How Podium Webchat Makes Messaging With Customers Easier

As a business owner, the tools you use for customer communication and lead generation are of paramount importance. While chatbots and email may be helpful, they’re not always the most convenient option.

That’s where Podium Webchat comes in. With this all-in-one messaging platform, your customers and prospects can contact you or ask a question directly on your website. Then, with a simple click, the inquiry can immediately move to a text conversation.

In this post, we’ll briefly discuss the importance of choosing the right messaging platform and introduce you to unique features and benefits of Podium. Then we’ll walk you through the quick and simple process for setting it up on your site. Let’s get started!

The Importance of a Convenient Messaging Platform

When it comes to building customer relationships and nurturing leads, communication is key. This is why it’s important to make sure you’re leveraging the most efficient channels possible to chat with both existing and potential clients.

Providing quick customer service is crucial for any business. However, in addition to quick, it’s also important to make sure your communications are convenient. For many people today, that means mobile messaging.

Live chat can be incredibly helpful and efficient. However, being tied to the computer isn’t always ideal. It makes more sense to be able to continue the conversation on-the-go so you don’t miss out on the opportunity to address critical questions or concerns due to time or device constraints.

Communicating with your customers through text message presents the opportunity to deliver an experience that is quick, convenient, and personalized. Plus, tools like Podium Webchat make doing so incredibly easy.

An Introduction to Podium Webchat

Podium is an award-winning software platform that is trusted by over 55,000 businesses:

It provides an all-in-one messaging platform that thousands of businesses use every day to deliver a better experience and get more leads. It was voted as one of the Top 50 Marketing Softwares of 2020 and Top 100 Highest Satisfaction Products of 2020 by G2.

Put simply, Podium Webchat offers a better way to do live chat. Instead of your users, leads, and customers being tied to their computers, Webchat turns your communication into a text conversation. The result is higher quality leads and a better, more manageable customer experience.

Key Features and Benefits of the Podium Webchat Platform

The main advantage of using Podium Webchat is that it offers a simple way to remotely connect with your website visitors. Here’s how it works:

When someone arrives on your site, they can click the live chat Podium icon that appears in the bottom right of the screen.
They fill out their information and their message (such as a question, concern, appointment request, etc.).
When they submit the message, it sends it to your Podium account. You’ll instantly have their contact information, ultimately providing you with ‘ready-to-close’ leads.
Your response goes to their phone via text message and vice versa.

One of the benefits of Podium is that you can easily manage texts via the Podium mobile app or the web-based admin dashboard. You won’t have to use your personal phone.

With your Podium account, you can also take advantage of other features and benefits, including:

Review generation. You can use this tool to provide a quick way for customers to rate and review your business.
Team collaboration. The Teamchat tools make it easy to keep all members on the same page.
Remote payments. This feature simplifies the process of offering and collecting contact-less payments from customers.

Another unique and helpful benefit about Podium Webchat is how easy it is to set up and use. As a WordPress user, the Podium plugin makes connecting your site with the messaging platform simple and straightforward.

How to Get Started With Podium Webchat

To use the Podium Webchat plugin, the first step is to create your free account. Visit the Podium Webchat website and select Get Started for Free:

This will bring you to the signup form where you can enter your contact information. Once you’re done filling in the form, click on Create account:

After you follow the prompt to verify your email address and add your business location(s), you are brought to your web-based Podium admin dashboard:

Go to Manage > Webchat, then select the option to create a WordPress Podium Widget. When you follow the prompts, there will eventually be an option to Copy Widget Code.

Next, navigate to Plugins > Add New from your WordPress dashboard. In the search field, search for ‘podium webchat’, then select Install Now followed by Activate:

The Podium plugin on the WordPress plugins page.

Next, click on Podium along the top navigation bar of your WordPress dashboard:

This will bring you to the Podium plugin settings page. From the dropdown menu, select Enable. Under that, there is a section for you to enter your Podium script.

Paste the code you just copied from your Podium dashboard, then select the Save Changes button at the bottom:

The Podium Webchat plugin settings page.

Now, if you visit your website, you’ll see the Podium Webchat:

The Podium Webchat tool displayed on the front-end of a WordPress website.

That’s it! Your Podium Webchat plugin is now ready to go. It’s really that easy.

Conclusion

When you’re running and trying to grow a business, the tools you use to communicate with your customers can have a major influence on your productivity and success. However, live chat support or other channels that require you (and your customers) to stay locked to a computer aren’t exactly convenient.

Fortunately, Podium Webchat eliminates this concern. You can simply sign up for a free account, then connect your WebID to the Podium WordPress plugin on your site. Your customers can contact you with a simple form and instantly move the conversation to text message.

Do you have any questions about using the Podium Webchat messaging platform? Let us know in the comments section below!