Why should you consider switching to a Zipwhip alternative?
The answer to this question is quite simple: Zipwhip is shutting down operations as it is being acquired by Twilio, a customer engagement platform. Here’s all you need to know about the shutdown:
- If you’re a Zipwhip user, the last date for making changes in your account is October 1, 2023.
- After this date, you won’t be able to migrate any data from your account and your account will be frozen as is.
- The changes that you can make before April 30 include changes in product/package level, subscription term/payment frequency, changing users/lines/keywords, and access to integrations.
- November 30, 2023 will be the last day of functionality for Zipwhip. The complete shutdown of the software will be done by December 1, 2023. This means that all accounts will be disabled, and users will no longer be able to send or receive text messages using the platform.
- You can cancel your account anytime you want, before the shutdown. If you wish to cancel your account before the shutdown date, you need to give Zipwhip a 30-day notice period. Please note that despite the shutdown news, the cancellation policy remains the same.
- If you have an annual contract with Zipwhip, your subscription will be converted to a monthly basis to avoid any disruptions in services.
- Before the shutdown date, you can download or reinstall the Zipwhip apps.
The shutdown date is just right around the corner, and since Twilio doesn’t offer any migration support, it is going to be very difficult for you to migrate all your data after the shutdown. You won’t have any access to any data from your account as the last day to migrate your data from Zipwhip is October 1, 2023. To avoid any roadblocks, it is the right time to make a switch and look for an alternative that suits your needs.
Here is all that you need to know while migrating out of Zipwhip.
Note: 1 October 2023 is the end of migration support from Zipwhip
How should you think about your Zipwhip migration?
Moving software’s is a daunting task and as a business owner, you do not want to get stuck with another business that may get acquired tomorrow or may not give you the support you need. At Emitrr, we value support more than anything else. Everyone at Emitrr is required to work in the support role and our reviews are a testament to that.
What are the things you should consider before moving from Zipwhip to a better Zipwhip alternative? Given the current situation, Zipwhip customers do not have a choice to stay with Zipwhip, but they do have a choice to pick the right software and we want to go a step ahead in helping you choose the right software by sharing an unbiased comparison of the top Zipwhip alternatives and how we compare to them.
Below is the comparison of Emitrr with other Zipwhip alternatives that Twilio is recommending. But before looking at the comparison, keep in the important things while choosing your software:
- Support: The company should offer great support so you are not left unattended to.
- Pricing: Look at software’s that does not break the bank and can solve more problems.
- Capabilities: You do not want to get stuck with a software that is limited in its capabilities. When given the opportunity to switch, pick the most comprehensive solution for your business.
- Integration: Try and automate as much as possible and this can only happen if the texting software you pick, integrates with your current EMR/PMS/Scheduling software and more. Ask the new vendor if they integrate with your software.
Top Zipwhip alternatives
There are four alternatives that stand out, which are similar to Zipwhip.
Podium
TextRequest
Voxie
Let us compare these four based on the features they offer, their pricing plans, and reviews.
1. Features
Here’s a feature-by-feature comparison of all the listed Zipwhip alternatives:
2. Pricing
When we talk about choosing one alternative over the other, pricing is one of the major factors that make or break our decision. So, to make it easy for you, here’s a price comparison and an analysis of the same to help you understand which alternative will best suit your needs and your budget.
Key highlights from the above table:
- The starting plan of Podium at $249/month offers 1000 contacts and just 3 team members.
- The starting plan of Voxie at $99/month offers 2000 messages.
- The starting plan of Text Request at $59/month offers just 1000 messages.
- Only option for the plans in Text Request or Voxie priced at the Pro level offer the benefits that customers really need. The beginner plans are very basic and don’t offer much.
- The professional plan by Emitrr offers extra features such as integration, automation, and schedule-based texting. The pricing is fairly simple and there are no hidden costs involved.
3. Reviews
When a customer looks for a business online, the first thing that catches their attention is the number of reviews a business has, the overall star rating, and what people say about that business. As a business, you also need to check out the reviews of all these Zipwhip alternatives to get a clear idea of what people say about these softwares. Here are some examples of each of these alternatives:
EMITRR
Key highlights:
- Smooth transition
- Great customer support
- Better pricing than other Zipwhip alternatives
VOXIE
Voxie doesn’t have any reviews on top review platforms such as Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice. It has very less reviews on G2, based on which, the key highlights are as follows.
Key highlights:
- Responsive customer support
- Easy to use
- Difficulty in viewing all conversations on one dashboard
PODIUM
Key highlights:
- Expensive product
- Good review management
- Subpar customer support
TEXT REQUEST
Key highlights:
- Poor text conversations layout
- Easy to use
- Was chosen because of low price
- Less likely to be recommended
Comparison table: Emitrr vs Podium vs Text Request vs Voxie
Before we jump into why Emitrr is the best ZipWhip Alternative, let’s try to understand what exactly Emitrr does and how is it different from ZipWhip.
What is Emitrr?
Emitrr is a customer communication and engagement platform that allows you to automate your workflows and seamlessly interact with your customers through text messaging.
Whether it is confirming an appointment or asking for a review, whether it is responding to a missed call or communicating with a web visitor, Emitrr’s texting capabilities help users achieve flexibility and scalability.
Why is Emitrr the best Zipwhip alternative? How is Emitrr different from its competitors? What are the features that make it the best Zipwhip alternative? Let’s find out!
What are the features that make Emitrr the best Zipwhip alternative?
Emitrr is a complete communication and engagement software, built specifically for small businesses like healthcare practices, home service businesses, and more. Here are some key functionalities offered by Emitrr that make it an ideal choice for local businesses:
Similar interface
Emitrr’s interface is exactly like that of Zipwhip. So, when you migrate from Zipwhip to Emitrr, there will be absolutely no roadblocks in terms of learning to operate a different software.
This is what Emitrr’s interface looks like:
This is what Zipwhip’s interface looks like:
Emitrr is an apples-to-apples comparison with Zipwhip, but also offers a diverse set of features that Zipwhip doesn’t.
Hassle-free migration
Emitrr offers easy migration in 30 minutes and you can operate with the same business number that you had in Zipwhip. There’s no need to switch to a different number.
Round-the-clock support
The support team at Emitrr offers 24/7 assistance, from answering queries to resolving issues, and even customizing features as per the users’ needs. This will help you deliver better customer service and enhance customer satisfaction.
Centralized dashboard
You don’t need multiple platforms for managing multiple locations or phone lines. You can manage all your locations and contacts from one single dashboard. There’s no cap on the number of locations, team members, messages, or contacts.
Integrations
Emitrr adds a layer of automation by integrating with your current software or technology stack such as (Electronic Medical Records), PMS (Practice Management Software), and Scheduling Software.
Easy data transfer
While migrating, all you need to do is export your contacts to an excel sheet, and the team will take it from there.
Diverse Features
Emitrr offers a range of interesting features such as missed calls to text, web visitors to text, customizable reminders, and automated follow-ups that none of the other alternatives offer. Zipwhip is purely a texting platform, but Emitrr’s diverse functionalities make it stand out.
Automation capabilities
You can easily keep your schedules full at all times by sending automated text and email reminders, follow-up for no-shows and rescheduling, and tracking fast-fill lists.
Dispositions
When you open a chat, you can easily set a disposition or a status of the chat. Doing so will keep you updated about a certain conversation and will avoid any confusion. You can have your own set of dispositions to choose from.
Folders
You can put your conversations in different folders based on your needs. You can create as many folders as you like, and even edit or delete folders. Folders help you keep your conversations organized.
Assign conversations
When you open a conversation, you have the option to assign it to your team members, mark it as read or unread, print the conversation, and even add it to one of your folders.
Unread filter
The unread filter allows you to view only the unread conversations. Once you’ve read those, you can mark them as closed and they’ll be visible under the closed conversations.
Metrics
You can track your missed calls (Missed calls, booking requests, dispositions), texting usage (inbound, manual, automated texts), and reviews (summary, review requests) and make informed decisions based on the data.
Text-enable your landline
Emitrr allows text enabling your landline number. This means that with this landline number, now you can not just make and receive calls but also send and receive text messages. You need not have a separate number for text messaging. Emitrr can text enable your landline number for you.
Group texting
Emitrr group texting, but Zipwhip doesn’t have that feature. While Voxie and Text Request have group texting as a feature, it is not as similar to Zipwhip as Emitrr’s.
Broadcast texting
Zipwhip’s broadcast texting is limited to 100 contacts per contact. You can send broadcast messages to only 100 contacts at a time. In the case of Emitrr, there is no limit to the number of contacts you wish to send broadcast messages to in one go.
Translation
This is a very important and unique feature that allows you to communicate with your clients who speak different languages. This feature translates incoming and outgoing messages keeping the language preference of the client in consideration. This further helps build strong relationships between you and your clients.
Open/close conversations
In Zipwhip, all conversations are docked in one inbox, irrespective of how old or new they are. In Emitrr, your closed conversations will come under a separate inbox, which in turn will make your open conversations inbox more actionable.
How to switch from Zipwhip to Emitrr?
Unfortunately, Zipwhip doesn’t make exporting data very easy and they currently don’t offer the ability to click a button and export your contact lists.
The good news is that there are some workarounds depending on the size of your contact list. You can simply export your data on an excel spreadsheet or a google sheet and our team will take it from there.
All your existing contacts and conversations can be seamlessly migrated to the Emitrr dashboard in less than 30 minutes. Our support and onboarding team can help you with the entire process of migrating your data over from ZipWhip.
The best part is you can continue to use the same business number you were using during your engagement with Zipwhip, with no outbound communications on updated contact information, and no loss of existing customers. Also, since Emitrr offers direct integration with Zipwhip, all your contacts, conversation histories, groups, and templates will be transitioned to Emitrr. Your customers can reach you on the same number with upgraded functionality ensuring a better customer experience every step of the way.
Considering that Zipwhip is soon shutting down, it is time for you to switch to a Zipwhip alternative. Book a demo with Emitrr to see how it best fits your needs.
When we began our abandoned call texting pilot, our objective was to understand how much opportunity was being lost because we couldn’t answer the phones. I’ve been able to see an 8% lift in appointments booked (33% from new patients) because of that too.
Leslie Brewer, CMO @ Familia Dental
Love using this product! Would highly recommend it to others! Working with Emitrr has been a pleasure. Love the features it offers and how easy it is to use.
Dr. Joanne Reif, Owner @ Crossroads Dental Arts
Emitrr’s team has done a great job of rolling out a product that is beneficial to practices like ours. They are also tremendously responsive to our feedback and input on how they can make the product even better for us. We are very impressed.
Alex Duncan, CEO @ Spa Creek Health
Emittr’s onboarding was superior to other texting software companies. We found the platform to be user-friendly for clients and internal staff. The live chat feature on website is outstanding.
Dr. Sandip Ladani, Owner @ Extraordinary Smiles
Great tool for helping me streamline my business. I really love the fact that I can maintain consistent patient contact even when I missed the phone. My experience has been amazing.
Sr. Digital Marketing Manager @ Bass Medical Group
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