As a business owner, engaging with your customers or clients is one of the most important aspects of running your business. After all, if it weren’t for your customers, where would your business be? Customers need to communicate with you. This also means having a way for customers to contact you for questions, comments, or concerns that they may have without having to dial your business’s phone number. Google has a feature called My Business that offers a direct message option for customers to reach you or ask any questions about your products or services. You may already be using this feature, and if you are, there are changes on the horizon.
Effective November 15, 2019, Google’s messaging system will move from standard text messages or SMS to Google My Business app. Bryant Consultants, a small business consulting firm, wants Google users to know how this change will affect your communication stream with your customers.
First, let’s take a moment to talk about what Google My Business is and why you should be using it
Google My Business is a platform that allows you to increase your online presence, and make your business more well known through Google Search and Maps. Even if you already are using other social media platforms (which we hope that you are!), Google My Business is basically Google’s version of social media. Not everyone is on social media, but millions of people use Google as their primary search engine, as well as Google Maps for finding addresses and directions to places they want to visit or do business with. It also allows customers and potential customers a way to contact your business, which brings us to our next point – how Google My Business is changing their messaging system.
Used to, Google My Business messages were sent to the page owner via a text message. But that will soon be changing. To continue using the messaging system through Google, you will need to download the Google My Business app.
Once you install it on your device, here are the instructions on how to activate the messaging system:
- Open the Google My Business app
- Tap the ‘Customers’ tab
- Select ‘Messages’
- Tap’ Turn on Messaging’
Now, you’re all set to receive messages! You also will have the ability to customize your welcome message and receive notifications from the app. Another neat feature is that you can add employees so that they can help respond to customers, providing timely responses to inquiries. You also can use the app to make changes to your business hours, add photos, respond to customer reviews, and add new posts to your My Business page. These changes are going to help make engaging with customers or potential customers much more accessible and convenient than before.
If you are interested in how to get more Google searches for your business, or ways to improve your SEO ranking on Google, Bryant Consultants can help. We can help your business achieve its goals and establish practices that will help your business succeed above the rest. To learn more about our services or to schedule a consultation, just call (877) 768-4799.