Member Article

Slow response loses businesses an annual £31bn

The cost of businesses failing to offer speedy replies to potential customers stands at an annual £31bn in lost revenue, according to new reports. The poll by Vodafone UK found that a third of firms would take their business elsewhere if a potential supplier did not get back to them within two hours.

Half of all respondents said slow responses was even enough to make them consider cancelling an existing contract. Despite nearly 80% of business decision makers expecting immediate enquiry responses, less than 20% have a set response time for answering emails.

Kyle Whitehill, director of the enterprise business unit at Vodafone UK, said: “Business culture and business expectations are dramatically changing with the development of new technologies. As the world becomes more demanding it is vital for business to be able to take advantage of opportunities when they arise by being flexible, responsive and available at all times.”

Regionally, Manchester scored the worst for enquiry response times. Only one in 12 Mancunian firms have a set response time for emails. Only a fifth of businesses said they were fully equipped to receive emails on the go, the poll also found, even though 56% said they looked for suppliers with mobile working practices in place.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .