Inbound Messages
Consumers are constantly looking for goods and services. They might find your business through your website, a Google listing, or a social media site. With Podium you can allow potential customers to start conversations with your business through Facebook Messenger, Google’s Business Messages, Webchat, text messaging, email, and Instagram all while centralizing these conversations into your Podium Inbox.
Facebook Messenger is a great way to connect with consumers who surf social media before making a purchase. Someone can start a conversation over Facebook Messenger app with your business and that conversation will automatically be routed to your Podium Inbox.
To learn how to enable Facebook Messenger for your business, read “Connecting to Facebook Reviews.”
Google’s Business Messages adds a button on your Google listing that allows consumers to send you a text message to your Podium account. Enabling Google’s Business Messages gives potential customers a natural way to ask questions about scheduling and inventory so they can make a quick purchasing decision.
To learn how to turn on this messaging for your business, read “Connecting to Google Reviews.”
Webchat can be placed on your website so individuals browsing your website can ask any questions they might have before making a purchase.
To learn how to enable Webchat for your business, read “Setting Up Webchat.”
Short messaging service (SMS) and multimedia messaging service (MMS) a customer can send a text message. After purchasing Podium your business number may be convertible into a textable number. That number can then be posted somewhere in your business storefront, marketing material, or on a site making contacting your business super easy.
Learn how to convert your business number into a textable number by reading “Making Your Landline Textable.”
Two-way email enables allows you to message back and forth with your customers through email the same way you can message them using other methods in Podium. You can compose custom messages, use templates, send payment requests, and send review invitations. Two-way email can be used on either your desktop or mobile device.
Instagram is another social media platform that consumers use to find businesses, and you can give those individuals the ability to text your business from Instagram.
Before you can enable your Instagram account for texting, you’ll need to locate your Podium number. Locate your Podium number by reading “Managing Conversations.”
To add your Podium number to Instagram:
- Tap Edit Profile on your Instagram page, and under your Business Information tap Contact Options.
- Select the Business phone number field and enter in your Podium number.
- Select Text and tap Done.
Outbound Messages
There are several types of common outbound messages that you might send to an individual once they are a customer. Those outbound messages include payment requests, review invitations, and feedback invitations.
Payment requests can be sent to collect payments from customers. All major credit and debit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and bank transfers are accepted. To learn how to send a payment request, read “Payments Overview.”
Review invitations can be sent to customers after they’ve completed a purchase to provide a review for one of your possible review sites. To learn how to include review sites in a review invitation, read “Setting up Review Sites.”
Once a connection to a review site has been enabled you can learn how to send a review invitation by reading “Sending Reviews.”
Feedback invitations can be sent to customers at one or many different touch points in the lifecycle of a customer to capture feedback on their experience. Feedback invitations will automatically respond to customers depending on how satisfied or dissatisfied a customer might be feeling.
To learn more about feedback invitations, read “Sending Feedback Invitations.”