Banks and Insurance Companies: increase your number of appointments thanks to Reserve with Google!

Google has just extended the “Reserve with Google” feature to a new sector: banking and insurance.

This option is shaking up the “drive to store” concept by allowing potential customers to book an appointment directly via your Google listings and local pack.

Find out how to activate “Reserve with Google” on all your listings with Partoo and turn every local search into appointments across all your branches!

Integrate your own booking tool into your listings and reap the benefits of “Reserve with Google”

The “Reserve with Google” feature allows your customers to book appointments for various services via your Google listing and the local pack.

These healthcare facilities have already a visible “Schedule” button

Once connected to your in-house appointment booking tool, the blue “Book” button lets users make an appointment in one click, meaning your branches maintain control over their diaries without having to rely on a costly third-party platform.

Note:

You can add a redirect link (Action Link) to an external platform on your business listing. However, this means your profile won’t display Google’s blue, attention-grabbing “Book” button

You can add a redirect link (Action Link) to an external platform on your business listing. However, this means your profile won’t display Google’s blue, attention-grabbing “Book” button

Integrating the “Book” button means you can:

• Increase the number of actual appointments thanks to a highly visible button on Google and Google Maps (including in the local pack).
• Maintain full control over the customer experience and the data you collect.
• Retrieve and analyse your customer data to improve your local customer acquisition strategy.
• Accurately track your performance thanks to “Conversion Tracking” which indicates how many clicks lead to actual appointments.

Good to know

You can also display booking links for each service you offer (mortgages, savings, car insurance, asset management, pension plans, etc.), visible in the services section of your Google listing.

You can also display booking links for each service you offer (mortgages, savings, car insurance, asset management, pension plans, etc.), visible in the services section of your Google listing.

Why is the “Reserve with Google” feature a game-changer in the banking & insurance sector?

The banking and insurance sector relies on customers making appointments: opening an account, subscribing to services, investment advice, etc. These are all services that require prior organisation and communicating with customers. This is exactly where the “Reserve with Google” feature becomes a strategic marketing lever.

1.   Because this new feature makes you stand out

This recently unveiled feature represents a next-level move for the financial sector. Very few banks and insurance companies have integrated the  Google “Book” function, meaning now’s the time to be a cut above the rest.

By integrating this feature, you’ll stay one step ahead of the competition. You’ll cement your image as a modern organisation, meet the ‘instantaneous’ needs of today’s digital-savvy customers, position yourself as an innovative service provider, and, finally, offer a seamless omnichannel customer journey before other financial services have cottoned on.

2.   Because most people use Google and Google Maps to find local branches

The vast majority of your future customers use Google to find a nearby bank or insurance company. By displaying a “Book” button on your listing, you can turn a simple local search into an immediate appointment. Fewer steps = fewer people giving up = diaries brimming with appointments!

3.   Because Reserve with Google improves the customer experience and boosts the conversion rate

People after a banking or insurance service often have a very specific, if not urgent, need (immediate assistance, claim on their insurance, want to change bank, etc.).

The “Reserve with Google” feature removes the pain points that may occur when a customer tries to make an appointment. No need to search for a branch’s phone number or wait for an email to be answered: they can make an appointment with the right advisor in the right department in a matter of seconds. So, it saves your customers loads of time… and is therefore a powerful conversion booster for your local branches!

How to enable “Reserve with Google” with Partoo

Connecting your appointment booking tool to your Google listing has numerous advantages: you make the booking journey easier while increasing the number of appointments in your advisors’ diaries.

However, this integration requires some technical tweaks. This is exactly where Partoo comes in: we will help you connect your booking system to your Google listings, so that your potential customers can book an appointment in a single click via Google Search or Google Maps.

Eligibility criteria

Banking and insurance is the latest sector to be eligible for the Reserve with Google feature.

To activate this option, each branch must have its own dedicated booking page, so users can make an appointment at the right one. Google also requires a logo that respects its technical criteria (format, size, and colours) and will need you to complete an activation form (currently only in English but valid for all your branches, regardless of their location).

On the Partoo side, you’ll need to use our Presence Management tool to access the Reserve with Google feature and synchronise your Google Business Profile listings in our app. Once done, you just need to sign up to Reserve with Google (paid) so our teams can help you connect your booking engine to Google and activate the “Book” button on your listings.

Partoo makes integration a cinch

Once these steps have been validated, your potential customers will see the “Book” button and can then make an appointment. Plus, your services (loans, savings plans, insurance, financial advice, etc.) can be updated automatically via API.

Once these steps have been validated, your potential customers will see the “Book” button and can then make an appointment. Plus, your services (loans, savings plans, insurance, financial advice, etc.) can be updated automatically via API.

Track your performance with Conversion Tracking

Conversion Tracking allows you to monitor the number of clicks that lead to an actual booking.

When a user clicks on your Google Business Profile listing’s booking button, Google adds a specific identifier called “rwg_token” (understand “Reserve with Google_token”) to the redirect URL.

This ID confirms that the visit is from Google.

You must then link this session to a validated booking on your site.

Once the booking is confirmed, the information is noted and sent as a “conversion” to Google.

You may also want to access conversion numbers and statistics yourself. In that case, you can simply add UTM parameters to your redirect URL in Partoo’s interface to track the stats.

Thanks to Partoo, activating this measurement tool is simple and quick. We’ll help you validate your eligibility, connect your booking engine to Google, and enable performance tracking, so you get a clear view of how this feature is impacting your branches’ productivity.

Partoo is here to help

Want to learn more? Partoo supports you in implementing Conversion Tracking for your “Reserve with Google” button.

Contact us