Guest conversations
How a visitor with no Matchai account messages you from a listing, your Matchai Site or your Matchai Page, and how they become one of your leads.
Someone who finds one of your listings should be able to ask you a question straight away. A visitor does not need a Matchai account to message you. They press the message button, write, and their message reaches you like any other. Matchai asks who they are afterwards, and only so it can tell them when you reply.
Where visitors can message you
| Where | The button they press |
|---|---|
| A listing on your Matchai Site | Message followed by your first name, such as Message Jane |
| Your Matchai Site's home page | Your photo and name at the top open your profile, with the same button |
| Your Matchai Page | Message on Matchai |
| Your business card | Message on Matchai, or Share your contact back to leave their name and number |
On your own listing, the button is turned off and says This is your listing. If you press Message on Matchai on your own Matchai Page, Matchai shows This is how visitors reach you. Their messages will appear here.
What the visitor sees
They press the message button. There is no sign-up form: Matchai shows Opening conversation... and the conversation with you opens.
They write their message and send it. It reaches you at once.
Once the first message is sent, Matchai shows Your message is on its way. It asks for their first and last name and their Mobile number, so it can text them when you reply. Otherwise they have to keep the page open to see your answer.
They choose Confirm my number, or Use email instead, or Not now.
Why it works this way
A form in front of a first question loses people. Asking after the message is sent means the visitor has already reached you, and Matchai is offering them something concrete in return for their number: a text when your reply arrives. Their message is delivered whatever they choose.
How a visitor confirms who they are
With a mobile number. After Confirm my number, Matchai texts them a six-digit code. They enter it, and Matchai shows You are all set. From then on:
- they get a text when a new message from you is waiting for them.
- they can come back to the conversation on any device, by signing in with their mobile number and a texted code. See create your account.
Before they confirm, the form tells them which texts they agree to receive and that they can reply STOP at any time.
With an email address. Use email instead lets them create an account with their first name, email address and a password. They sign back in with those. The conversation stays where it is.
Not now. Their message is still delivered and you can reply. But they get no text when you do, and they can only follow the conversation from the same browser. If they clear their browser data, they cannot get back to it. Matchai asks them again after their next message.
If the number they enter already belongs to a Matchai account, Matchai shows You already have an account, tells them their message has already been delivered, and offers Sign in.
Why it works this way
Confirming a number or an email in this prompt adds a way to sign in to the guest's existing conversation. It does not create a second account, so nothing has to be moved or merged. That is also why the prompt does not send them to the normal sign-up page: a separate account, made another way, starts empty and does not include the guest conversation.
What you see
- A new lead appears in Leads as soon as the visitor opens the conversation, even before they type. Until they write, it shows No messages yet.
- The name reads New enquiry until they give their name. It changes to their name once they add it.
- You get a notification when their first message arrives. See notifications.
- When they confirm a mobile number, a note appears in your conversation, for your eyes only: Added a phone number — you can call them now. Call then appears in their details.
A guest is a lead like any other. There is no separate guest list and no badge. Reply to them, follow them in your lead pipeline, and convert them to a client when they are ready.
Why it works this way
The guest is a real person in a real conversation from their first message, so they are filed where every other enquiry goes. When they later add their name and number, it is the same lead and the same conversation, now with a name. You never have to match a stranger to a contact by hand.
When a visitor is asked to sign in
Sometimes Matchai cannot open a conversation for a visitor without an account, for example when a request looks automated. The visitor is then asked to sign in or create an account first. After signing in, they continue from where they were.
Most of Matchai, such as the workspace and account settings, still asks a guest to sign in. A guest's own conversations stay open to them in the browser they used.