Set up an auto reply that acknowledges every enquiry
The firm that replies first usually wins the job. Not the cheapest, not the best, the one who answered while the customer was still sitting there with their phone.
Where it hurts
When someone sends an enquiry and hears nothing back, they assume it didn't land or you're not fussed. So they message two or three other firms, and now you're in a race you didn't know had started.
You might reply properly within the hour, which feels prompt to you. But in that hour the customer's already had a warm reply from a competitor and half made their mind up.
A quick acknowledgement isn't a full answer, it's just reassurance. Right now there's usually nothing between the enquiry landing and a proper human getting to it, which is exactly the gap where people wander off.
What I'd build
I'd start with the instant acknowledgement: warm, in your own words, out within a minute on whichever channels you use, never firing twice and never replying to spam. Then the proper version: an AI step reads each enquiry, works out what's being asked, and drafts a real answer (not a holding line) for someone to approve, or handles the routine ones itself within rules we agree. Every enquiry also lands as an action on a small dashboard, so you can see at a glance what's been answered, what's still waiting and on whose desk, and nothing gets acknowledged then quietly forgotten.
What changes
- Every enquiry gets a friendly reply within a minute
- AI drafts a real answer, not just a holding message
- A small dashboard shows what's still waiting and with whom
- Nothing gets acknowledged and then forgotten
Related fixes
Sound like your week? The free half-hour review is where we work out whether this is your first fix or your fifth.