In the fiercely competitive business landscape of today, every edge you can gain over your competitors is crucial. One such edge is providing exceptional customer service. But in this digital age, just having your customer support email and phone number on your website is not enough. You need to be proactive and make your team accessible to customers and potential customers when they need help. One of the best ways to do this is by offering chat. And you can do this on your GMB (Google My Business) page!
Why Should You Set Up Chat on Your Google My Business Page?
Customers today demand real-time communication with the companies they interact with. More and more people prefer to use online methods, such as chat, to connect with businesses. If you don’t meet their needs, they will move on to the next business they find online.
Google’s Business Messages is a solution to this real-time chat customer service problem. It allows virtually any business to help customers when they need it – any time and anywhere. Business Messages puts a chat feature online for your business that’s directly accessible from Google Search, Google Maps, or even on your own channels, like your website and Google Business Profile.
How to Set Up Chat on Your Google My Business Page
Setting up chat on your Google My Business page is straightforward. The easiest way to turn on the chat feature is to do it directly from Google search. Search for your business name or enter “my business” in the search field. If you are not logged in, you will see something like this:
Notice in the image above that there is also a “Product” listed on the GMB page. You can add products to highlight using a similar method as adding chat (see#2 below). If you are logged in, you’ll see the Google Business Profile management tiles like this:
Scroll to the right (#1 in the image above) until you see the “Turn on Chat” tile and click on it.
You’ll then be prompted to “turn on” chat.
Once you click that button, you’ve turned on the chat feature. You may need to enter your mobile phone number (which is NOT displayed to your customers). You should receive a confirmation email from Google indicating that you have now turned on chat.
Customers will now be able to chat with your business when they search for you on a mobile device.
The Power of Google’s Business Messages
Google’s Business Messages lets your brand be found across multiple channels and devices and allows interested people to chat directly with your team. Customers and potential customers can chat with your local company when they search directly for your business on Google Maps, and your Google Business Profile appears.
Google makes its Business Messages chat feature available in two ways: Google Business Profile and Google’s Business Messages API used by their partnership with various third-party apps. The Google Business Profile Business Messages chat features are limited but provide just enough chat functionality for local businesses to meet potential customers’ demands.
Making the Most of Google’s Business Messages
Once you turn on Business Messages, customers will see a chat button on your Business Profile on mobile devices, and they’ll be able to message you. Here are some things to remember:
- Messages will show up in your Business Profile Manager. You’ll receive notifications when you get new messages – via mobile notifications if you set them up and email notifications.
- Be sure to customize the automated welcome message that customers get when they first message you—set expectations as to when you will respond.
- You can share photos through chat, so you may want to send photos to your phone, so you have some images at the ready in case you’re on your mobile device when you get a message.
- If more than one person is an Owner or Manager of your Google Business Profile, each one of them can chat with people who send you messages.
Turning on chat through your Google Business Profile is a great option for local businesses. It’s a no-brainer if you have a local business, a Google Business Profile, and the resources to respond quickly to messages.
Adding Products to GMB
As mentioned earlier, you can also add products to your Google My Business page. When you click on the link to add or edit products, you will see a popup that looks like this.
While the product landing page url is optional, I highly recommend that you fill this out so people can actually buy this from you. For example, on my GMB page, there is the AI Money Machine program listed there. When you click on the image, it takes you to the page so you can actually read more about this and purchase it if desired.
Reviews
Another choice in the links above the tiles for your page is to “Ask for Reviews” This brings up a new dialogue box that looks like this:
You can then copy the review link and share it via email, Whatsapp or Facebook. While the link is shorter and cleaner than the link you get when you do this from Google Maps, it is still ugly and impossible to remember. My recommendation is to create a “Short Link” or “Pretty Link” from your website like this:
https://webstoresltd.com/google
That way, you can put the link on your business cards, your email signature block, or just ask your customers to go to https://webstoresltd.com/google and leave you a review. This is simple and easy to remember.
For many businesses, Google is the first place potential customers find you online. We covered 3 simple ways today that you can make it easier for customers to do business with you online. Take a look at all the options available to you on your GMB page and keep your listing up-to-date.
So, if you got some good value out of today’s post (or any of the posts that I provide on a weekly basis), I would appreciate it if you could leave me a positive review on Google. Just visit: https://webstoresltd.com/google.
Greg Jameson has been writing blog articles on ecommerce and internet marketing for over 10 years. Learn more about Greg at https://webstoresltd.com/about/
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