URGENT Request for Alphanumeric Sender ID Support for SMS in the UK
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Jacques Van Den Wijngaerd
We’d like to request Alphanumeric Sender ID support for SMS in the UK to improve brand recognition and reduce unnecessary unsubscribes. Currently, GHL does not support masking SMS numbers with a recognizable Sender ID, meaning UK recipients see an unfamiliar number instead of the business name.
This is causing higher unsubscribe rates, as customers don’t immediately recognize who the message is from. For example, one of our clients sends non-promotional follow-up texts one day after a vehicle service—simple confirmations and reminders. Despite these being valuable service-based messages, we've received warnings about higher SMS unsubscribe rates.
From our perspective, the lack of a recognizable Sender ID is a major factor in this. We previously understood that UK Alphanumeric Sender IDs aren’t supported in GHL, but we need confirmation on whether this feature is planned or if there’s a viable workaround. If no solution is on the roadmap, we may need to explore alternative SMS providers for the UK market.
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Eddy CEO WhatSnap.ai - Connect YOUR phone to GHL
We've dealt with this exact problem across multiple UK clients. The unsubscribe rate difference is pretty dramatic when people can't recognize who's texting them. For our UK messaging we ended up moving to WhatSnap.ai since it uses real device SMS without the A2P restrictions, so clients see actual phone numbers that feel more personal than random carrier numbers.
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Harold Trial
Honestly, this is exactly why many people start looking for alternatives. Not being able to use Alphanumeric Sender ID in the UK can easily become a deal breaker for businesses that rely on recognizable sender names.
CRM Phone Pro is already available in the App Marketplace, and it allows you to integrate your own Telnyx account directly into your system. That setup supports features like Alphanumeric Sender ID where Telnyx allows it.
If your current setup can’t support something that basic for international messaging, it might be time to consider upgrading your phone system.
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Rob Thomas
It's clear that we want/need to improve unsubscribe rates down from 4% to below 2% (as GHL have flagged) and yet it's also clear the root cause is the fact that an unknown mobile/cell number is shown as the sender rather than a known Alphanumeric Sender ID which GHL also says they don't yet support. Unfortunately competitor Text/SMS platforms do already (such as TextLocal here in the UK) and so this is a VERY important feature that we need implemented a.s.a.p. if we are not going to lose GHL business. So I'd be grateful that this be implemented a.s.a.p. not as a 'nice to have' feature but one that is vital for growth of GHL through our agency and many others with similar challenges I'm sure.
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Crm Account2
Rob Thomas - Have you tried CRM Phone Pro that allows alpha numeric sender id - I know a lot of people are starting to use them instead now. The reason why is they give you full access to Telnyx inside your CRM sense they are a contracted partner - (also the saving is insane.)
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Harold Trial
Rob Thomas Hey Rob any updates?
you’re honestly spot on about the root problem. When customers see a random phone number instead of a recognizable sender name, unsubscribe rates go up fast especially in places like the UK, EU, and Australia.
That’s actually one of the reasons many agencies started switching to custom providers.
With CRM Phone Pro, you can connect your Telnyx account directly into your CRM, which allows things like Alphanumeric Sender ID for international messaging where supported. We already have multiple clients actively using this setup, and it has helped improve both recognition and messaging performance.