Missed-call text-back, explained

What missed-call text-back is

Missed-call text-back sends a text to someone whose call you could not answer, from your business number, shortly after the call ends. Instead of a voicemail that may or may not get left, the caller has a text in their hand that they can answer when it suits them.

It suits businesses where the owner is regularly busy with a customer or out on a job and would rather reply to a written message than return a string of calls. It is included in both NeuCalla plans, including Texts & Chat, which has no call answering at all.

How it works, step by step

1. In the dashboard, set a NeuCalla number to Answer by text.
2. Use your carrier’s forwarding codes (Telstra, Optus or Vodafone) so calls you miss or decline on your usual number go to that NeuCalla number. You keep your number.
3. When a call comes through, the caller hears one short line, by default “Sorry we missed you — we’ll text you now.”, and the call ends. You can change that line or turn it off.
4. The text goes to the caller from the number they rang.
5. The call shows on your Calls page as Missed — texted, or Missed — not texted with the reason.

Setup is part of the plan. We call your number with you, let it ring out, and check the text arrives and the reply reaches you before you rely on it.

What the text says

You write it. To get you started, NeuCalla fills in this message, with your business name at the front:

“Bexley Plumbing: sorry we missed your call. Reply with your suburb and what you need and we’ll get back to you. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Asking for the suburb and the job in the first text means the reply can be enough to decide whether to book, quote or pass. Keep the opt-out line in whatever you write.

When no text is sent

Text-back is deliberately careful. NeuCalla does not send the text, and records why, when:

• the caller withheld their number;
• the caller’s number is not an Australian mobile, such as a landline;
• the caller is your own mobile;
• the caller has asked your business to stop texting them;
• the same caller was already texted from that number in the last 60 minutes;
• the NeuCalla number cannot send texts, or has no texting settings saved;
• the account is paused.

With the default spoken line, when no text goes the caller hears “Sorry we missed you.” instead, so nobody is promised a text that is not coming.

When the caller replies

For each number you choose who handles replies:

• The receptionist answers by text with the same business details, rules and diary it uses on the phone. It asks what the job is and where, answers questions, gives prices you have set, books a time and sends payment links.
• You answer. Replies are sent to your mobile and saved as a follow-up. Opt-out and opt-in words, such as STOP and START, are handled for you and not forwarded.

When the receptionist answers, the conversation sits in Conversations with the customer’s history. Press Take over to reply from the dashboard, and Hand back to let the receptionist carry on. Analytics shows how many missed calls were texted, how many replied and how quickly.

A reply that comes in within seven days of the missed call is linked to it, so you can see which call started the conversation.

Opt-out words

Callers stay in control of whether they hear from you again:

• STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, OPTOUT or REVOKE opt the caller out, including in the middle of a conversation.
• CANCEL, END or QUIT opt the caller out when no conversation is open. Inside an open conversation they are read as an answer, so “Cancel” can cancel a booking.
• Plain requests such as “stop texting me” are recognised as a stop too.
• START, UNSTOP or YES opt them back in.

Once someone has opted out, missed calls from them are not texted, and the reason shows on the call.

Want the bigger picture of handling calls you can’t take? Read after-hours calls for tradies, or see how texting works in NeuCalla.