Time your response to a web enquiry

When a potential customer makes an enquiry through your website, how quickly do you think they need a response?

Within a few hours? Within 24 hours? Within a few business days?

The answer probably depends on your industry, but it’s crucial to understand that the internet is a real-time medium and customers expect attention within hours or minutes rather than days or even weeks.

And the more time that elapses between the web enquiry and your response, the less chance you have of turning that lead into an actual sale.

So here’s a test. Call up a friend or family member on the sly, give them some convincing lines to put in their website enquiry and see what happens.

Do your sales and administrative staff spring to attention? Do they hit the phone to get an appointment? Or do they concentrate on their current work and get to the enquiry when they can?

If it’s the latter, you’ve got a problem. You need to set up a process whereby enquiries go to an appointed staff member who will call the potential customer and get some more details. This does not need to be sales personal making a sales call – it may be an admin staff member just setting up an appointment or better directing the enquiry.

But response times are crucial and you should do whatever you can to reduce yours.

Get it done – today!