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How to Choose the Right SMS Number for Your Business

alohaa

March 1, 2025

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Introduction

Choosing the right SMS number for your business is a crucial step in building an effective communication strategy. The number you select directly impacts customer engagement, message deliverability, and brand trust. With the increasing reliance on SMS for marketing, customer support, and notifications, selecting the optimal SMS number can help businesses improve response rates and streamline communication.

Businesses today have multiple SMS number options, each suited to different needs. Local long codes provide a personal touch, toll-free numbers enhance credibility, and short codes ensure high-volume, instant message delivery. The best choice depends on your messaging goals, volume, and compliance requirements.

In this guide, we’ll explore the different types of SMS numbers, their benefits, and how to choose the one that best aligns with your business needs. We’ll also highlight integration strategies, compliance considerations, and best practices to maximize your SMS communication efficiency.

Understanding SMS Numbers

SMS numbers serve as the foundation of business messaging, allowing companies to send and receive text messages professionally. Whether used for customer support, marketing campaigns, or transactional updates, the right number can significantly improve communication effectiveness.

What Is an SMS Number?

An SMS number is a dedicated phone number that enables businesses to send and receive text messages at scale. Unlike personal mobile numbers, these numbers are designed for higher throughput, compliance, and business messaging use cases.

SMS numbers integrate seamlessly with VoIP, Cloud Telephony, and IVR solutions, allowing businesses to create automated workflows, interactive messaging, and two-way customer conversations.

Why SMS Numbers Matter for Business Communication

Enhance Customer Engagement – SMS has an open rate of 98%, making it one of the most effective communication channels.
Improve Brand Trust & Recognition – Dedicated SMS numbers help establish a professional and recognizable business identity.
Enable Two-Way Conversations – Unlike email or one-way alerts, SMS numbers support real-time customer interactions.
Ensure Compliance & Deliverability – Choosing a registered SMS number helps businesses meet industry regulations and avoid spam filters.

Understanding the different types of SMS numbers will help businesses choose the best option based on their communication strategy and operational needs.

Types of SMS Numbers & Their Use Cases

Businesses have multiple options when choosing an SMS number, each catering to different messaging needs, customer engagement strategies, and compliance requirements. Below is an overview of the main types and their best use cases.

1. Local 10-Digit Long Codes (10DLC)

Best for: Small to medium-sized businesses, regional communication, and personalized customer interactions.

Overview:
A 10-digit long code (10DLC) looks like a standard phone number but is registered for business messaging. These numbers help businesses maintain a local presence, making communication feel more personal.

Why Choose 10DLC?

Builds local trust and familiarity with customers.
Affordable compared to toll-free or short codes.
Enables two-way conversations for customer service and engagement.

However, 10DLC numbers have limited message throughput, making them less suitable for high-volume messaging.

2. Toll-Free SMS Numbers

Best for: Nationwide businesses, customer service teams, and professional branding.

Overview:
A toll-free SMS number (starting with 800, 888, etc.) is ideal for businesses that need nationwide credibility and higher message throughput than local numbers.

Why Choose Toll-Free SMS?

Increases brand credibility and professionalism.
Higher deliverability rates than local numbers.
Supports two-way messaging, making it useful for customer support.

While toll-free SMS numbers are more scalable than 10DLC, they require business verification for compliance.

3. Short Codes (Dedicated & Shared)

Best for: High-volume campaigns, time-sensitive messages, and large-scale promotions.

Overview:
A short code (5-6 digit number) is specifically designed for bulk SMS messaging, making it ideal for marketing, OTP verification, and emergency alerts.

Why Choose Short Codes?

Fastest message delivery speeds in the industry.
Handles high volumes—millions of messages per month.
Boosts brand recognition since short codes are easy to remember.

However, short codes are costly (ranging from $1,000-$1,500/month), and shared short codes are being phased out due to regulatory concerns.

Choosing the Right SMS Number for Your Business

If your business focuses on local engagement and customer conversations, a 10DLC number is a cost-effective choice. For nationwide branding and customer service, toll-free SMS numbers are a better fit. If your business needs instant, high-volume messaging, short codes are essential.

Selecting the right SMS number depends on your business goals, budget, and communication strategy. Whether it's personalized customer interactions, high-volume SMS campaigns, or customer service automation, your choice will define your messaging success.

Key Benefits of Using a Dedicated SMS Number

Investing in a dedicated SMS number ensures reliability, compliance, and brand consistency. Unlike shared or unregistered SMS numbers, a dedicated number enhances business communication efficiency and customer engagement.

1. Strengthening Brand Recognition & Trust

A dedicated SMS number helps businesses establish a consistent sender identity, ensuring customers recognize and trust messages. Unlike random sender IDs, a dedicated number:

Improves brand recall for SMS campaigns.
Reduces spam risks, leading to higher message open rates.
Creates a professional impression, especially for customer support.

2. Enabling Two-Way Customer Conversations

A dedicated SMS number allows businesses to engage in real-time, two-way conversations, improving customer experience and response rates. With a dedicated number, businesses can:

Receive customer replies directly.
Enhance customer support with automated responses and live agents.
Engage in ongoing conversations, rather than just sending one-way notifications.

For businesses using Cloud Call Centers or IVR solutions, integrating SMS with voice support enhances multi-channel communication.

3. Ensuring Compliance & Improving Message Deliverability

Regulatory bodies require businesses to use registered SMS numbers for large-scale messaging. A dedicated SMS number:

Improves deliverability by avoiding spam filters.
Meets compliance standards, such as TCPA and GDPR.
Reduces the risk of message blocking by mobile carriers.

By ensuring compliance, businesses can prevent fines and increase customer trust.

4. Tracking & Analyzing SMS Performance

With a dedicated SMS number, businesses can monitor performance metrics and optimize their messaging strategy. Important insights include:

Delivery rates, ensuring messages reach customers.
Response rates, measuring engagement levels.
Click-through rates (CTR) for marketing campaigns.

Analyzing these metrics helps businesses refine their SMS strategy, ensuring higher ROI and customer satisfaction.

How to Select the Right SMS Number for Your Business

Choosing the right SMS number depends on multiple factors, including message volume, audience reach, compliance needs, and budget. Selecting the best option requires businesses to analyze their goals and the way they plan to use SMS for customer communication.

1. Define Your Messaging Needs

Start by evaluating how your business intends to use SMS:

Customer support: If you need two-way messaging for inquiries and assistance, a toll-free number or 10DLC is best.
Marketing campaigns: If your focus is on promotions and bulk messaging, a short code ensures faster delivery.
Transactional alerts: For appointment reminders, order confirmations, and OTPs, short codes offer reliability and speed.

2. Consider Message Volume & Throughput

The volume of messages sent daily impacts the type of number you should choose:

Low-volume messaging: 10DLC numbers are affordable and effective for small businesses.
Medium-volume messaging: Toll-free numbers offer higher throughput and better brand credibility.
High-volume messaging: Short codes are the best choice, ensuring instant delivery of thousands of messages per second.

3. Factor in Compliance & Carrier Regulations

Regulatory requirements differ depending on the type of SMS number used:

10DLC requires business registration to meet compliance standards.
Toll-free numbers must be verified for proper use.
Short codes involve a lengthy approval process, but they offer the highest level of trust and reliability.

Failing to comply with carrier regulations can result in blocked messages and potential fines. Businesses should ensure that they work with an SMS provider that simplifies compliance.

4. Balance Cost & Business Growth

While 10DLC numbers and toll-free SMS numbers are cost-effective, short codes come with higher costs but offer the best ROI for large-scale messaging.

For businesses looking to scale, it’s essential to select a number type that accommodates future growth while keeping messaging costs within budget.

5. Align Your Choice with Customer Expectations

Understanding your audience’s preferences and trust factors is key to choosing the right SMS number.

Local businesses benefit from 10DLC because customers recognize and trust local numbers.
Toll-free numbers enhance credibility, making them ideal for national or online businesses.
Short codes are best for high-engagement marketing since they are easy to remember.

By aligning your SMS number selection with your business model and customer needs, you ensure higher engagement and better communication outcomes.

Implementation Strategies: Setting Up Your SMS Number

Once you’ve selected the best SMS number for your business, proper setup and integration will ensure smooth operations and maximum efficiency.

1. Integrate with Your Existing Systems

For businesses that rely on CRM tools, marketing automation platforms, or call centers, choosing an SMS provider with seamless integration capabilities is critical.

A well-integrated SMS system should:

Sync customer data for personalized messaging.
Automate workflows, such as appointment reminders or order updates.
Allow real-time tracking of SMS campaign performance.

Solutions like Cloud Call Centers ensure that SMS messaging is aligned with voice and IVR systems, creating a unified customer communication strategy.

2. Ensure Compliance with SMS Regulations

To avoid carrier blocks and legal issues, businesses must comply with SMS marketing laws, including:

TCPA (USA): Requires explicit customer consent before sending promotional texts.
GDPR (Europe): Emphasizes data privacy and opt-in transparency.
DND (India): Prohibits unsolicited marketing messages to numbers on the Do Not Disturb list.

Best practices for compliant SMS messaging include:

Obtaining opt-in consent before sending messages.
Providing opt-out options in every message.
Identifying your business in all communications.

3. Test Your SMS Setup Before Full Deployment

Before launching a large-scale SMS campaign, businesses should conduct testing to ensure:

Messages are delivered correctly across different networks.
Automated responses function properly in two-way messaging.
Campaign analytics are tracking performance effectively.

A successful SMS implementation ensures that messages reach customers without delays or compliance issues, maximizing engagement and campaign ROI.

Optimizing and Monitoring SMS Performance

Once you’ve selected the right SMS number and implemented it into your business communication strategy, ongoing optimization and monitoring are essential. Regularly tracking SMS performance ensures high engagement, better deliverability, and compliance with carrier regulations.

1. Tracking Key SMS Engagement Metrics

To maximize the effectiveness of your SMS campaigns, monitor these critical metrics:

Delivery Rate – Measures the percentage of messages successfully delivered. A low rate may indicate carrier filtering issues or invalid phone numbers.
Open Rate – Unlike email, SMS typically boasts an open rate of 98%, but tracking click-through rates (CTR) provides better insights into customer engagement.
Response Rate – Evaluates how many recipients reply to messages. A higher response rate indicates successful two-way communication.
Opt-Out Rate – Helps assess whether your messaging frequency or content is too aggressive or irrelevant to recipients.

By analyzing these metrics, businesses can refine their messaging approach, improve customer interactions, and enhance ROI.

2. Improving SMS Engagement with Best Practices

Even with the right SMS number, optimizing the content and timing of messages is key to increasing customer engagement. Follow these best practices:

Keep Messages Clear & Concise
SMS messages have a 160-character limit, so ensure each message delivers value without unnecessary text.
Personalize Messages
Use customer names or previous interaction history to create a personalized experience.
Send Messages at the Right Time
Avoid early morning or late-night texts. The best time to send business SMS messages is between 9 AM and 6 PM in your target customer’s time zone.
Test and Optimize with A/B Testing
Run A/B tests to compare different message formats, call-to-action (CTA) styles, and sending times to determine what works best.
Provide an Easy Opt-Out Option
Ensuring compliance means allowing recipients to unsubscribe easily (e.g., replying “STOP” to opt out).

By implementing these best practices, businesses can increase engagement rates while ensuring their SMS campaigns remain effective and compliant.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Understanding how to choose and implement the right SMS number can help businesses streamline communication and improve customer interactions. Below are common questions businesses have when selecting an SMS number.

What is the difference between short codes, long codes, and toll-free numbers?

Each SMS number type serves different business needs:

Short codes (5-6 digit numbers) are ideal for high-volume messaging, such as marketing campaigns or authentication codes.
Long codes (10-digit numbers / 10DLC) are best for local, conversational messaging and customer support.
Toll-free SMS numbers (800, 888, etc.) allow for nationwide communication with a balance of affordability and high throughput.

How do I obtain a dedicated SMS number for my business?

Businesses can acquire dedicated SMS numbers through reputable SMS providers that handle number registration and compliance. The process generally involves:

Choosing the number type (short code, toll-free, or 10DLC).
Registering the number to ensure carrier compliance.
Integrating the SMS number into business systems such as Cloud Call Centers or marketing automation platforms.

What should I look for when selecting an SMS service provider?

The ideal SMS provider should offer:

High deliverability rates to ensure messages reach customers.
Scalability to support future business growth.
Seamless integration with CRM, IVR, and customer support tools.
Regulatory compliance support to meet TCPA and GDPR requirements.

Are there legal regulations to consider when using SMS for business?

Yes. Businesses must comply with SMS marketing regulations such as:

TCPA (USA) – Requires businesses to obtain explicit consent before sending marketing messages.
GDPR (Europe) – Ensures data privacy and clear opt-in processes for SMS marketing.
DND (India) – Restricts marketing SMS to users who have opted out.

Following compliance best practices helps businesses avoid fines and ensures messages are delivered successfully.

How can businesses set up two-way text messaging for customer support?

To enable two-way SMS conversations, businesses need:

A dedicated SMS number (toll-free, 10DLC, or short code).
An SMS platform that supports incoming and outgoing messages.
Automation tools to manage customer queries and replies efficiently.

For businesses looking for end-to-end SMS communication solutions, integrating with Cloud Call Centers or IVR systems can help create seamless customer interactions.

Conclusion: Choosing the Right SMS Number for Business Success

Selecting the right SMS number is a critical decision that impacts customer engagement, brand perception, and message deliverability. Whether you opt for a 10DLC, toll-free number, or short code, aligning your choice with your business goals ensures effective communication and scalability.

To recap:

10DLC numbers are great for local businesses and two-way messaging.
Toll-free SMS numbers provide a professional presence with high deliverability.
Short codes are essential for large-scale marketing and instant messaging.

Beyond selecting the right SMS number, proper integration, compliance, and performance tracking are key to maximizing the impact of your business messaging strategy.

With the right tools and SMS platform, businesses can streamline customer interactions, increase engagement, and ensure regulatory compliance.