RingCentral Engage Digital enables customer facing service agents to respond to all customer inquiries, including Google’s Business Messages from a single interface
RingCentral, a partner of Google, is announcing it has integrated Google’s Business Messaging into its digital customer service platform, Engage Digital, allowing agents to respond to all customer inquiries from any digital channel from a single interface.
Google’s recently launched Business Messages enables mobile users to initiate messaging conversations with companies directly from Google Search and Maps instead of calling them. Google’s latest offering can significantly reduce the number of calls your agents receive, so they can focus on other priorities. It also reflects the growing popularity of digital channels as 75% of consumers prefer engaging with brands over private messaging channels.
Business Messages is one of many digital channels we integrate with to allow customers to connect with businesses. We enable your agents to respond to messages coming from other popular channels including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Apple Business Chat, Twitter and more from one interface.
Instead of switching between different channels and feeling overwhelmed by incoming messages, agents can handle all inquiries from a single dashboard. This makes it easier to improve support operations, create a single customer identity across channels, and deliver a more personalized experience.
Google’s Business Messages Gaining Momentum
Business Messages is intended to drive brand loyalty and make it easier for customers to purchase products, schedule visits, and request support. Messaging directly with customers is on the rise, as twice as many businesses are messaging via Google now, compared to last year.
Google has made customers’ lives easier in many different ways. Its search engine processes 1.2 trillion queries every year and helps users access information, buy products, and find reviews. Google Maps adds value too by making it simple to locate shops and stores. Customers also rely on the tech giant’s products to contact businesses, but they often find only phone numbers to do that. A Google study conducted on 3,000 mobile users showed that 70% of mobile searchers use click to call to connect with a business directly from Google’s search result. As a result, millions of calls to companies are made from Google Search and Google Maps every year.
The Rise of Digital Customer Service
People like asynchronous messaging because it allows them to start, pause, and resume conversations when and where it’s convenient for them. They’re no longer forced to tolerate long wait times. Communicating with companies is now as convenient as talking to friends and family.
Allowing customers to contact your team via social media and messaging apps is a great way to win their loyalty. But delivering prompt replies is equally important. Asynchronous communication is on the rise, but people still expect timely answers from your team.
Messaging apps also allow agents and customers to review conversation history and previous interactions. And whether the communication is happening laptops or mobile phones, the cross-device availability of digital channels makes delivering outstanding support easy over multiple touch points.
Chatbots Further Automate Customer Service
The COVID-19 pandemic has made serving customers more difficult. Industries such as takeout restaurants, retail stores, and internet service providers are dealing with a huge increase in call volumes. And many companies are unprepared to tackle this challenge.
One way to go about that is to divert more of these calls to digital channels. Agents would no longer be forced to handle one customer at a time but could simultaneously work on several inquiries at once. Chatbots make agents even more productive by freeing up time for them to focus on more resource-intensive tasks.
These software tools engage customers through conversational interfaces. They can handle a range of tasks, including answering simple questions, collecting information, and routing problems to relevant agents. Chatbots are particularly effective at dealing with repetitive and routine tasks. Studies show that chatbots will eventually be able to handle between 40% to 80% of common customer service inquiries.
Fortunately, you can integrate chatbots into Business Messages. Google’s service will enable you to automate messaging channels and escalate only complex questions to agents, thus avoiding the need to hire your way out of rising call volumes.
Empower Your Customer Service Agents to Succeed
If you want to optimize digital customer services and take them to a new level, visit the RingCentral Engage Digital platform and learn more about its features. This solution integrates with leading digital channels, including Google’s Business Messages, and will help you take advantage of the latest technologies — making your agents more productive, which in turn will lead to happier customers and higher revenue.
Originally published Jul 21, 2020, updated Jan 30, 2023
