First Response Time

First response time is how long a customer waits between sending an enquiry and getting a reply from the business — by phone, WhatsApp or chat — and it’s one of the strongest predictors of whether a lead is still there to convert.

The reason it matters more than most metrics a business tracks: someone comparing a few options is usually messaging more than one of them at the same time, and the first business to give a useful reply has a real advantage that has nothing to do with price or quality — it’s just being there first, while the customer is still paying attention. A reply that arrives hours later is often answering someone who has already decided elsewhere.

Measuring it honestly means measuring the worst cases, not the average — a business that replies instantly during the day but takes six hours overnight has a first-response problem overnight, even if its average looks fine.

The guide on why this matters most: leads go cold before you call back.