Missed call text back vs voicemail
Voicemail waits for the caller to leave a message, and most callers don't. A missed call text back reaches the caller within seconds from your business number, and their reply lands on your phone. Voicemail is enough if you pick up nearly every call yourself.
| What to compare | Missed call text back | Voicemail |
|---|---|---|
| What the caller gets | A text from your business number within seconds, asking what they need. | A greeting, then a beep. The caller has to decide to leave a message. |
| What happens next | They reply by text, and the reply lands on your phone like any other text. | You listen to the message later and call back. |
| If the caller hangs up | The text still goes out, and the missed call is saved in the app with their number. | You see the missed call and nothing else. |
| How it is paid for | $299 a month, one plan, with six other services. No setup fee and no contract. Texts are paid from credits you load. | It is already on your phone, so there is nothing to set up. |
| Who does the work | We set it up and run it. You reply to the texts. | You listen to each message and call back. |
What happens to the caller
With voicemail, the caller hears a greeting and a beep. Most people don't leave a voicemail. They hang up and try the next business on the list.
With text back, the caller gets a text from your business number within seconds. It says something like "Sorry I missed your call. What can I help you with?" The caller replies, and the reply lands on your phone like any other text.
The text changes with the clock. During the day it says you're with a customer and will get back to them soon. After closing it says you're closed for the day and will reply first thing. A caller who rings three times in five minutes gets one text.
Anyone can reply STOP and the texts from your number stop. HELP gets them our contact details.
What each one costs
Voicemail is already on your phone, so there is nothing to set up and nothing to add.
Missed call text back is part of the $299 a month plan. The plan has seven services: a website we build and run, local Google search setup, missed call text back, follow-up texts, a booking calendar, Google review requests and text campaigns. There is no setup fee and no contract.
Texts are paid from credits you load. Every new client gets 800 texts and 250 call minutes a month for the first 3 months. After that a text costs 2 cents.
Who does the work
With voicemail, you do all of it. You listen to each message, work out who it was and call back.
With text back, we build it and run it. Replying is the only part that's you. Their reply comes to the same number the text came from, so you never dig through voicemails to find what they said.
When voicemail is the better pick
Text back doesn't answer the call or hold the conversation for you. Voicemail is enough in these cases:
- You pick up nearly every call yourself, so few calls are missed.
- Your callers are happy to leave a message and wait for your call.
- You would rather not have any texts go out from your business number.
In those cases the missed calls are few, and a voicemail box can handle them.
When missed call text back is the better pick
You miss calls while you are with a customer, up a ladder or closed for the night. Those callers tend to hang up, and a hang-up leaves you a missed call and no way to know what they wanted.
Speed is the reason. Harvard Business Review timed how fast companies replied to new web inquiries. The ones that tried within an hour were nearly 7 times as likely to qualify the inquiry as the ones that waited one more hour. That study is about web inquiries, not phone calls, and we cite it for why a fast reply matters.
A text arrives while the caller is still deciding who to call next. With voicemail, you hear the message when you next sit down, and some callers have moved on by then.
How to decide
Count how many calls you miss in a normal week. If it is close to none, keep your voicemail. If you miss them on the job, text back gives each caller an answer in seconds.
If you aren't sure, ask on the 20 minute call. If it isn't a fit for your business, we'll say so.
Read next: Missed call text back vs an answering service. Or see how missed call text back works and the questions owners ask.
See it work on a real phone
Twenty minutes. You watch a missed call get a text back, live, then decide.
No setup fee. Cancel any time after launch. Full terms
From the first call to launch
Setup takes about a week.
- Book a 20 minute call.We show you the system on a real account, and you ask what you like.
- Pay with the link we text you.If it fits, the link comes on the call. We start building once it goes through.
- We build it, then it goes live.You see it first. Your first month starts the day it goes live, not the day you pay.