BirdEye, a customer experience platform provider for local businesses, has accelerated the release of its Interactions messaging platform and will offer it for free to businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Whether one, 10, or 10,000 locations, regional businesses are vital to the economy. They account for more than 50 percent of the United States economic activity, so it is important that we all do our part to support them during the COVID-19 response," said Naveen Gupta, CEO of BirdEye, in a statement. "We accelerated the general availability of Interactions so businesses in distress can take care of customer issues quickly and keep their customers informed of reduced working hours and remote services. Interactions provides local businesses the modern customer communication tools that historically only larger enterprise businesses have been able to afford. We are leveling the playing field."
Interactions enables businesses to connect and respond to customers through text messaging, web chat, and Facebook Messenger from one streamlined inbox. Customers can text any time and businesses will instantly receive mobile or desktop notifications to respond faster. Conversations can be assigned to experts within the company.
Key Interactions features include the following:
- Inbox, allowing users to view and respond to messages from customers through Webchat, text messages, and Facebook Messenger from a single place;
- Business Texting;
- Mass Text Messaging, for sending text messages to 200 customers at once, up to 1,000 texts per month, per business location;
- Webchat;
- Livechat;
- Chatbot Robin, which uses artificial intelligence to automatically respond to frequently asked questions;
- Teams, allowing users to assign messages within a team or from one team to another;
- Custom templates for reusable text messages; and
- Receptionist, which responds to missed calls.
"In response to the coronavirus situation, we have had to limit customers in the store, but like all other businesses right now, we are looking for ways to continue to generate sales and help our customers through this time," Todd Thompson of Mefford Jewelers, a BirdEye customer, said in a statement. "BirdEye's Interactions product has provided us exactly what we need to stay in touch with our customers to let them know about our new hours and processes."
"Interactions has been very useful in addressing quick questions and reducing phone traffic," Katy Clayton of Stone Oak Women's Center, another BirdEye customer, said in a statement. "Patients get fast answers to insurance questions, appointment requests, and prescription refill requests. After receiving a web chat or text message appointment request, our office calls or texts patients back to schedule at a convenient time. It has streamlined the patient experience because they are no longer sitting on hold for an appointment, our phone line is not clogged with requests, and we don't interrupt their day."
BirdEye will offer Interactions for free for 60 days to distressed businesses that sign up in April.