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How Fast Do You Respond To Emails?

iyazamiyazam subscriber Posts: 33
edited April 2009 in Marketing
How long does it take you to respond to an email? In the world of
the internet waiting more then 24 hours is considered a long time!
I believe this is why many businesses fail. So many people suffer from this problem.
Recent
studies have shown that you can get an indication about a person based
on this issue of responding to emails. If it takes someone a long time
to respond and it happens over and over again - then you know that this
person simply doesn`t care about your email. Stay away from them and
focus on building your business with serious people.
Another
issue is when sending someone a lead and they don`t even bother to
thank you for it. (This has happened to me time and time again when I
send people leads and I don`t even receive a thank you.) This shows
that the person who you are sending a lead lacks appreciation and this
tells me not to send anymore leads their way.
Why is that? Because I want to send leads to people who are serious and to people who mean business.
One
of the most interesting things that I have seen in the world of
business is that those people who are super successful - also find the
time to respond to emails on time. Even if its a small note. For the
industry leaders this has become a habit and they know very well that
its these little things that build a business.

Brian Tracy
points out that when a prospect or who ever it may be sees that you are
responding quickly - they see that you care about them and this
attracts them to do business with you.
So the next time someone responds to your marketing campaign and sends you an email...Don`t Wait! respond as fast as you can!
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Comments

  • DavidJacksonDavidJackson subscriber Posts: 143 Silver Level Member
    How long does it take you to respond to an email? In the world of the internet waiting more then 24 hours is considered a long time!
     
     
     
    I respond to to my e-mails within 1 hour, even when I`m traveling. It really does make an impression on potential clients.
     
    David Jackson
  • MyMarketEASEMyMarketEASE subscriber Posts: 1
    Excellent point.  Seems like a small thing, but it has major implications -- in business and personal life.
  • DavidJacksonDavidJackson subscriber Posts: 143 Silver Level Member
    Excellent point.  Seems like a small thing, but it has major implications -- in business and personal life.

     
     
     
    But you didn`t answer the question.
     
    David Jackson
  • MyMarketEASEMyMarketEASE subscriber Posts: 1
    Actually, I`m not sure if it was necessarily a poll that Iyazam was taking -- considering the more in-depth point he went on to make.  The time comparison he made seemed to be a cautionary statement rather than an actual question requiring an answer.
     
    However, I could be wrong, and if you are indeed taking some sort of poll, I would agree that there should be a response within 24 hours if at all possible.  That is reasonable and a goal that many business owners (regardless of the type of business) can aspire to.  Answering within the hour, unless it is some sort of auto response, is not always possible for someone running a retail business.
     
    And if you`re keeping track, it took me less than an hour to respond to your email...
  • vwebworldvwebworld subscriber Posts: 40

    Actually, I`m not sure if it was necessarily a poll that Iyazam was taking -- considering the more in-depth point he went on to make.  The time comparison he made seemed to be a cautionary statement rather than an actual question requiring an answer.  I think you are correct - I took his question as a means to engage the reader. Watch out, DavidJackson apparently believes he is the SUN police... but as long as you agree with him you`ll be fine.  Indeed, timely response to emails (or any other online communication) is important.  ~Rolandvwebworld4/8/2009 1:29 PM
  • MyMarketEASEMyMarketEASE subscriber Posts: 1
    Thanks for the heads up! 
  • DavidJacksonDavidJackson subscriber Posts: 143 Silver Level Member
    I always respond promptly to e-mails and it really impresses people!
     
     
     
    I`ve actually gotten a lot of business, because I responded to e-mails quickly. It makes a huge impression, because so many businesses have a slow response time.
     
    The early bird does indeed get the worm!
     
    David Jackson
  • iyazamiyazam subscriber Posts: 33
    Hi sorry for the late response! Holiday here in Israel.
    My article was ment to `engage the reader` and not for a poll.
    You see in the "old times" as my grandfather explained to me  people would send out mail as fast as possible because they knew it would take time for it to arrive. Today however we are lazy. We know that within minutes we could send out an email and it will arrive, so why do it now? People say things like: "its ok I`ll send it out later today..." then they procrastinate.
    We could talk about all of the marketing tactics and secrets but its these little things that put people out of business.
  • SmithMedicalITSmithMedicalIT subscriber Posts: 0
    I actually respond as quickly as possible - weekends, holidays, whenever - especially for clients, potential clients or other business contacts..  Even if it`s a short note to let the sender know that I received their email and I`ll get a more lengthy response to them when I can.  It`s something that sets me apart from others in my field.
    Of course, the downside to that is that I expect the same from others that I may be a client of,  and I get bothered when I don`t get timely responses.
  • LogoMotivesLogoMotives subscriber Posts: 15
    I also always attempt to respond to business emails within 24 hours. It`s not always possible with my travels to some locations that lack Internet connections - but I will connect as soon as possible.
    My major exception is after a large speaking engagement.  I often speak to audiences of 100-800 people.  At the end of my presentations I always tell audience members to email me if they have additional questions.  I add that "I will respond, but it may take a few days." I may receive a few hundred emails after such an event.  I`ll scan through my inbox to repond ASAP to immediate business emails. Later I will set aside time to respond to the influx of speaking engagement emails - with a large espresso drink at hand.
  • avinklineavinkline subscriber Posts: 0
    Great article.
    In my opinion, the time before you answer is not as important as consistently communicating with and responding to clients and other people messaging you - whether that`s one hour or one day. From a client`s perspective, I always want a response, but if I`m always getting a response within a short period of time, it really makes me think that the person is not that great at getting things done. I sure wouldn`t like it if he was working on a project for me and accepted constant interruption. As long as he responds to me consistently I am happy.From an entrepreneur`s perspective, I think it`s important to weight the cost:value of responding in really short periods of time (like one hour). Sometimes the value outweighs the cost, but in many times, the cost of constant interruption is not worth the value of responding in an hour as opposed to a day. Often it doesn`t make that much of a difference to a client, but it makes a huge difference to the entrepreneur in not being able to get things done (for the client).
  • thetaxdudethetaxdude subscriber Posts: 0
    24 hours to return an e-mail is far too long unless it is the weekend.   It should never, ever take you longer to respond to an e-mail than it would take you to return a telephone call.  E-mail communication is vital in today`s high tech, rapidly changing business environment.
     
    Clients and customers want and deserve a certain level of attention.  If you are not client focused, your business is doomed for failure.  It`s not usual for a client to have something on their mind or want to ask a question after business hours. 
     
    I might take this to an extreme, but it`s not uncommon for a client to e-mail me around midnight and get a response back within minutes...thank you BlackBerry®.  It`s about making the client feel like a priority and they really appreciate that level of service.
     
  • SewingPatternsSewingPatterns subscriber Posts: 1
    Hi. I agree that a quick response will make your customers know that they are important.  Our reply time is usually within a few hours, but no more than 24 hrs.
     
    I do have a question though, if someone sends an email to you over the weekend, is a reply by the next business day justifiable?  For example, a customer sends an email on a saturday and their reply is sent by Monday morning.  What are your thoughts?  (the office is closed over the weekend)
     
     
    SewingPatterns4/14/2009 6:49 PM
  • CharleneBlacerCharleneBlacer subscriber Posts: 0
    I respond to my emails like I do with my cellphone texts which is any day and anytime. {I don`t have a "I`ll get back to you during business hours" policy and plus I hate when the emails keep piling up}- thank you iPhone
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