Texting:

• Uses and purpose of communications
• Number of SMS messages / message volume
• Apps, platforms, software, or a phone
• Security
• Final thoughts

What SMS Messages Are You Sending and Why?

One of the main differences between business SMS texting and mobile SMS texting is the purpose of the communication. Business texting is typically used for commercial or professional purposes, such as customer service, appointment reminders, marketing, and internal communication. On the other hand, mobile SMS texting is used for personal communication between individuals. Businesses must comply with regulations and laws like 10DLC, TCPA, and GDPR (among others). While personal text messaging is subject to fewer regulations, businesses need to be compliant to avoid penalties and legal issues.

If you are a small-to-medium business, you may be reaching a point where it makes sense for you to move away from using your personal mobile device to send and receive SMS texts on behalf of your business and move to something more robust, designed for business purposes.

How Many Messages Are You Sending?

Another key difference between business texting and mobile texting is the volume of messages sent. Businesses often need to send a large number of messages to customers or employees, whereas individuals typically send a smaller number of messages to friends and family. As a result, businesses may have different delivery and messaging limits compared to mobile SMS texting. Business SMS texting providers offer bulk SMS services, which allow businesses to send messages to a large number of recipients at once.

In fact, certain mobile carriers can and will potentially punish you for sending too many text messages that seem like spam. This is often found in the fine print of your mobile agreement with your carrier.

What Do You Need to Use SMS Texting for Business?

Business texting often requires the use of specialized software or platforms. These tools allow businesses to manage and track their text messaging campaigns, as well as automate certain tasks. On the other hand, personal mobile SMS texting can be done through the default messaging application on a mobile device.

With Intulse, SMS texting on behalf of your business is a feature of our software, so you do not need to use another 3^rd-party application to send or receive SMS text messages for your business. There are some registration and regulatory fees that do apply.

Is Business SMS Texting Secure? Can I Automate My Customer’s Security?

Security is a very important consideration when it comes to the differences between business SMS texting and mobile SMS texting. Business SMS texting often involves sensitive information, such as customer data, financial transactions, and internal communications. As a result, businesses need to have robust security measures in place to protect this information. Personal mobile SMS texting is generally less sensitive and less critical, and therefore may not require the same level of security.

While not yet a feature offered as part of the Intulse VoIP system, you can leverage automated systems for 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) and send reset links or login confirmations to clients or customers using business SMS. While this would be possible on a personal device, it will be prone to errors, and is likely inappropriate to be sending from your own cell phone. Intulse currently uses email for 2FA to access the Intulse App.

Another important distinction is the protection of the texting enablement for your business number. While some regulation exists for business texting, primarily around it’s uses, there is no regulation regarding the procurement, provisioning, or transfer of the texting portion of a business phone number. Essentially, it is possible for someone to hijack SMS texting for a business number. While we can recover a hijacked number, it is a point of frustration that there are no regulatory protections in place.

Bear in mind that if a number is hijacked it does not compromise or expose any of your business data or your client information. Stay tuned for future articles about this topic, as it is something that should be covered separately because of how much information there is about it.

Does Business SMS Feel Personal?

A key difference between business SMS texting and mobile SMS texting is the level of personalization. Business SMS texting is often used to communicate with a large number of customers or employees, and as a result, messages may be less personalized. Personal mobile SMS texting, on the other hand, is used for communication between individuals and is typically more personalized. Businesses can use SMS marketing to personalize their messages using segmentation and automation.

When done right, business texting is exactly how personal it needs to be. Simple automated responses for security challenges are an example of what people often expect. At the same time, business texts can feel incredibly personal if you automate a “we’re closed” message in the event of adverse weather conditions or emergencies and you include a variable such as your client’s first name as part of a greeting or salutation.

Long story made short, it is as personal or impersonal as you make it.

So, do I Switch to Business SMS Texting?

While business SMS and mobile SMS may seem similar on the surface, there are some important differences that organizations and individuals should be aware of, as you have seen above. Business SMS texting is typically used for commercial or professional purposes, and is subject to stricter regulations and laws. It also requires specialized software and platforms, like Intulse, and may involve a large volume of messages. Mobile SMS texting is used for personal communication and is less regulated, but businesses should be aware of the laws and regulations when using it for their purpose. Understanding the differences between these two types of SMS texting can help organizations and individuals make the most of this powerful communication tool.

Intulse is always working on increasing the power and flexibility of our system, so look for updates in the future on tools like 2FA and appointment reminders as part of an expanded business SMS texting toolset.

If you think your business has reached a point where you should be considering a move to business SMS texting, give us a call!