Missed-call text-back
The caller who hung up gets a text that can actually help.
Most people who reach a busy line do not leave a voicemail. They call the next business. Zenith texts them back from the line they dialed, and the text is not a form letter: it is the start of a conversation with an agent that can book a time, answer the question or set up a callback.
Sorry we missed you at Larkin & Rye Ballard. I can book a table or answer a question right here.
Zenith · 6:05pmTable for 2 tonight around 8?
6:06pm8:15 is open by the window. Shall I book it?
Zenith · 6:06pmYes please
6:06pmWhat happens
From a missed call to a booked time.
- 01
The call is missed
The line rang out, was busy or came in after hours, and the caller hung up before leaving a message.
- 02
A text goes out
Zenith texts from the number they dialed, names your business and the location, and offers to help right there.
- 03
They reply
The reply lands on the caller's thread, and the agent your rules pick for that line answers it.
- 04
The job gets done
A booking is made and confirmed, a question answered, or a callback task set for a named person.
The conversation
A text written for the line they called.
The text-back is written per line, so a caller to the catering number hears about catering and a caller to a location hears about that location. Known customers are greeted as customers.
- Your words
- You write the opening text for each line, or start from the one Zenith suggests.
- Then the agent
- Once the caller replies, the same agents that answer calls answer the text, with the same records.
Sorry we missed you at Larkin & Rye Ballard. I can book a table or answer a question right here.
Zenith · 6:05pmTable for 2 tonight around 8?
6:06pm8:15 is open by the window. Shall I book it?
Zenith · 6:06pmYes please
6:06pmRules
The rules every text-back follows.
- One text per missed call
- A caller who rings three times in a minute gets one text, not three.
- Who it goes to
- Numbers that can receive texts. If a number cannot, a callback task goes on the thread instead.
- Opting out
- Every text says who it is from. A reply of STOP ends texting to that number at once.
- Blocked numbers
- Numbers you have blocked never receive a text-back.
- Your team first
- If someone on your team calls the person back before they reply, the agent steps aside on that thread.
On its own, and where it stops
Zenith handles the routine. Your people handle the rest.
Zenith sends the text-back and handles the reply on its own, including booking a time or answering a routine question. A complaint, a refund request or a caller asking for a person goes to your team on the thread.
Zenith answers, routes, books and handles routine questions on its own. Refunds, discounts, complaints, low reviews and campaigns wait for a person, and anyone on your team can take over a conversation at any time.
Your dataThe voice model carries the spoken conversation and nothing else. Your customer records stay in your own database, read only by your own agents.
Start here, keep the foundation
Start with missed-call text-back. Add the rest without starting over.
Text-back is the simplest place to start: forward only your missed calls and turn it on for one line. The thread each text starts is the same thread calls, webchat and the shared inbox use, so the conversation history is already there when you widen it.
FAQ
Questions, answered plainly.
What is missed-call text-back?
Missed-call text-back sends an automatic text to someone whose call was not answered, so they can continue by text instead of calling another business. In Zenith, the reply is answered by an agent that can book, answer questions or arrange a callback.
Which number does the text come from?
From the Zenith number the call reached: the forwarding number for a location or the tracking number on the source they used. Replies come back to the same thread.
Do we need to forward every call to Zenith?
No. Many businesses forward only calls that ring out, hit a busy line or arrive after hours. Your team keeps answering as it does today, and Zenith catches what it misses.
What if the caller was calling from a landline?
If the number cannot receive texts, Zenith does not send one. It puts a callback task on the thread for the person your rules name, with the time of the call and the line they dialed.
Does the caller need to have opted in to texts?
The text-back is a reply to a call the person made to you. It identifies your business, and STOP ends texting to that number at once. Each company registers its texting through Zenith before any text is sent, and Ferrata reviews the wording with you during setup.
Can we write the text ourselves?
Yes. Each line has its own opening text, written by you or started from a suggestion. What the agent says after the caller replies follows your policies and knowledge, not a generic script.
Related in Zenith
- AI receptionistEvery call answered by a voice that knows the caller, books the visit and hands off with context.View
- Business textingTwo-way texting from your business lines, answered by agents and your team.View
- Call routingEvery call sent by the line dialed, the time, who is calling and why.View
- Shared inboxOne thread per person across calls, texts, webchat, email and reviews.View
From Ferrata Labs
- Ferrata LabsThe firm that builds Zenith, and builds AI agents into operating businesses.
- Finding use casesA method for choosing which workflow goes first.
- How it worksAssess, Anchor, a first agent live in under 90 days, then your team.
- Book a discovery callThirty minutes on one workflow, and an honest answer on where to start.
Start with missed-call text-back, or talk it through first.
Thirty minutes with Ferrata Labs on how calls and messages reach you today. You leave with a view of where Zenith fits, and an honest answer if something else should come first.
Your menu, your policies, your routing and the way you talk to customers are yours. Zenith is configured to them. You are not fitting your front desk into a template.