Lead Response Time 101

Since the pandemic hit, most businesses have transgressed into the online world and therefore, lead response time has become an important factor every business owner needs to draw attention to. A lot of individuals still don’t fully understand what lead response time is and why it is so important. This article will dive into what lead response time is, what a good lead response time is, and why it is important.  Lead response time can be described as the amount of time a business takes to contact or follow up with an interested or potential client. Businesses often underestimate the power of quickly responding to a lead. According to a study done by the Harvard Business Review, 24% of businesses take more than 24 hours to respond to leads. A lot can happen in 24 hours, including your potential lead opting for your competitor's services/products. 

What is a Good Lead Response Time?

When it comes to responding to leads, slow and steady does not win the race. Since most businesses have adopted some type of online platform, consumers' expectations have also changed. A consumer's mindset is mainly “first come first serve”, meaning the first and easiest place they can receive a product or service from, they are going to go for. But what is a good lead response time? 

Aim for 10 Minute

Customers prefer not to wait if they do not have to. Because of the fast-paced digital environment, most customers value response times of 10 minutes or less. Customers are much less patient when it comes to sales support than they are when it comes to customer care, therefore keeping your speed to lead response low is critical if you want a thriving brand.

Why Lead Response Time Is Important

If you are still not convinced that making your customers wait means you'll be paying instead of them, consider the following 2 reasons why lead response time is important: 

• Improves Your Customer’s Experience

Lead response time is critical, as it assists the brand in providing a better customer experience. Since customers have access to thousands of options, it is critical to provide a better client experience compared to other competitors. That is the only way to assure a steady stream of returning clients.

• Don’t Waste Money Spent on Outbound Lead Creation.

Lead response time is critical since leads generated by your outbound marketing channels have probably been a major marketing expense. For example, suppose your company tries to create leads using Facebook ads, but your team took so long to reply to the leads produced by the advertisements that they'd already moved on to your competition by the time you finally reached out? The money you've already spent on acquiring those leads is pointless until they become a customer. Without a doubt, failing to follow up on those leads will be a waste of your time and money. One way to make sure that no leads go lost is to make use of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system. Leadtrekker is a CRM that has been developed to improve lead response, assist in the increase of sales, and the productivity of a sales team. To find out more about how Leadtrekker can assist your company, contact us or book a demo!