Instagram test makes it easier to get product and service quotes from businesses

Instagram is testing a new “Get Quote” button with select businesses on its app, Meta announced on Wednesday. The new button allows users to set up custom questions to ask customers prior to starting a conversation. Once customers fill out the questionnaire, they can then quickly request a quote from a business about a product or service. Select businesses can now put a “Get Quote” button on their Instagram profile or add a “Get Quote” sticker in their Stories.

The new feature marks the latest push by Instagram into e-commerce by making it easier for customers and businesses to interact with each other on the platform. Meta notes that the new button should make it easier for businesses to generate leads and manage conversations. The new feature is rolling out as part of National Small Business Week.

Meta is also introducing a slew of other features across its apps. Among the new features is a new capability in Messenger that will allow businesses to send promotional message campaigns to customers who opt in. The company is also making it easier to create Facebook and Instagram ads that open up to a WhatsApp chat by making it possible to create full ads directly from the WhatsApp Business app so that small businesses find new customers and grow faster.

In addition, Meta’s Inbox service, which allows businesses to manage customer messages across Messenger and Instagram Direct, is now being integrated with WhatsApp as part of a small test. Meta says that by centralizing communications, businesses will be able to manage messages better and save time. The company plans to share more information about these tests in the future.

“We’re announcing new tools for businesses to manage conversations and ads, as well as more ways to generate leads and share more about their business. These tools can improve how small businesses (SMBs) connect with customers and identify higher quality leads,” Meta said in a blog post about the new features.

Meta says people’s preferences for how they communicate with businesses are evolving and that they want to be able to communicate with businesses in the same way that they message with friends and family, which is why it’s aiming to make it easier for businesses to start conversations with these new features.