Application-to-person messaging refers to sending a text message from a software application to a mobile phone user. A2P messaging is used by businesses to send text messages to their customers in a compliant and secure manner.
With the growth in business texting, A2P texting is now one of the most popular ways for companies to communicate with customers and employees. But what’s different about A2P messaging compared to how you text friends from your mobile phone? We’ll dive into what A2P means, how it compares, and more in this blog.
Jump right to:
- What is A2P messaging?
- How does A2P messaging differ from P2P messaging?
- Phone number types for A2P
- How businesses use A2P SMS
- Benefits of A2P messaging
- Frequently asked questions
<h2 id="What">What is A2P messaging?</h2>
A2P messaging, often called A2P texting or A2P SMS, is defined as text messaging from a software application to a consumer mobile phone.
Mobile network operators like Verizon and AT&T consider all messages sent via business texting platforms, like Textline, to be A2P.
Businesses use A2P messaging for a variety of use cases, including SMS marketing, appointment reminders, two-factor authentication, and customer service.
<h2 id="How">How does A2P messaging differ from P2P messaging?</h2>
P2P messaging, or person-to-person messaging, is defined as two-way messaging between humans. This is the standard back-and-forth text communication you have with friends and family on your personal mobile device. P2P includes group messaging on a native mobile device and within software applications like Facebook Messenger.
On the other hand, A2P messaging is texts sent from an application to a mobile phone. This will be the texts you receive from businesses.
Although the text messages received by your contact look the same for P2P and A2P, there is a difference in how the messages are delivered. For P2P SMS messaging, the messages are sent from the sender’s mobile device via a mobile service provider and delivered to the recipient.
For A2P SMS messaging, the A2P messaging platform routes the message to an SMS gateway. From there, the message is translated and passed to the mobile service provider, which sends it to the desired recipient.
Additionally, text messaging from an application also grants users access to more features fit for businesses. This includes automatic replies and mass text messaging.
A2P Messaging vs. P2P Messaging Chart
Here’s a comparison chart of A2P vs. P2P.
<h2 id="Phone">Business texting phone number types</h2>
There are three number types that can be used to send A2P messages: short codes, toll-free numbers, and 10-digit long code numbers.
- SMS short codes. Designed for high-volume text messaging, short codes are five digit numbers brands can use to mass text customers at scale. The registration process is lengthy and short codes are the most expensive phone number type.
- 10DLCs. Designed specifically for A2P messaging, 10-digit-long-codes provide businesses an alternative to short codes. They are local area codes that support high-volume sending. You must register with the Campaign Registry.
- Toll-free. Also a great option for businesses, toll-free numbers enable brands to text from an 833 or 844 prefix. These are trusted phone number types for organizations and offer businesses the most affordable price.
Learn more about the best phone number type for your business.
<h2 id="Use">How businesses use A2P messaging</h2>
Businesses use A2P messaging to communicate important information with consumers, employees, leads, and potential candidates. Below we share a few examples.
Appointment reminders or confirmations
Use a business texting application to send automated appointment reminders or confirmations to your clients. This will allow you to cut down on no-shows and help keep your business schedule on track. These messages span reservation reminders from restaurants and hotels, appointments for healthcare providers, service confirmations for home repair companies, and more.
Emergency alerts
Emergencies happen unexpectedly. Use a text message to quickly alert your customers or employees. A texting platform will allow you to get a text message to your target audience in a matter of seconds.
Order updates
Keep customers in the know about their orders. Set an automatic message to trigger when a customer places an order, send shipping updates, or delivery confirmations.
Billing reminders and updates
Send customers text message updates about their outstanding bills. This includes payment reminders or payment confirmations. Many businesses in healthcare and home services benefit from leveraging text messaging for billing related reminders.
Feedback requests
Businesses across the country use SMS to send customers feedback requests. Use a business messaging platform to set up automated text message surveys that send after a support interaction, service completes, or order gets delivered.
Textline offers built-in text surveys, like NPS and CSAT, making it seamless for brands to set up automated feedback requests in seconds.
Customer care
Use text messaging to support customers. This includes using texting for customer support, customer service, or account management. Add texting as a communication channel to resolve customer issues, answer questions quickly, or send reminders about upcoming contract lapses.
Two-factor authentication (2FA)
A common way businesses use business texting platforms is for 2FA. Send customers a one-time password via text message to confirm their identity and better protect their accounts.
SMS marketing messages
Use SMS messaging for promotional marketing campaigns. Send offers, discounts, or abandoned cart reminders to customers. This is one of the more popular use cases for businesses.
Out-of-office messages
Set an automated out-of-office message to send to customers if they text into your business phone number and you are unavailable. Send them a text that triggers when your business is closed or you are on vacation.
Internal messaging
For businesses that have field workers, SMS is a great way to reach them. Send a text message blast to employees to notify them of important memos or ask if they can fill a last-minute shift. Businesses can benefit significantly from texting their employees.
Sales messages
Equip your sales team with a text messaging platform. Allow sales members to reach out to their leads or contacts via text to close more deals. You can use texting to follow up with leads, schedule demos, and nurture contacts.
Recruitment
Text potential candidates about job openings. Use SMS to schedule interviews, remind candidates about interviews, and request additional information. You can also use it in the onboarding process.
Thank you messages
Send customers a thank you text message using a business SMS platform. ‘Thank you for your business’ messages are great to encourage and retain loyal customers.
Fraud alerts
A common use case is sending SMS messages to alert customers to fraud or suspicious activity on their accounts. This is a particularly common use case for financial institutions.
Event messaging
Get more attendees to your event by inviting them using a text message. An A2P platform can help you send text messages to guests leading up to the event, during the event, and post-event.
<h2 id="Benefits">9 top benefits of A2P messaging</h2>
There are many benefits of application-to-person messaging. Below we break down nine.
- Increased reach. The reality is that 97 percent of Americans own a cell phone. This makes SMS a great way to reach your customers.
- Contacts see your message. SMS is more effective than email. In fact, SMS has an average open rate of 98 percent, compared to 20 percent for email.
- Get more replies. The response rate for SMS is 45 percent, compared to 6 percent for email.
- Improved customer engagement and satisfaction. Businesses can improve customer satisfaction and engagement by using A2P messaging. That’s because it supports quickly responding to and communicating with customers.
- Reach customers quickly. SMS allows businesses to reach customers quickly and send updates immediately. In fact, the average text message is read within three minutes and responded to in 90 seconds. A2P SMS is an easy way to get time-sensitive messages out.
- Reach many customers simultaneously. A2P platforms allow businesses to mass text. This means you can send one consistent message to many contacts at the same time.
- Automate parts of your workflow. With business texting software, you can automate SMS messages to send to customers at the right time. For example, you could get an SMS message to send every time a customer places an order.
- Flexible message formats. Most A2P services support both SMS and MMS. MMS allows you to send messages with larger character counts, photos, links, and more.
- Feature-rich messaging. With a business texting application, you get access to features that make texting at scale possible, from scheduled messages to automated message routing.
<h2 id="FAQ">Frequently asked questions about A2P messaging</h2>
Here are some of the most common questions, answered.
How do I send A2P texts?
There are three steps:
- Pick an A2P messaging platform.
- Register your business texting number.
- Craft your texts and send.
Can I use my personal cell number to send A2P texts?
No, if you’re using your personal cell phone number and mobile device, you’re not sending A2P texts. Instead, you’d be sending a P2P message. You can’t send commercial business text messages via P2P pathways anymore.
How much does A2P messaging cost?
The cost depends on the SMS messaging platform you select, your phone number type, and number of messages you want to send. Get a full cost breakdown for Textline in this blog.
Textline is the industry-leading A2P platform for teams
Texting is becoming popular in business communication. In fact, the global A2P messaging market size is expected to grow by $23.1 billion by 2029.
That’s because A2P messaging allows businesses to engage with contacts where they are: their mobile phones. Use A2P messaging for marketing, customer relationship management, and more.
Textline is an application-to-person SMS provider built for teams looking to scale. No matter your use case, Textline can help you revolutionize customer communication. Book a demo or start a free trial today.
