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You see, too many management teams involved in sales and service talk about the value of being “customer-centric” and “meeting the customer where they are”. But the reality is that they still expect their customers to pick up the phone when they have a problem and wade through tedious voice prompts and tinny, anxiety-inducing on-hold music before they get their questions answered.
This, along with several other critical motivations, should encourage you to discover how to use Google’s Business Messages as a crucial part of your core sales, marketing, and customer service strategy.
Let’s explore this further.
How to Use Google’s Business Messages: The Basics
In summary, Google’s Business Messages is a messaging service that allows companies to communicate easily and efficiently with their customers directly from Google Search and Maps. This alone makes it an excellent tool for customer support, as it allows for instant replies to questions or queries, in a space that they are already familiar with.
You can access Google's Business solution in two ways: as an app through My Business, or as an API through a third-party provider. My Business is free to use for small businesses, but if your organisation deals with high volumes of messages with multiple employees, then the API is a better fit for you.
With Google's Business Messages, you can send and receive messages in bulk, scale efficiently, and enjoy an easy-to-use interface. This API can be integrated directly into a customer communication platform, and it can also be integrated with a Chatbot Service and other applications.
Businesses of all sizes can find great success by integrating Google’s Business Messages into their customer service plans, and if you’re not already doing so, now’s the ideal time to start.
This clever system makes the link between customer and business shorter and more navigable than ever. It simply bypasses the need to search for contact details on a business website and eliminated the wait for a return email.
Creating the Best User Experience
It’s been said that customer service isn’t so much what you, as a business, think it is. Rather, it’s what your customers think - or more importantly - how they perceive your service.
So how can this smart communication experience from Google help you to improve your customer service?
Set Up Custom Welcome Messages
One of the biggest frustrations that customers face is often not the initial problem or question that they have; it’s the uncertainty of when - or if - it will be resolved. Managing expectations through concise messaging right from the beginning is a smart way of assuring your customers that you are here and listening to them.
Let’s explore how to use Google’s Business Messages to set up custom welcome messages for your users. Letting them know that you are available and that they matter is the best place to start. And of course, following that up with a clear process as to what happens next is vital.
The same type of messaging can be used on WhatsApp Business, Facebook Messenger, or via live chat on your website.
Of course, your choice of the message will depend on your business, but best practice dictates that you should:
- Set up an instant, friendly greeting
- Offer menu options to lead your customer to a quick, automated solution, or direct them to a FAQ page
- Include the expected turnaround time for a response
- Offer additional contact information if they require a more comprehensive human response
This may be the first interaction that a potential customer has with your company and is a great way to wow them with very little input on your part.
Enhanced customer service depends on measuring what matters the most. Take a look at our extensive guide on the 8 Customer Service KPIs that you need to measure.
Answer Questions
We don’t need to tell you how important speed is when communicating with your customers. Although, if you needed any motivation to do so, take a look at the below statistics.
Hubspot research tells us that 82% of your customers expect an immediate response to a sales or marketing query, and a mind-bending 90% expect an immediate response to a customer service question. That offers businesses a remarkably small window and very little wiggle room if they want to get it right.
So, we need to understand how to use Google’s Business Messages to jump onto questions and queries immediately and contribute to a seamless customer experience.
Google’s Business Messages via the app offers yet another point that both you and your customers will find helpful: your messages appear right inside Gmail. They are instantly searchable by both you and your customers; so when they need to locate something specific like an order number or a shipping confirmation, it’s right there and easy to find. All messages are automatically saved which eliminates any confusion or misunderstanding down the line.
If your solution lies within the API, then your customer support process is further enhanced. CM.com’s Mobile Service Cloud, for example, allows for a streamlined customer experience, complete with super-fast communication and on-point answers. Personalised conversations and the clever use of chatbots are certain to keep your customers happy!
Showcase Products and Educate Your Customers
In many ways, your Google business profile acts as a mini-website with some pretty awesome functionality. It’s a helpful way to showcase your products and educate your customers without users having to navigate your site - or even leave the page initially - and still communicate with you immediately.
Well-categorised, high-resolution images with detailed descriptions are a sure-fire way to capture the attention of interested shoppers. Adding Buy Now buttons on these images with a shortcut to a shopping cart or other payment solution will further create an excellent user experience and increase the chances of conversion.
Thereafter, customers can exchange images and information with your service team right there in the chat if they need to.
We’re looking for the shortest route to a satisfied customer - and this certainly does the trick.
Direct Customers Efficiently
Google’s Business Messages allows you to direct your customers quickly and efficiently without a dedicated customer service centre's overhead. You have the option to:
- Chat with or message them instantly
- Offer relevant company contact details if they need to be redirected
- Send users to a calendar to book an appointment
- Answer FAQs
This alleviates the weight of calls or emails into your already overflowing inbox and puts an end to long delays in communication. It means that your customer service or sales team have the ability to interact with fewer customers and devote more time to great service.
No matter their preferred operating system (Android or iOS), if they have Google Maps installed, Google’s Business Messages offers your customers easy access to you whenever they need it via multiple entry points. This ensures you don’t lose a customer just because they didn’t find your number or got lost in cyberspace.
It also helps build your brand as an entity that is approachable and easy to connect with and build long-lasting relationships.
Google’s Business Messages Make Cents
In the simplest of terms, Google’s Business Messages streamlines customer interactions for everyone. It makes it easy for your customers to do business with you.
Customers get faster, more accurate responses to queries, and your team gets more time to focus on being great at what they do. Instead of spending the day putting out small fires and answering questions that they’ve answered dozens of times before, you can work on proactively growing your business and engaging your customers.
Improving customer service is easy with the right tools, and Google’s Business Messages is definitely the right tool for this job.
If this is your mission, we warmly invite you to contact our team for more information on how to use Google’s Business Messages.
For more information on today’s essential messaging channels for business, download our comprehensive guide.
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