SMS - Two-Way Texting: How it Works and FAQs
What is SMS: Two-Way Texting
Liscio SMS offers the client convenience and rapid response texting does, but will keep it in Liscio for easier firm-side management and visibility, further strengthening our general communication platform/all in one place messaging. Here are some of the ways this can aid you in your business:
- Get off your personal phone - to save your sanity, and for compliance
- visibility across the firm to text conversations
- quick, convenient responses from your clients
- get an answer from your clients, even if they aren’t active in Liscio or on email
- all communication in one place
- get the full picture of communication with a client on their timeline
How does SMS: Two-Way Texting work?
Once your firm has enabled SMS: Two-Way Texting, any firm employee will have the ability to activate a line. That line will have a provisioned number which can be used to communicate with clients. You text the clients through the SMS page in Liscio, and the client receives the text in their chosen messaging app on their phone.
What are some best practices when it comes to using SMS: Two-Way Texting?
As you begin using SMS: Two-Way Texting feature, we'd make the following recommendations.
- Liscio Messaging is still the most secure, private, safe way to communicate with your clients. The SMS feature in Liscio does not add Liscio-level security to texting. If you have clients that are already using Liscio Messaging for their communication with your firm, we'd urge you to stick with it as that's encrypted and secure inside the Liscio platform. SMS: Two-Way Texting is meant to help reach and retain clients that you've struggled to convert to using Liscio, as well as send out tasks to clients that are using Liscio but not checking their notifications regularly.
- SMS: Two-Way texting can help with Work/Life balance (if you want it to). You've already made the first step toward regaining your time and sanity by switching to Liscio. All client communication is now in one place, but we still have a lot of firms that had given out their personal phone numbers to clients for emergencies, and those clients may still want to reach out to that number by text, emergency or not. We'd encourage you to provide your provisioned number to your clients as a means of text communication, thus freeing up your personal phone number from those late-night texts from clients. You'll still see the notifications, but it'll funnel the conversations into Liscio, rather than in your phone's messaging application.
Can I use SMS: Two-Way Texting for shared Multi-Factor Authentication?
The feature can be used for MFA purposes. However, please note that many banks and other institutions have systems in place that recognize business lines, and if you provide the provisioned phone number for MFA purposes, it may not take on their end. We can't guarantee which companies will allow it to be used through our SMS: Two-Way Texting feature, but on our end, you're free and capable of doing so!
What are Text Notifications that clients opt in for when signing up?
You may notice the Text Notification check box next to a contact's phone number. This indicates that the contact has opted to receive Liscio's system text notifications from standard Liscio number.
Is SMS included with my license?
SMS has an additional monthly fee per line. $25/month/line for Core users. $15/month/line for Pro users. Similar to your personal lines, there are carrier fees related to these phone lines. The monthly fee covers the per line cost, plus the registration costs, plus the per messages fees. We’d love to include it for free, but think you’ll find this rate competitive with any other business texting solutions in the market.
Can we share one line?
We can’t support this until we have shared lines (coming soon!).
Will SMS be available online and through the mobile app?
Clients will receive a text message the same as a normal text. Firm users can send from the mobile app or from the web browser.
Do clients see texts in their Liscio as well?
No, client will receive a text message the same as a normal text. Only firm users will see any client text conversations in Liscio.
Can we use our own line for SMS?
Initially, users will be assigned a new line. We are looking into options to be able to transfer/convert your existing line. More on that to come soon!
Are there any firms that can't use the SMS feature?
Unfortunately, Sole Proprietors do not meet the necessary requirements for the SMS feature at this time. We are working on making this feature available to Sole Proprietors in the future!
Unavailable Lines
There will be times when no phone numbers with specific area codes, related to a firm's zip code, will be available. This is due to the amount of phone numbers Bandwidth actually purchases for customers to use. There is no idea of a waitlist with Bandwidth for additional numbers. The options in that situation are to offer a different area code close by or a refund.
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