Your Customers Can Now Direct Message You on Yelp The new direct-messaging tool aims 'to ensure people never have to leave Yelp to find all the info their hearts' desire,' the company said.
By Geoff Weiss
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
With a just-announced direct messaging feature, Yelp is aiming to make communication between business owners and customers even more seamless.
For specific inquiries unlikely to appear on general listings -- or for when customers simply don't feel like picking up the phone -- users can now click on a link appearing beneath each claimed company's contact information to compose a direct message.
Business owners receive these messages as emails but can respond directly without having to log in to their Yelp accounts, the company explained in a blog post.
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Upon sending a message, consumers will be notified of each business' average response time.
Though the feature bypasses in-person interaction, one business owner found that it actually increased contact. "It almost always leads to further correspondence or a phone conversation," said Wade Lombard, founder of Square Cow Movers in Austin, Texas.
The feature is optional for businesses and can be disabled, Yelp said.
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