Need a Quote? Get One Faster Than Ever

Consumers come to Yelp every day for the most reliable info on businesses that they are looking to spend with. An appetizing picture of pizza and a glowing review might be all you need to choose your new favorite lunch spot. But some categories require a more detailed approach, and a transaction can’t be made without connecting with the business to find out what their rates are.

A college student looking for a quote on a mover, an engaged couple looking to price photo booths for their wedding, or a car enthusiast tracking down a vintage ride can all instantly message a business through Yelp’s Request-A-Quote feature. Recently profiled in Buzzfeed, this updated messaging feature is changing the way that users and businesses owners interact within the Automotive, Event Planning, Financial Services, Home Services, Local Services, and Professional Services categories on Yelp.

So, say you’re living every long haired girls’ nightmare and have clogged your shower drain. Once you begin your search in the Plumbing category, some search results will show a “Request a Quote” button, and feature that businesses’ response time. These times tell you, on average, how many days, or even hours it takes a business to respond to your message. The businesses in your search with the fastest response times are highlighted in green.

After clicking on your green-highlighted hero, you can explain your situation and directly request a quote for the service you need. Have any other questions? Ask away while you’re here!

Need to shop around for a few opinions? Connecting with multiple businesses is made even easier with the Bulk Messaging tool. After requesting a quote from one business, Yelp will suggest up to 10 other similar businesses in your area that you can also send the same request to. This way you’re getting the most out of your Yelp search, and aren’t spending all day making calls. Faster response times lead to faster results, and you getting that drain unclogged pronto.

We’re already seeing how the Request-A-Quote feature is changing the game for both consumers and business owners. Since changing the name of this messaging feature from “Message The Business” to “Request A Quote” in some categories late last year, we’ve seen:

• Message response rates from business owners increase 250%
• Over half of messages from potential customers were responded to within 24 hours
• Messaging in the Home Services category increase 1500%

So, ready to Request-A-Quote? You can connect with a business using these new features on the web and iOS right now, with Android rolling out fully in the next few days.