Zipwhip Inc. is working to make text messages a standard part of companies’ customer engagement arsenal.

The startup, which operates out of Seattle, today announced that it has closed a $22.5 million funding round led by OpenView Venture Partners to ramp up the effort. Zipwhip will use the capital to expand customer acquisition operations and develop new features for its texting platform. The service has a fairly straightforward value proposition: It enables companies to give customers the option of messaging the number normally used for support calls. 

It’s a simple answer to what Zipwhip sees as an important market trend. Texting has become a ubiquitous form of communications thanks to apps such as WhatsApp and iMessage, which is increasingly reflected in customer preferences.

That’s why Apple Inc. recently revealed plans to launch a business chat service specifically designed to let iOS users interact with companies. Besides providing a familiar medium, a texting option can also streamline certain interactions. It enables customers to make inquiries without having to wait on the line for a contact center agent to answer.

Smoother support interactions can in turn translate into higher customer satisfaction. Over on the operator’s side, Zipwhip provides access to several apps that let company representatives open texts using their device of choice and quickly send replies. The service packs several automation features aimed at easing the task, including the ability to schedule messages in advance.

Zipwhip also offers an enterprise version that expands upon the service’s core capabilities with collaboration tools and an analytics console for tracking customer interactions. Moreover, it includes access controls to accommodate large teams in which managerial duties are split up among multiple people.

Zipwhip is used at major companies such as Ford Motor Co., ESPN Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. as well as numerous small businesses. The startup claims to have seen monthly recurring revenue jump 60 percent since its previous funding round last October.

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