Google Maps has been focusing on rolling out some social features lately and the latest one to join the list is the ability for verified businesses to directly message their customers within Google Maps.
‘Starting today, we’re rolling out the ability for verified businesses to message with customers directly from the Google Maps app. Once you turn Messaging on from your Business Profile, you can start replying to customers on Google Maps from the business messages section in the “Updates” tab. And soon you’ll also be able to see your messages right from Google Search (via the Customers menu on your Business Profile) and message customers directly from your computer’, the blog post announcing the feature read.
To interact with customers, Business profiles are required to turn on messaging on their profile. Through the means of chat, customers can make changes or ask for their queries quickly and it will be easier for the businesses too to interact with their customers.
According to Google, they have seen an uptick in the number of messages sent to businesses during the pandemic period as more and more people continue to be precautious before stepping out of their homes.
Read More: Google Maps introduces Community Feed for better local recommendations
Not only this, but Google is also enabling metrics data to provide a deeper understanding to the businesses regarding how customers are discovering their businesses.
‘Starting this month, we’re rolling out more metrics to give you a deeper understanding of how customers discover your Business Profile. Soon you’ll see a more detailed list of the search queries customers used to find your business on Google’, the blog post read.
‘At the beginning of next year, you’ll see updates to the performance page that show whether customers saw your business via Google Maps or Search and if they saw it from a computer or mobile device. All your performance data will be available for up to six months. Dig into the numbers to see how your business is performing over time and how your Business Profile resonates with customers’, the blog post further added.