SMS is a powerful way to engage with your customers. In the interest of keeping it that way, new compliance rules are being rolled out from carriers to ensure trust, prevent spam, and create a better user experience. 

New requirements around application-to-person 10-digit long codes will allow businesses to reach their customers quickly and reliably. There are other options available, like toll free numbers and short codes—which offer their own unique benefits—but local numbers will remain a go-to for many businesses. Here’s why.

Whether it’s a call or a text message, receiving communications from a local number creates a sense of familiarity for consumers. 

Long codes can feel more personalized than toll free numbers and short codes, which have the potential to feel more corporate. Local numbers indicate a degree of personalization that shows you’re invested in the experience your customers have when they engage with you. In the age of hyper-personalization, these small touches can have a major impact. 

A local number can also help build trust with your customers through familiarity. By giving your franchises and offices a number corresponding to their location, you help establish your presence in the community and your authority on the area’s market and unique needs.

One of the major benefits the A2P 10DLC changes will provide for the use of local numbers is increased throughput and deliverability.

Businesses will now be able to complete a registration process that will allow carrier networks to verify who a business or user is, how they’re using SMS, and whether that usage is compliant. This process will be similar to the one currently used for short codes—but will be much faster to successfully complete.

Adjusting to these new systems might create short-term challenges for your business, but the long-term benefits will have an immensely positive impact for both you and your users: this approval process will help carriers predetermine whether they can trust that communications are compliant, and therefore grant verified users increased throughput and deliverability with fewer flagged messages.

If you want to leverage the power of a local number to reach customers more effectively, we’re here to help. The experts at the Twilio Trust Hub can help you prepare your business for the upcoming changes to the U.S. business messaging ecosystem so that you can continue to serve customers uninterrupted.