As mentioned in previous posts, a virtual number is basically a mobile number that isn't attached to a SIM card like what we have with our own mobiles, so it lives virtually within the networks number pool providing for an address for the reply messages to come back through - much in the same way an email address works.
A dedicated virtual number just means that the number you use is the same number you always use and you're the only one that uses it, it's dedicated - again like your home phone or mobile number which is also considered to be dedicated.
What are the benefits of dedicated numbers? Well for starters it means that every time you send a message to someone it appears as coming from the same number every time, that means that people don't get what I like to call the shock of the unknown. Since the inception of caller ID, people have developed a fear of receiving calls and SMS from numbers that they don't recognise - who's this stranger contacting me, what do they want, and is it going to be something bad? It happens, it's part of our fight or flight mechanism that's built into every single one of us.
Dedicated virtual numbers relieve this pain, firstly. The second benefit is that it opens up functionality for services, so where initially you might have wanted to get confirmations for messages you sent initially, now you can use the service to allow proactive enquiries from your customers - no longer do they need to receive a message from you in order to respond, they can now send one straight to you first. You can't help but to have some call waiting time if all your staff that deal with customers are on the phone, but offering a inbound SMS request for contact can reduce this by having staff call back once they're off the phone - this reduces costs to the company if they are using 1300/1800 toll free numbers because you're not paying for people to wait whilst your staff are dealing with other customers, as well as reducing "phone holding" frustrations too.
A common question I get is "do I need a different number for each staff member?" - the answer is no, we have some companies using a single number across hundreds of users, though quite often companies will opt for a number per department, allowing their recipients to know which section of the business is talking to them.
Another question I get is"does it mean that you can pair inbound messages with their original outbound messages?" Alas, no, that's because there is nothing within the SMS protocols that allow for providers to attach a hidden message tag on the message that can allow for the pairing, but that said, there really isn't yet a 100% accurate option for that anyway. If you take a provider that use dynamic virtual numbers - meaning every time you send to a customer it comes from a different number, then what you're looking at is where they might use a number of addresses which send out in a revolver scenario - i.e. they use 6 numbers messages goes to A from number 1, message goes to B from number 2 and so on, so that each messages goes out from a different number, the problem is that depending on the number of times you send to the same client versus the number of virtual numbers in the round versus the responsiveness of the recipient.
It's a tough one to get around, and it comes down to how the application in the real world will work - my experience is that companies that are looking for that functionality don't inundate people with SMS to the point where it's a real requirement, more of a conception, or they really do, but a 99% success rate is 1% the wrong way and would in fact muddy the water, isn't an absolute thing and therefore make the information untrustworthy. More often than not, what's really required are the use of keywords, and that would be one of the few ways to get an accuracy rate of 100%.
So why a dedicated number? Well as you can see I've barely scratched the surface and there are a number of good reasons, but ultimately that comes down to you and what you're looking to do now, and into the future - but if you ever have a questions about it, then please let me know.
Enjoy,
C
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