Top website builder Wix has deployed a 24/7 phone assistant tool to help businesses manage call volumes and improve customer service.
Available in the Wix App Market, the cloud-based conversational AI platform, called Goodcall, assists with call recording, spam blocking and analytics.
Small businesses that get less than 60 calls a month will have access to the phone assistant tool for free, while businesses that receive up to 600 calls per month will pay $19/month, or can have unlimited calls managed for $49/month.
Phone assistance for business websites
Available to US-based customers after a period of beta testing, Goodcall’s call management software is designed to capture lost revenue opportunities caused by missed customer calls.
“Partnering with Goodcall provides business owners with a unique tool that strengthens customer relations and maximizes productivity which can ultimately boost revenue,” said Ronny Elkayam, SVP Mobile, App Market and Strategic Products at Wix.
“We’re always searching for partners who share a vision to equip small businesses with the tools they need to succeed. The latest offering is game-changing for businesses that struggle with large call volumes and complements our platform, where they can manage their business from one central place online.”
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In addition to call management, the Goodcall integration offers recording and playback, spam bot stoppers, and the ability to add caller-specific requests and update store hours across business listings such as Yelp, Facebook, Wix or Google.
The tool can be accessed on the Wix dashboard by clicking on the Goodcall logo, where users are also given the ability to teach the phone assistant tool something new, as well as access to their call list data.
The history of the conversational AI tool
In an exclusive interview with TechRadar Pro, Bob Summers, CEO and founder of Goodcall, explained that the journey of the company started over five years ago when he was at Google working on small business ads, helping plumbers and local restaurants grow on the platform.
The Goodcall tool spun out of Google and originally launched with online reputation management service Yelp before its relaunch with Wix.
“Most small businesses in the past weren’t digital native, most didn’t have websites, therefore most got their business from phone calls,” said Summers, digging into the rationale behind the tool.
“Google built a phone based ad system where if you typed in for a specific service such as a plumber near me, you would get an ad that said call me to fix your sink. That was a product I was growing for Google.”
Along the way, Summers noticed a pattern with small businesses online and discovered that, if a business had less than ten people, they would miss over 60% of their calls. Google would send along new customers, but the opportunity would go begging.
“This is the problem that Goodcall set out to solve by bringing conversational AI onto those phone calls. Tools like Siri, Alexa and Google assistant, but for a small business,” he added.
“Our partnership with Wix brings a new layer of sophistication for small businesses and local merchants who are still struggling with missed calls and looking to build back better post-pandemic. We give short-staffed businesses a way to take advantage of all the inbound opportunities – whether that’s for a large order or simply being responsive to a customer inquiry.”
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