A missed call from an unknown number is almost always an enquiry. By the time the owner calls back, often hours later, the prospect is already talking to a competitor. A missed call text-back sent automatically within two minutes keeps the conversation alive without requiring anyone to be available.
Step 1: Choose your text platform
Most CRM platforms (including GoHighLevel, Jobber, and others commonly used in service businesses) include a missed-call text-back feature built in. If your current platform does not, SMS automation tools such as SimpleTexting or Textedly can handle it. Check your current platform first before subscribing to anything new.
Step 2: Write the text-back message
The message needs to do three things: acknowledge the missed call, reassure the prospect they have the right business, and give them an easy next step.
Draft: "Hi, you just called [Business Name] and we missed you. We will call you back within the hour. If it's easier, reply here with what you're looking for and we'll get back to you right away."
Write it conversationally, without formal language or disclaimers.
Step 3: Set the trigger
Configure the automation to fire within 60 to 120 seconds of the missed call. This window is critical. A text arriving 30 minutes after the call lands in a different context than one arriving within two minutes. The sooner it arrives, the more it reads as attentive rather than automated.
Step 4: Make sure the reply goes somewhere
Test the full flow before it goes live: call your business line, miss the call, receive the text, reply to it. Confirm that the reply arrives in a place where it will actually be seen and responded to, such as your CRM inbox or a monitored SMS inbox. An automated text that generates replies nobody reads is worse than no text at all.
Step 5: Monitor for the first two weeks
Check weekly how many missed-call texts were sent, how many generated a reply, and what the outcome was. This data tells you both how many calls are being missed and how effective the message is.
If you want the missed-call text-back connected to a full AI response sequence that handles the conversation automatically, book a free discovery call with EveryCatch and we will show you how it works end to end.
