The Ultimate Guide to Engaging Customers Using Google Business Messages

When customers need help, or prospects have a question, what do they do? “Google it.” This domination of the search engine and browser market means that businesses can work with Google to engage billions of potential customers every single day. Google Business Messages (GBM) provides that bridge between searching with intent and customer engagement.

GBM enables companies to direct consumers to a digital conversation when they are at their highest level of intent—searching for a brand or solution at the start of their journey. Android (Google’s mobile OS) accounts for more than 70% of global smartphone users, and their devices are integrated with Google Search and Google Maps—offering avenues into private messaging channel conversations through each of these avenues.

What Does Google Business Messages Offer?

Google is so well-established as an entry point for online discovery. 85% of all web queries happen there, so it only makes sense that businesses should utilize their presence on the platform as a way of engaging customers.

Discoverable

GBM seamlessly integrates into the existing customer journey. The billions of daily queries run through organic and local searches (via Google Maps) mean that your customers, current and future, already turn to these services for digital engagement. GBM takes the next step of turning those queries into a conversation.

Conversational

Run natively through Google’s Messages app, contacting your brand is the exact same process as messaging friends or family. It’s asynchronous, meaning customers aren’t tied to a session like live chat to complete a conversation. It’s also full of engaging rich chat tools such as carousels, photos and ‘chips’ (multi-option conversation starters, replies and actions) that drive revenue and loyalty throughout the customer’s journey.

Built for Automation

With native Google My Business features like wait times and automated responses to FAQs, GBM empowers brands to provide faster, more efficient digital experiences. Brands can even create a digital assistant capable of understanding natural language using Google’s Dialogflow.

Three Google Business Messages Features to Enhance your CX Strategy

Search/Maps to Messaging

GBM enables companies to engage potential customers as soon as their online journey begins when they are at their most interested and engaged in a business. The tool offers a chance to connect through a channel that billions of people use multiple times every day.

How it works:

1. Customer enters high intent search on a Google platform
2. The company directs the customer toward a digital messaging conversation to engage on GBM
3. A company/consumer relationship begins in a private messaging channel and remains there for the entire lifecycle.

Ad Message Extensions

An extra tool for capturing potential customers with high intents is to send them to a messaging conversation from Google’s wide-ranging advertising system. If mobile users select a click-to-message ad, the native messaging app opens in their phone, beginning a conversation with pre-designed messages built by the business. A new relationship begins on the same channel a user communicates with their family and friends every day.

Rich Chat Tools

Once an interaction has begun, GBM enables businesses to conduct enhanced conversational experiences. Rich features such as images and carousels transform a simple text back-and-forth into an engaging conversation, and “chips” add automation to the fold with multi-option conversation starters, replies and actions. These features help to drive revenue and loyalty as companies build long-lasting customer relationships through personalized engagement.

Find Out More About Verint Messaging

When discussing whether a Verint partner or customer should be on a particular messaging platform, it often boils down to demographics. It wouldn’t necessarily make sense for a company with a customer base which skewed older to invest in Instagram messages, for instance.

With GBM, it’s not so complicated—more than 8 in 10 web searches go through Google, so the likelihood is that you’ll be able to engage your customers there through Verint Messaging.

You can learn more about what GBM, or other messaging channels, can do for your business and your customers at Verint Messaging.