Ask the Experts – Replying Back to Customer Emails and Texts

Hi Guys,

Sometimes it really frustrates me when the sales team waits too long to reply to customer emails and texts. What’s the maximum amount of time that you feel is appropriate?

JB
Internet Sales Manager
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Joe Webb says…
We know exactly how you feel, JB. In essence, a customer’s reply is honestly just as valuable (if not more) than a new lead. Replying back to customer emails and texts quickly is imperative. They’re engaged in the moment they send reply back to your team and their response should be met with immediacy and excitement.

Text? Don’t hate me for saying it, but anything longer than a couple minutes leads to a negative customer experience, in my opinion – but admittedly I’ve seen no data published regarding text replies to confirm my opinion. This is just a personal belief. Email replies from customers also should be addressed within a 10-15 time frame ideally. The sooner the better.

Bill Playford says…
That’s an awesome question, and something I’ve gone to great lengths to try to measure. With any automotive data, it’s hard to isolate because CRMs don’t measure it. HubSpot says less than 10mins is the goal (full article). A widely-cited USC study said the expected median response time is 2 hours (more data here). I’d argue that if a customer is engaged, that time is crucial. By virtue of the response, they’ve already signaled to us that they’re on a computer and talking to a dealer. It could be us or someone else during that period, so why risk it?