How fast should a business reply to customer emails?

Why one hour

Customers who email expect an answer the same day, and many expect it much sooner. In the survey behind this answer, a reply within one hour met the expectations of 89% of the people asked. A faster reply also stops a second email asking if you got the first one.

The survey asked consumers, and it is from 2018. Business customers may expect something different, so treat one hour as a starting point and check what your own customers say.

How a small team can meet it

• Write down agreed answers to the questions you get most.
• Use one shared inbox, and give each email an owner.
• Agree who covers when someone is away.
• Reply first with the next step, even if the full answer takes longer.

Email that arrives overnight

A one-hour target only makes sense in working hours. Say your hours on your website and in an automatic reply. Then make the first hour of the morning count: if drafts are ready when people start, they only need to check and send them.

How Customer replies helps

Xevrion's Customer replies reads enquiries as they arrive, day and night. Its AI drafts each reply from the facts you have approved, so drafts are ready when your team starts. A person checks each reply by default. Results records the time to the first reply against your target, from your mailbox's own send receipts.