Survey Booker Lead Response Study - 2020
We canvassed 132 surveying firms to see how quickly they responded to a new enquiry and to take a look at the opportunities available to improve lead conversion rates.
The challenge
Responding to leads in a timely manner is, or should be, a key focus of any business. Doing this consistently is difficult as workloads fluctuate. Capacity is fixed whilst the workload changes resulting in a varied customer experience.
Following the easing of lockdown we contacted 132 surveying firms to see how quickly each one would respond to a quote enquiry.
Studies on response time in other industries have shown varying response statistics. One factor they all agree on – it is important to respond fast to win a sale.
Sales conversions are 391% higher in the first minute and 78% of customers buy from the first responder (Lead Connect)
How we did our research
Step 1
We compiled a list of companies and contacted 132 active surveying firms
Step 2
We made contact with each one via the email provided on their website or their contact form if no email was available
Step 3
We measured the response time from email sent to initial reply and the quality of interaction from each firm
Results: Response Time
Nearly 10% of firms responded within 5 minutes and over 46% responded within an hour of receiving our enquiry
You must be responding within the first hour to be in a good position to convert your leads and ideally you want to be one of the first companies in the first 5 minutes. The first responder can add the most value to the customer. Each subsequent responder can provide less new information and therefore less perceived value. For very slow replies, it signifies potential difficulties in speaking to you later on about their report.
Results: Response Quality
There was a dramatic difference in the content of responses. As an early touch point with a customer it’s important to set the right tone.
Not only do you need to be first to increase your chance of converting your leads you need to have a good first response. A response of just 6 words is unlikely to engage your prospect. Whilst you may need to request more information in order to be able to quote, offering details about the quality of your service gives your potential customer reason to respond as they hear back from other surveyors.
Follow-up attempts
Not every customer is ready to go ahead straight away. Leads have a value whether paid for or achieved through word of mouth so don’t let them go to waste. There is a great opportunity for the surveyors that choose to follow up with their leads rather than just ignoring them after the first contact and leaving them for someone else to convert.
Results: Website Quality
Customers need to feel encouraged to make that enquiry. Does your website provide confidence or give the wrong message?
Getting traffic to your site is the start of the battle. Once there you don’t want to lose it due to basic mistakes. If your website lacks a security certificate you will also lack enquiries from your website. Not only do search engines often display a warning message before customers even reach your website asking the customer if they really want to visit it, customers will very often not submit details via an insecure site. Who wants their data to be potentially intercepted?
Results: Website Contact Methods
We reviewed how many options a customer had to make contact. Different customers have different contact preferences. If you don’t secure the enquiry, you can’t follow up.
We live in a world of instant gratification. An email address or a contact form just isn’t that enticing (nor are contact forms that are labelled a quote form). A quote form offers the opportunity to increase enquiries. You can still submit a bespoke quote if you prefer but you’ll encourage more leads to enquire in the first place and you can immediately provide the prospect details about the service they’ve enquired about whilst they wait for your call.
Solutions to Boost your Business
Be responsive
You need to be first not fast. With over 46% of firms responding within an hour, your chance of converting a lead decreases every minute you wait. 78% of Customers Buy From the First Responder (Lead Response)
Put systems in place to provide an instant response (not necessarily an instant quote) to customers. This allows you to offer immediate value until you can make that follow-up call. As the first firm to respond you can provide the most value. The more surveyors that speak with the customer before you, the less new information you can offer.
Provide a quality response
There is no point being fast or first if you provide a low quality response. You must show value to encourage the next reply from a customer. Surveyors providing more detail will likely entice the customer away and you’ll find yourself losing out.
Companies can expect a 10% or higher increase in sales when they take steps to automate their lead and follow up process (Boomerang). Automate responses to provide valuable insights into how you operate and why it’s worth the customer responding to you.
Follow up with leads
Do you have systems in place to follow up with each lead after the first contact? We all forget to reply to that email or get carried away with other tasks. Leaving leads after the first contact is like throwing money down the drain. Fewer than 1% of surveyors followed up on our enquiry after their first reply.
For every $92 spent on generating traffic and getting customers, only $1 is spent on converting these customers (Hostingfacts.com). It is important to invest in converting leads, not just in generating them.
Encourage enquiries
If you’ve setup a website or an online listing you’ve invested your time into generating traffic. Your website must be modern, easy to navigate and secure.
Quote forms increase enquiries. Prospective buyers fill out 3-5 lead forms on average (LeadQual). But not all forms convert the same. Forms must look secure, they must be engaging and not require more than is needed at the first stage. If it looks like they can get an initial quote they will more likely part with details to get that instant gratification.
Explore our Array of Business-Boosting Features
Survey Booker can help boost your business in a whole manner of ways. Check out the different sections below to learn more about how you can streamline your business.
Small business features
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Survey Booker has enabled us to create a managed flow of leads from a range of different sources. This has in turn led to a lot less manual work for the team, and created a smoother customer journey. Our sales account managers now have more time for direct sales, and our customers are able to see updates in their customer portal without having to email or phone our team and wait for a response.
Luisa Desousa
CEO