Two-way SMS
Also known as: business texting, shared SMS inbox
Text messaging where the customer can reply and the office sees the conversation — not just one-way notifications.
Two-way SMS in a service business means the office can send a message and the customer can reply, with the reply landing in a shared inbox where any team member can pick it up. This contrasts with one-way notification SMS — automated reminders that come from a no-reply number — which only the system speaks through.
Two-way SMS is how modern customer communication actually works. A customer texts "can we move this to Thursday?" and a CSR responds in five seconds without a phone call. A technician running 20 minutes late texts the customer directly from the same number the office uses. Implementing two-way SMS requires real telephony infrastructure — a business DID with messaging enabled, a shared inbox UI, message threading, and (in the US) 10DLC carrier registration to avoid spam filtering. Without all four, what's marketed as "SMS" is just one-way notifications.