The first reply is a race

An enquiry goes cold quickly, so a fast, short first reply is worth more than a slow, perfect one.

Most businesses are slower than they think

When researchers audited how quickly companies respond to online enquiries, their conclusion was blunt: most companies are not responding nearly fast enough. That study looked at web leads in 2011; messaging apps have since raised expectations, because a chat feels like a conversation, and nobody waits a day for the o…

A fast short reply beats a slow complete one

You don't need the full answer to reply. You need to show you saw the message and say when the rest is coming:

Out of hours, be honest

An automatic reply after hours is fine if it tells the truth: when a person will read this, and what to do if it is urgent. "We'll reply first thing tomorrow (9am)" is better than "We'll be in touch shortly", which nobody believes at 11pm.

On WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, slow can also mean locked out

These apps give a business a window to reply after the customer writes, usually 24 hours. Answer late enough and you can no longer reply freely at all. The next lesson but one covers the rules; for now, it is one more reason the first reply should not wait.

The short version

Treat a new enquiry as perishable: reply within the hour if you can.Measure your real response time; it is usually slower than it feels.A short reply with a time for the full answer beats a late perfect one.Out of hours, say honestly when a person will answer.

Try it in Kanvo

Open Home's Needs you list each morning: it ranks what is waiting on you, oldest and most urgent first, across every connected app. For a quick holding reply, press the Kanvo mark beside Send (Write a reply with AI), edit, and send.

Sources

An audit of how quickly companies answer web enquiries; the authors' finding is that "most companies are not responding nearly fast enough."