The short answer
Within the hour, and sooner if you can. In practice: an honest first reply within minutes, even if it’s automatic, and a real conversation within the hour during business hours.
Most businesses don’t come close. When Harvard Business Review’s researchers sent test inquiries to 2,241 US companies, 37% replied within an hour, 23% never replied at all, and the average reply took 42 hours.1
How fast is fast enough?
The same HBR article looked at 1.25 million leads at 42 companies. Firms that reached a lead within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to have a meaningful conversation with the decision maker as firms that tried even an hour later, “and more than 60 times as likely as companies that waited 24 hours or longer.”1
Two cautions. The outcome measured was a real conversation, not a signed client. And the data shows that fast firms do better, not that speed alone is why. But every study since points the same way: the inquiry is warmest the moment it arrives.
Where does the “five minutes” rule come from?
You’ll often see “reply in 5 minutes and you’re 21 times more likely to close,” credited to MIT. The source is a 2007 study run by a lead-response software company with an MIT-affiliated professor. It looked at phone calls to web leads at six companies. It found the odds of qualifying a lead were 21 times higher at 5 minutes than at 30, and it says plainly: “This study did not address close ratios.”2
Two other numbers that get passed around, “78% buy from the first business to respond” and “35–50% of sales go to the vendor that responds first,” can’t be traced to any original study. We’d leave them out of your planning.
Is your industry any different?
| Industry | What the studies found |
|---|---|
| Real estate | In a 2026 mystery shop of 2,198 inquiries to large brokerage brands, 68% of website inquiries got no response within 24 hours, just 10% heard from an agent within an hour, and nearly 1 in 10 inquiry forms didn’t work.3 Meanwhile 74% of buyers interviewed only one agent.4 |
| Law firms | In Clio’s 2024 secret-shopper study, as reported, 33% of firms answered emails, 40% answered the phone, and 48% were unreachable by phone.5 |
| Home services | Thumbtack says pros who respond within 30 minutes are 25% more likely to be hired than those who respond within three hours.6 |
Pied Piper’s explanation fits every high-ticket business: “New real estate clients often consider several options before choosing who to work with.”3 The first good reply often becomes the only conversation.
What if you’re with a client when it comes in?
This is the real problem, and owners say it best. A painter on Thumbtack’s forum: “If I’m working on a ladder or under a house, or painting while racing the sun, it’s going to be really hard to stop and respond to anything.”7 Even Thumbtack admits owners “can’t be on their phones responding to leads at all hours of the day — they actually have to do the work they’ve been hired to do.”6
The answer is to split the reply in two.
- An instant, honest first reply. Florida Realtors’ advice: say the message was received, don’t imply someone has read it, and give “a realistic time for a personal reply.”8 One pro sends a template with a scheduling link, “and tells them that we will also try to call shortly.”9
- A real reply from a person, within the hour if you can. “Whatever handles the first response, the next step still needs an owner.”8
AI has made the first step far better than a canned “we got your message.” An assistant can now answer the common questions from your own information, offer times from your calendar, and text you the details so you can pick it up between appointments. It should always hand off to a person, and say plainly that it’s an assistant.
Is your website form even reaching you?
In the real estate study, nearly 1 in 10 inquiry forms didn’t work properly.3 A form that sends to an old address, or lands in a shared inbox nobody checks, makes your reply time infinite.
Once a month, fill in your own form and call your own number from a phone you don’t normally use. Time how long it takes for someone to get back to you.
Can you just text them back?
Usually, yes, within limits. This is general information, not legal advice.
- The FCC treats text messages as calls under the TCPA.10
- A one-time text sent straight back to someone who asked for information is allowed, if it’s “sent immediately” and contains only what they asked for.10
- Automated marketing texts after that need the person’s written consent, and opt-outs must be honoured within 10 business days.11
- Some states have stricter rules. Check before you set up automatic sequences.
What about messages from Google?
Google Business Profile chat ended on 31 July 2024.12 In some regions you can now add a text or WhatsApp link to your profile instead, which means those messages land on your phone, not in a Google inbox.13 If your profile has no phone number showing, Google recommends adding one.
What does good look like in a normal week?
| Moment | The standard |
|---|---|
| First reply | Within minutes, day or night. Honest about being automatic, with a time for a personal reply. |
| Personal reply | Within the hour during business hours. |
| After hours | First thing the next morning, before anything else. |
| Every channel | Form, phone, text and social messages, all landing in one place. |
| Once a month | Test your own form and phone line. |
This is the follow-up we build for clients: every inquiry gets a helpful reply in minutes, you get a text so you can take it from there, and every conversation is kept in one place. We hold ourselves to the same standard.