Inbound vs. outbound SMS: Your ultimate guide

SMS is one of the most effective communication channels for businesses to connect with customers quickly, directly, and conveniently. Businesses can leverage texting to increase customer engagement, boost marketing efforts, and drive business growth. But, to reap the benefits of SMS communication, it’s crucial for businesses to understand the differences and best uses for inbound and outbound SMS.

Read on to learn about these two SMS types and how to use them to grow and improve your business. 

Jump right to:

• What is inbound SMS?
• What is outbound SMS?
• Inbound vs. outbound SMS: Key differences
• Best use cases for inbound and outbound SMS

<h2 id="Inbound">What is inbound SMS</h2>

In the business context, inbound SMS is where customers initiate text messages to a business’ phone number. Customers use inbound SMS to send messages requesting customer support, scheduling appointments, opting into SMS with keywords, and leaving feedback. The main goals of inbound SMS are for businesses to interact with customers, increase engagement, and deepen customer relationships. 

<h2 id="Out">What is outbound SMS?</h2>

Outbound SMS, on the other hand, is where businesses send out text messages to customers. Businesses use outbound SMS to share promotional messages, reminders, order updates, account verifications, and other alerts to their audience. The main goals of outbound SMS are for businesses to inform customers of important events or updates and to encourage customers to take desired actions, such as purchases or sign-ups. 

<h2 id="Key">Inbound vs. outbound SMS: Key differences</h2>

Here are the key differences between inbound and outbound SMS that your business should know. 

• Initiation: With inbound messaging, customers text businesses first and request guidance or help. With outbound messaging, businesses initiate texts to customers that inform customers or push their business.

• Type: Inbound SMS is typically a two-way conversation between a customer and a business representative. Outbound SMS is a form of one-way mass texting, where customers often don’t reply directly to the message. 

• Compliance: Your business must get consent to text customers, whether you’re using inbound or outbound campaigns. There are two kinds of consent your business can receive. 

Inbound SMS uses implied consent, and outbound SMS requires express consent. Implied consent is given when a customer texts a business first. In other words, it is implied that a person reaching out via SMS wants a reply via text that’s related to their inquiry. Express consent is where customers give a business written or direct consent to message them. Businesses can obtain express consent from customers by collecting it verbally or through a webform.  

Find more information on consent guidelines and regulations in our security and compliance hub.

• Purpose: Inbound SMS is focused on improving customer engagement or resolving a problem through back-and-forth interactions between the business and the customer. Outbound SMS, on the other hand, is centered around informing customers with updates, reminders, or promotions.  

Here is an example of what an inbound SMS vs. outbound SMS looks like. 
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<h2 id="Best">Best use cases for inbound and outbound SMS</h2>

Now that you understand how inbound and outbound SMS compare, you may be wondering when to use each SMS type. Here, we’ll dive into popular use cases for both inbound and outbound SMS. 

Best inbound texting use cases

Inbound SMS is about letting customers reach out to your business. Customers can text your business first in the following instances:

• Customer support. SMS is great for customer support because it allows customers to text their inquiries directly to your business. SMS lets your customer support team quickly reply, set up auto responses, and personalize messages to improve customer service. Be sure to promote your SMS customer support channel on your website and other accounts, so customers can easily access it. 

• Scheduling. Customers can contact your business to schedule appointments or demos via SMS. You can have your team message back times that work or set up an auto-reply with a calendar for customers to book themselves. Scheduling through SMS provides convenience for customers and enhances customer experience. 

• Customer feedback. Get customers to text feedback to your business by asking for replies to surveys and asking follow-up questions. You can ask customers to respond with a simple answer like “YES/NO” or a number from 1-5. You could even ask for a written response, depending on the type of feedback you want to receive. Use your collected feedback and insights to improve customer satisfaction.  

• SMS keyword opt-ins. Encourage customers to opt-in to business texts by sending in a keyword. This opt-in method is a quick and easy way to get consent to send SMS messages to customers. 

• Interactive campaigns. SMS campaigns aren’t just for outbound messaging. Make your SMS campaigns interactive by encouraging replies to enter contests or adding polls. These can attract customers and boost engagement. 

Best outbound texting use cases

Outbound SMS messages are focused on getting important information out to customers after they have given consent to receive text messages. Here are instances where outbound texting is the best type of SMS to use. 

• Promotional messages. Use outbound texting to send SMS marketing messages such as discounts, limited-time deals, or product launches. With its 98 percent open rate, SMS is a great marketing channel. Here are some promotional SMS examples and templates to get your SMS marketing campaign started. 

• Reminders. Send SMS reminders to prevent lost income and reduce no-shows. These messages can be about appointment reminders, event reminders, demo reminders, and any other occasions you don’t want your customers to miss. Check out our 70 appointment reminder text templates blog for reminder SMS inspiration. 

• Order updates. Keep your customers notified about the status of their online orders through SMS. Text customers order confirmations, shipping updates, and delivery notices. By notifying customers about order updates through convenient and timely communication, you increase customer satisfaction. 

• Alerts. Urgent matters call for urgent messaging. Use SMS to quickly notify your customers about sudden changes. Send customers time-sensitive messages such as emergency notices, travel delays, or service outage alerts. Take advantage of SMS for instant communication. 

• Memos. Share announcements with employees via SMS. Sending memos through mass texting allows you to message all your employees at once and ensures that they see important messages. With mass SMS, you also save your business time because you’re reaching your contacts at once. 

• Verification codes. When an additional layer of security is required for a user to access your website, use outbound SMS to send users a one-time verification code. Verification codes are often needed in situations where users are logging into an account or resetting their password. SMS verification codes ensure business security. 

Meet Textline, a leader in inbound and outbound SMS campaigns

With high-rated mass texting and two-way texting services, Textline has everything you need to conduct successful inbound and outbound SMS campaigns. Textline lets businesses reach contacts on their preferred communication channel quickly and efficiently. You can manage both inbound and outbound campaigns with ease on a simple-to-use SMS inbox.

Want a seamless and secure texting experience? Join the thousands of users who trust the most secure business texting platform on the market. Sign up for your free 14-day trial of Textline today.