Someone found you on Maps and would rather text than call. If messaging is off, they moved to the next listing.
TL;DR Turn it on only if you will answer within a couple of hours, because Google shows a response-time indicator. Set a welcome message that answers the three standard questions. Move to booking within four exchanges.
The decision before the setup
Google displays your typical response time on your profile. A slow one is public and it is worse than having messaging off.
Turn it on if someone checks the app during business hours and can reply within a couple of hours.
Leave it off if nobody is watching. An unanswered message is a customer who chose someone else and formed an opinion about you on the way out.
Turning it on
- Open the Google Business Profile app or the profile management view in Search.
- Find Messages, then turn on chat.
- Set your welcome message.
- Turn on notifications, on a device somebody actually carries. This is the step that decides whether any of it works.
Multiple people can manage messages if they have manager access on the profile. For anything beyond a one-person shop, add a second responder so coverage does not depend on one phone.
The welcome message
It fires automatically on first contact. Most businesses leave the default, which is a wasted opportunity.
Answer the three questions everyone asks, before they ask.
Thanks for messaging Sicc Plumbing. We cover Fall River, Somerset and Swansea. Most repairs run $180 to $650 depending on the job. Send a photo and your town and we will come back with a real range. For emergencies call 508-555-1234.
What that does. Confirms coverage, sets a price expectation, asks for the photo that makes quoting possible, and gives an escape hatch for urgent work. Four jobs, one message.
Keep it under about 60 words. It appears in a chat window on a phone.
The conversation script
Aim to reach a booking or a phone call within four exchanges.
Exchange 1: qualify.
Thanks for that. Which town are you in, and is this urgent or are you planning ahead?
Exchange 2: scope.
Got it. Any chance you can send a photo? That usually lets me give you a real number without coming out.
Exchange 3: value.
Looks like a standard [X]. That is usually $A to $B and takes about [time]. Depends on [variable].
Exchange 4: close.
I have Thursday morning or Friday afternoon open. Want me to hold one? Or if it is easier, give me a number and I will call.
The pattern. Qualify, scope, price, book. No small talk, no brochure language, no “how may I assist you today.”
Handling the awkward ones
“What is your best price?” Do not negotiate in chat. “Our pricing is straightforward, no haggling. For this job it is $A to $B, and that includes [X]. Happy to explain what drives it.”
Outside your service area. Be helpful and finish cleanly. “We do not get out to Dartmouth, sorry. [Competitor] covers that area and is decent.” Costs you a lead you were never getting and buys real goodwill.
They go quiet mid-conversation. One follow-up, next day. “Still want me to hold that Thursday slot?” Then stop.
They want to book right now. Take it. Do not push them to a form. Get name, address, phone, and confirm in the chat, then send a proper confirmation by SMS.
Automated responses, used carefully
Google’s messaging supports a welcome message and limited automation. Some third-party tools extend it.
Safe to automate. The welcome message. An after-hours message. A response confirming receipt.
Do not automate. Pricing for a specific job. Availability promises. Anything that sounds like a person but is not, past the first message. People notice, and being misled early poisons the rest.
After hours
Change the welcome message outside business hours, or set an away variant if your tooling supports it.
Thanks for messaging. We are closed until 7:30am but we have your message and will reply first thing. Send a photo and your town now and we will come back with a price. Emergencies: 508-555-1234.
Then actually reply first thing, before anything else in your day.
Measure it
- Messages received per month, which most owners have never counted.
- Your displayed response time, which is visible to customers.
- Messages that become booked jobs.
- Where they drop off. If people stop replying after your price message, that is a pricing or framing problem, not a chat problem.
Send yourself a message through your own Google profile from another phone and time the reply. Whatever that number is, your customers are experiencing it too.
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