Missed call text back for small businesses

You cannot answer every call. You are with a client, on a job, serving a queue, or closed for the day. With missed-call text back, the caller who reaches nobody gets a text from your business number a moment later, asking what they need. If they reply, the conversation carries on by text, and your team sees the whole thread.

It is part of Realtiq's chat assistant, so the same answers apply on your website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, email and SMS, and the missed-call conversation sits alongside the rest.

How it works

1. A customer rings your business number and the call goes unanswered.
2. A moment later, they receive an SMS from your business number that names your business and asks how you can help.
3. When they reply, the assistant answers from the information you approved, collects the details and books where it can.
4. If a person should step in, your team gets an alert with a summary, so nobody asks the customer twice.

A missed call becomes a conversation instead of a voicemail nobody listens to.

What the assistant says and does

Everything it says comes from what you gave it.

• Hours, prices, services and service area, in your tone
• Qualifying questions, asked one at a time: what the job is, which suburb, preferred times
• Bookings and quote requests, with a name and a way to reach the customer
• Handover when the enquiry needs you: a complaint, a negotiation, anything unusual
• No improvising. It does not invent prices, discounts or promises, and if a customer asks whether it is an AI, it says so.

What has to be in place

• A business number that can send and receive text messages. Some landlines cannot, so the set-up may involve forwarding or a new number, depending on your phone provider
• A way to detect an unanswered call, usually call forwarding
• A first message you are happy with, in your words
• Opening hours for the service: all day, after hours only, or only when you are on a job
• Someone who takes the handover, with an alert on the channel you actually watch

Realtiq confirms all of this in the proposal, including phone number and carrier costs, which are listed separately and set up in your name.

Where it fits

It fits businesses where calls are frequent, short and routine.

• Trades and mobile services whose calls come in while you are on a job
• Salons, barbers and clinics where your hands are busy
• Cafés and restaurants during service
• Gyms and studios where the front desk is not always staffed

Where it does not

• Callers who need a voice conversation straight away, such as an emergency
• Complex or sensitive matters that need a person from the first minute
• Anything you have not approved the assistant to say

For calls you want answered by voice, the AI voice agent picks up the phone itself. Many businesses use text back for the calls they miss and a voice agent when they want every call answered. Read the longer explanation in missed call text back for a small business.

A note on SMS rules

Texting in Australia is covered by rules on commercial electronic messages. A text sent in reply to someone who has just rung your business is a different situation from a marketing message, but you should still know how your business is affected. The Australian Communications and Media Authority publishes guidance, and we are happy to talk it through when we set things up.

What it costs

Missed-call text back is included in the chat assistant, which covers all of its channels for one price.

It runs month to month, and you can cancel any time. A monthly volume of conversations is included and set in your proposal. If it is ever exceeded, we agree it with you first. Integrations, such as booking into your calendar, are scoped and quoted separately. Prices in Australian dollars.

If you also want every call answered by a voice agent, that is a separate service:

How to get started

1. Book a 15 minute call with Jacobo.
2. Tell us how many calls you miss, when, and what callers usually want.
3. We write what the assistant knows, you test it, and it goes live when you are happy.

Common questions

What is missed call text back?

When you miss a call, the caller gets an SMS from your business number a moment later, and the conversation continues by text.

Does it work with my existing number?

Often, yes, through call forwarding. It depends on your phone provider, and the exact route is agreed in the proposal.

Can I choose when it runs?

Yes. You decide the hours, and it is set up with you.

Can it book appointments?

Where it is connected to your calendar or booking system, yes. Each integration is scoped and quoted in the proposal.

How much does it cost?

It is part of the chat assistant: A$990 setup plus A$149 a month, month to month.