PHONE AND EMAIL VERIFICATION GUIDE
Ultimate phone and email verification guide
Having up-to-date and accurate customer data is critical to business success. Each day, countless customers provide millions of businesses their phone numbers and emails – and there are bound to be a few inaccuracies.
In this guide, we dive deep into phone and email verification. We’ll explore what each term means, why verification is important, uncover common errors that taint your customer databases – and what to do about it, as well as how to do it.
What is phone number verification?
Phone number verification is the process of determining whether a phone number is valid through various methods. Verification is used across numerous industries to confirm that the number being provided by a user is valid and available.
Verifying a number helps businesses ensure that they can communicate with users, but being able to verify numbers can also help prevent fraud.
In 2021, the FBI received 1,611 reports of SIM swap fraud, which cost over $68 billion in damages. And in a high profile case, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey had his account taken over in a SIM swap attack.
This shows that phone verification is important in cases ranging from being secure in your ability to contact users, to keeping users secure.
What is email validation?
Email validation is the process of verifying the accuracy and validity of an email address. This aids businesses in ensuring that the email addresses in their lists are correctly formatted, actually exist, and – most importantly – can receive emails.
But there’s more to it than simply making sure emails have a place to go. For example, businesses targeting invalid email addresses put themselves at risk of damaging their email sender reputation. This could result in legitimate emails landing in spam boxes and a drop in your email ROI.
This challenge also presents itself with phone number validity. And the implications on customer satisfaction and brand reputation are immense.
This guide will walk you through the details of phone and email verification, why having these checks in place is important, what to look out for, and some best practices.
GOOGLE’S BUSINESS MESSAGES GUIDE
Choosing the right partner for Google’s Business Messages
Picking the perfect partner for diving into Google’s Business Messages is a big deal. You want someone who really knows the ropes and can guide you smoothly through the whole process. Your ideal partner should not only be a pro at this but also understand your specific industry and unique business quirks. Think of them as your technology BFF, ensuring everything gels perfectly with your existing systems.
Why Google’s Business Messages on Infobip
Expanded reach: Google’s Business Messages allows businesses to leverage their presence on Google Search and Maps, reaching a vast customer base. By integrating with Infobip, businesses can seamlessly manage and respond to customer queries from within their existing customer communication infrastructure. Along with that SMS via Infobip can be activated as a failover option. This consolidation of channels streamlines operations, ensuring efficient and timely responses.
Improved customer experience: With Google’s Business Messages and Infobip, businesses can provide a seamless customer experience, enhancing satisfaction and loyalty. Customers can easily connect with businesses through a channel they are already familiar with, simplifying the interaction process. Additionally, businesses can utilize Infobip’s advanced features, such as chatbots and automation, to deliver personalized and efficient customer service.
Real-time responses: By integrating Google’s Business Messages on Infobip, businesses can respond to customer inquiries promptly. Infobip’s robust chatbot building platform Answers, can help create simple rule-based or AI chatbots to ensure always-on engagement.
Data-driven insights: Infobip’s analytics and reporting capabilities on our customer data platform People provide businesses with valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences. By integrating Google’s Business Messages, businesses can gather data on customer interactions and leverage these insights to enhance their marketing strategies and improve customer engagement.
Enhanced marketing opportunities: Google’s Business Messages allows businesses to incorporate promotional messages directly within the conversation with customers. By integrating with Infobip, businesses can create targeted and personalized marketing campaigns, maximizing the impact of their messages and driving conversions with our customer engagement solution Moments.
Easy agent transfer: With Google’s Business Messages over Infobip you can be assured of a seamless agent handoff with our contact center solution Conversations. If the chatbot is stuck or your customer would prefer speaking with a human colleague, an agent will always be on hand.
Time to get started with Google’s Business Messages
The integration of Google’s Business Messages on Infobip presents a remarkable opportunity for businesses to enhance their customer engagement strategies. From expanded reach and improved customer experiences to real-time responses and data-driven insights, this combination empowers businesses to effectively connect with their customers while streamlining operations. With the ever-increasing importance of digital communication, embracing Google’s Business Messages on Infobip is a step towards staying ahead in the competitive landscape and delivering exceptional customer experiences.
Combine the power of Google with Infobip solutions to deliver the conversational experience your customers expect. Connect with customers on their favorite search engine and start using Google’s Business Messages through Infobip.
GOOGLE’S BUSINESS MESSAGES GUIDE
Top use cases on Google’s Business Messages
Google’s Business Messages empowers businesses to engage with customers in a more convenient and efficient manner. Whether you’re a small local store or a global enterprise, this dynamic channel can be harnessed to unlock conversational experiences that can revolutionize customer interactions, drive sales, and enhance user satisfaction.
Top Google’s Business Messages use cases
From customer support and appointment scheduling to order placement and personalized recommendations, this conversational channel provides businesses with the ability to engage with their customers in a more dynamic and convenient way. Let’s explore some of the most common scenarios where this channel can be effectively utilized.
Customer support and assistance
You can enable customers to reach out to you directly and ask questions, seek assistance, or get support for products or services. It provides a more immediate and interactive way for businesses to address customer concerns and provide solutions in real-time. This use case is particularly beneficial for industries like eCommerce, travel and hospitality, and telecommunications.
Appointment scheduling and reservations
By integrating this channel, you can allow customers to conveniently book appointments or make table reservations directly through the chat app. This eliminates the need for customers to navigate through multiple websites or make phone calls, providing them with a streamlined and hassle-free experience. This use case is especially valuable for service-oriented businesses such as salons, restaurants, healthcare providers, and fitness centers.
Order placement and delivery tracking
For businesses in the retail and food industries, Google’s Business Messages can be leveraged to enable customers to place orders and track their delivery status. By implementing this use case, you can provide a seamless ordering process where customers can easily browse products or menus, select items, and complete the purchase, all within the messaging app. Additionally, customers can receive updates and track the progress of their orders, enhancing transparency and customer satisfaction.
Product recommendations and personalized offers
By leveraging customer data and insights, businesses can send tailored suggestions and promotions directly to customers. This creates a personalized shopping experience, boosting customer engagement and increasing the likelihood of conversions. This use case is particularly advantageous for businesses in the fashion, beauty, and retail industries.
Feedback collection and surveys
You can incorporate interactive surveys and forms within the chat app, making it quick and convenient for customers to provide their opinions and insights. This valuable feedback can then be used by businesses to improve their products, services, and overall customer experience. This use case is beneficial for businesses in various industries that value customer feedback, such as hospitality, travel, and consumer services.
Google’s Business Messages use cases for industries
GOOGLE’S BUSINESS MESSAGES GUIDE
Conversational design for Google’s Business Messages
In the world of Google’s Business Messages, the art of conversation reigns supreme. Think of it as a symphony where the quality of the conversation is the conductor, guiding customers through a harmonious experience.
Picture this: a user navigating effortlessly through automation, seamlessly transitioning to live agents when the need arises. The transition is harmonious, where even the simplest chatbot can steal the spotlight and deliver a stellar conversational performance. But, if the conversation doesn’t flow properly that even the most advanced AI chatbot can stumble. And this is where conversational design comes into play.
Conversational design on Google’s Business Messages
To design conversations over Google’s Business Messages, remember simplicity is key. Start from crafting the basics—a FAQ chatbot that answers common questions from a pre-set list.
Once you’ve fine-tuned this basic chatbot, it’s time to jazz it up. Add rich features, like a product search function, and watch as the chatbot interact with customers in an almost human-like fashion, guiding them to your brand’s website to complete tasks. And you can even conduct identity verification or authentication, making the entire journey happen within the chatbot.
Now, let’s dive deeper into the conversation design for Business Messages. It’s a step-by-step process that will have your customers coming back for more:
- Define the use case: Start with a bang! Identify the use case and tasks your agent will handle. Prioritize one with the potential for a big impact.
- Craft a personality: Give your chatbot some flair. Design a personality that embodies your brand and suits the use case perfectly.
- Welcome message: Roll out the red carpet! Create a welcome message that sets the customer’s expectations. Let them know what the agent can do and provide conversation starters for supported tasks.
- Plot the journey: Plan the customer’s journey from start to finish. Imagine it like mapping out a road trip. Write sample dialogs to get a feel for the conversation’s flow.
- Clear, concise messages: Keep it short and sweet. Craft concise messages that guide customers step-by-step. Use language that feels as natural as a casual chat with a friend.
- Suggested replies and actions: Give customers a roadmap. Use suggested replies and actions to offer clear options for their next steps.
- Expect the unexpected: Be ready for surprises. Customers can type unexpected things. Prepare fallback responses for any unanticipated messages the chatbot can’t handle.
- Live agent transfer: The show must go on. Develop a strategy for transitioning to live agents when needed. After two fallback responses, suggest bringing in a live agent.
- Real customer testing: Time for a dress rehearsal. Test the agent with real users to see how it performs in the real world.
- Metrics and feedback: Be your own critic! Track conversational quality metrics and gather user feedback. Learn what needs improvement from survey data and customers messages.
- Refine the experience: Use feedback to shape and refine the conversational experience.
Now, let’s talk about the dynamic duo of conversational commerce: Automation and Live Agents. Think of them as Batman and Robin, but for your business messaging.
Automation takes the stage first, providing immediate customer service at scale. It’s like having an army of tireless robots to assist your customers, handling numerous queries with finesse. This superhero, in the form of automation, paves the way for live agents to be the ultimate problem solvers. They swoop in to tackle complex tasks and save the day when automation has done all it can.
Remember, for Google-owned entry points, having a human backup is non-negotiable. Live agents are the safety net, ready to catch any issues automation can’t handle or to assist customers with intricate tasks.
Now that you know the in’s and out’s of conversational design, it’s important to map out the key use cases that Google’s Business Messages would cover.
GOOGLE’S BUSINESS MESSAGES GUIDE
What are the entry points for Google’s Business Messages?
Like majority of your customer communications, Google’s Business Messages too requires users to initiate the conversation, which is why having the right entry points is crucial. Entry points for Google’s Business Messages are various channels or platforms through which customers can initiate conversations using the Google Business Messages feature.
These entry points include Google Search, Google Maps, and participating business websites or apps. Customers can directly click on the messaging icon displayed in search results, business profiles on Google Maps, or on websites and apps to start communicating with the business.
What are the entry points for Google’s Business Messages?
So, where do you start the conversation from? Here are the different entry points for Google’s Business Messages:
1. Google Maps
One of the primary entry points for Google’s Business Messages is through Google Maps. When someone searches for your business on Maps, they can initiate a conversation by tapping on the “Message” button in the business listing. This provides a convenient way for customers to ask questions, schedule appointments, or inquire about your products or services.
2. Google Search
Another entry point for Business Messages is through Google Search. When a user searches for a specific business or related queries, they may see a message icon in the search results or on the business’s knowledge panel. By clicking on this icon, customers can start a conversation with your business directly from the search results page.
3. Website integration
If you have a website, you can integrate Google’s Business Messages directly into it, providing customers with another entry point for communication. By adding a chat widget to your website, visitors can initiate conversations and interact with your business in real-time.
4. Brand-managed entry points
As a business you can raise awareness about your Google’s Business Messages channel on digital properties that you manage or own. Brand-managed entry points enable conversations from embedded URLs, links, or websites, as well as chat widgets that you integrate with a website.
5. Google My Business
Lastly, Google My Business (GMB) is another entry point for Business Messages. GMB allows businesses to manage their online presence on Google, including their business listing, reviews, and now, Business Messages. By enabling Business Messages in your GMB account, customers can message your business directly from your listing on Google Search and Maps.
In conclusion, implementing Google’s Business Messages can greatly improve your customer service and communication. By leveraging the various entry points mentioned above, you can provide customers with multiple channels to connect with your business. Whether it’s through Google Maps, Search, Ads, your website, or Google My Business, be sure to explore and utilize these entry points to enhance your customer interactions.
Once a customer has initiated a conversation, it’s important to keep them engaged. And that’s where conversational design comes into play.
GOOGLE’S BUSINESS MESSAGES GUIDE
How does Google’s Business Messages work?
When customers search for a business on Google Search or Maps, they find a Google Business Card. It includes buttons for actions like “Call,” “Visit Website,” or “Get Directions.”
With Google’s Business Messages, businesses can also add a “Message” button for chat. Setting it up is as easy as starting a chat with customers.
How to setup Google’s Business Messages?
We’ve established that Google’s Business Messages is a powerful conversational channel that allows businesses to interact with customers directly through Google Search and Maps. By following these steps, you can successfully set up and utilize this channel to enhance your customer communication and drive business growth.
Set up your Google My Business Account: Before you can start using Google’s Business Messages, you need to have a Google My Business account. This free tool allows you to manage and update your business information on Google Search and Maps. If you don’t have an account already, simply sign up and follow the prompts to set up your profile.
However, if you want to get the most out of your customer communication, it is highly recommended to implement Google’s Business Messages with a Google partner.
- Integrate Business Messages with Infobip: Sign up on Google’s Business Messages with Infobip to start messaging with your customers as soon as possible.
- Enable messaging for your business: Once you have your account set up, you can enable messaging for your business. Navigate to your account dashboard and locate the “Messaging” tab. Here, you can choose how you want to receive messages from customers, such as through the Google My Business app or via SMS. Make sure to enable messaging and save your preferences.
- Set up automated responses: To streamline your communication with customers, you can set up automated responses for commonly asked questions. This can save you time and provide instant information to customers. Think about frequently asked questions and create pre-written responses that address these queries. This will ensure consistent and efficient communication.
- Monitor and respond to messages: Once your messaging is set up and customers start reaching out, it’s essential to monitor and respond to messages promptly. Customers value quick and helpful responses, so make it a priority to stay on top of incoming messages. You can view and respond to messages through our platform or the Google My Business app, depending on the method you chose during setup.
- Utilize features and tools: Google’s Business Messages provides various features and tools to enhance your customer communication. You can send photos, use suggested replies, and even share location or business hours information. Explore these features and utilize them to provide a seamless and personalized messaging experience for your customers.
- Track and analyze performance: To determine the effectiveness of your messaging efforts, it’s crucial to track and analyze performance metrics. The Infobip platform provides insights into message volume, response time, and customer ratings. Use these metrics to identify areas for improvement and optimize your messaging strategy.
- Promote your messaging availability: To maximize the benefits of Google’s Business Messages, make sure to promote your messaging availability. Add a “Message Us” button to your website, include it in your marketing materials, and mention it in your business listings. Clearly communicating your messaging capabilities will encourage customers to reach out and engage with your business.
That brings us to the next part – entry points.
GOOGLE’S BUSINESS MESSAGES GUIDE
What is Google’s Business Messages?Â
Google’s Business Messages is a messaging channel developed by Google that enables businesses to engage in real-time conversations with their customers through various digital channels, such as Google Search, Maps, and Google Assistant. It allows businesses to provide customer support, answer queries, and offer assistance, enhancing their communication and accessibility.
What is Google’s Business Messages?
Google’s Business Messages is a channel developed by Google that allows businesses to directly interact with their customers through popular messaging apps like Google Maps, Google Search, and Google Assistant. With this channel, businesses can provide instant customer support, answer inquiries, schedule appointments, and even complete transactions all within the messaging interface.
Think of the channel as a bridge connecting customers to their desired product or service. It takes you from the initial search, leading you through a personalized conversation, ultimately guiding you to make a purchase seamlessly. All this from the comfort of a single device.
Google’s Business Messages enables you take customers through the entire journey with features like automated responses, chatbots, and message routing to ensure efficient and effective communication between businesses and their customers.
Why should you use Google’s Business Messages?
Did you know Google owns more than 90% of the world’s search engine market share, making it the top web browser in most countries? Except for China and some other countries, Google has a massive reach, making Business Messages a valuable asset.
If that’s not enough:
- Google dominates the search market with 91.9% market share. That includes 72% of the desktop market and 92% of the mobile search engine market.
- The platform processes 8.5 billion searches per day and 99,000 per second
- Google Maps also has 15.4 million monthly users
- Google Pay has 1,281,838 total transactions on the Internet. Among the 5,021,077 recorded online payment transactions, Google Pay holds a 26% of the share
And to top it all, in everyday conversations “Google” has now moved from a noun to a verb for “to search”. “I’ll just Google it” ,“can you Google that?” ,“isn’t it on Google?”.
The point is that Google owns the largest piece of digital real estate, and with Google’s Business Messages you can connect search queries, map directions, reviews, and payments all to one conversational chat app to deliver personalized, real-time engagement.
Thereby, making Google’s Business Messages an important channel in your omnichannel strategy to boost loyalty, acquire new customers and improve conversions.
Now that you know about the importance of Google’s Business Messages in your omnichannel communication strategy. Let’s deep dive into how it actually works.
GOOGLE’S BUSINESS MESSAGES GUIDE
Google’s Business Messages: Creating conversational journeys from search to pay
In the fast-paced world of digital communication, businesses are constantly seeking innovative ways to connect with customers. Enter Google’s Business Messages, an exciting channel that allows companies to create conversational experiences from search to pay.
If you’re a business owner, marketer or CX expert looking to improve customer engagement and provide a smoother purchasing experience, then keep reading to discover the power of Google’s Business Messages.
This guide is your single source of everything you need to know about Google’s Business Messages and how it can help you deliver an end-to-end conversational experience.
90%
of participants believe Google’s Business Messages will improve the interactions with their customers (The B2C Communication Tools study)
Imagine Google’s Business Messages as a super convenient way for businesses to have real conversations with customers, whether they’re searching on Google, using Google Maps, or even through your own channels.
This accessible channel simplifies how customers reach out to you – they can easily ask questions or voice concerns, which, in turn, strengthens their trust in your brand and gives them a fantastic customer experience.
And here’s the icing on the cake: people can reach out to your business without the hassle of navigating to your website and hunting down an email address or phone number. It’s a win-win!
This guide on Google’s Business Messages will tell you exactly how you can leverage this channel, starting with the basics – What is Google’s Business Messages?
Quick guide to WhatsApp Business Platform
Welcome to the comprehensive guide on WhatsApp Business Platform! In today’s fast-paced digital world, businesses are constantly seeking innovative ways to connect with their customers, streamline communication, and enhance overall customer experience. WhatsApp Business Platform has emerged as a powerful tool that enables businesses of all sizes to engage with their audience in a convenient and personalized manner.
This guide aims to provide you with a step-by-step understanding of how to leverage WhatsApp to its full potential. Whether you’re a small startup, a local business, or a global enterprise, this guide will help you unlock the numerous features and capabilities of WhatsApp to effectively communicate, market your products or services, and build strong customer relationships.
Have you created a WhatsApp Business Account?
Have you verified your account?
Are you using ads to attract WhatsApp customers?
Are you using interactive buttons?
Do you know the latest pricing model for WhatsApp Business Platform?
Do you know about the different message types available?
Have you created a chatbot?
Do you want to use multiple users and devices on the WhatsApp Business Platform?
Build WhatsApp journey across industries
MMS MARKETING GUIDE / CHAPTER 4
How to choose the right MMS provider
Your MMS communication strategy can only be as good as your provider. Find out what to look for in a MMS service provider to ensure your interactions yield the best results.
How to get started with MMS
Now that you know everything about MMS messaging, you’re ready to create successful messaging campaigns and drastically increase engagement with your customers.
The reliability of SMS combined with the power of interactive media makes MMS a very strong communication channel which shouldn’t be overlooked.
Choosing the most capable MMS provider will help you build the right use cases for your customers, reach your KPIs, boost engagement though MMS.
What to look for in an MMS provider
CHOOSING AN MMS PROVIDER
Number of direct connections
Robust omnichannel platformÂ
Compliance regulationsÂ
CX Consultancy
Availability, integrity and relianceÂ
SMS as a failover channelÂ
Setting up your number
What you should know about 10DLC for MMS
If you use mobile messaging to communicate with customers and employees in the US, you can send and receive MMS messages via 10DLC – the carrier-approved US business messaging route.
You can think of 10DLC as both a phone number and a route or system that has been designed for business messaging.
Long codes were designed for person-to-person (P2P) communications. They have low volume throughput and lack desirable security standards. Carriers have always considered them to be an unsanctioned messaging route so they’re looking to end their use.
Every organization that uses automated mobile messaging to connect with employees or customers in the US should be using 10DLC.
Benefits of 10DLC
Your business needs to own a registered number to start business communications – find out why you should choose 10DLC.
Lower costs
10DLC numbers run at a much lower cost than short codes in the US.
High throughput
With a healthy throughput via 10DLC, your messages are sure to be delivered.
Fast setup
Be up and running in minutes with a 10DLC number from Infobip.
10DLC for MMS via Infobip
With our 10DLC service you can view your entire inventory of originators (short codes, long codes, alphanumeric) – as well as provision and configure your 10DLC numbers.
Our Numbers and Short Codes solution lets you do everything you need to send and receive messages via 10DLC. This includes:
- Search for and purchase multiple 10DLC numbers
- Migrate your existing long codes
- Register brand, campaign and use-case information
- File a campaign brief with the US carriers that ask for it
- Obtain a trust score to increase throughput of your campaigns
- View status of campaigns and which 10DLCs are assigned to them
- View a summary of your owned 10DLCs (and all other originators)
Bring your own carrier
Transferring your Short Codes to a new messaging solutions provider can be daunting. It risks downtime and undelivered messages which ultimately costs money. Your migration should run like clockwork – with no undelivered messages, no downtime, and no uncertainty. Â
To solve this, we’ve introduced Bring Your Own Carrier – a service which empowers businesses with a hassle-free Short Code migration process. We do all the heavy lifting so you can concentrate on your business and customers. We also take care of ported numbers and identify which number belongs to which carrier.
Why is this important?
Short Codes are valuable assets. The challenge when switching communication providers is that each carrier follows different migration processes at different speeds. This means that even a few weeks after you start migrating, your messaging traffic could be traveling through different providers; not to mention the struggle of trying to figure out which customer belongs to which carrier. Â
As a leading communication solutions provider, we have close relationships with all major carriers and long-established migration procedures in place.Â
Continue reading our MMS guide
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