How Important is Inquiry Response Time in the Wedding Industry?

Do you wonder why clients inquire, you respond, and then you don’t hear back?

If so, strap in for the next three minutes while I offer a new perspective for you.

When people ask me why they’re getting ghosted, my answer is: You’re not providing the right information at the right time in the right way.

It’s always one (or more) of these three things. Content. Timing. Delivery.

Out of order

If timing is the issue, it’s often because the sales process is out of sequence. The order in which you share information is jamming up the purchase experience. 

For example, giving package and pricing details too early, especially on your website or in the initial inquiry response. (It’s better to send out a proposal with specifics after the discovery call.) 

Another one I see is giving a contract or invoice with your proposal for services. (It’s better to get an informal “yes” on a specific package, and then send out the formal contract and deposit request.)

These sequencing issues are bad, but I’ll tell you I’m generally relieved when timing is what’s throwing off the booking process because the fix is so easy. No new content has to be created. No new skills have to be developed. No new distribution channels or systems have to be set up. We just reorder some things or simply stop doing others.

How long does it take you to respond to inquiries?

The other area to look at with timing is how long it takes you to get back to inquiries. And this is what blew my mind when I read about it in a handful of studies recently.

Here’s what I found:

The faster you return an email the more likely you are to book the couple. We’re not talking days here. No, it’s minutes that make a huge difference. 

Check out this grenade that blows up your concept of “fast.” One often-cited study found the odds of getting in contact with a lead 100x greater within five minutes compared to 30 minutes after the inquiry. What do you think it looks like if you don’t get back to them for a day? 

So, if you’re looking for an edge against your comp set, here’s the number one thing you can do to book more clients: Be the first person who gets back to a couple actively inquiring with vendors in your category

Nearly 50% of buyers pick the company that replies first. This isn’t specifically for the wedding industry, but the reasoning can be applied across all purchase decisions. 

Today’s consumers have 1) short attention spans, and 2) 3,000 marketing messages a day thrown at them. If they reach out and you don’t respond immediately or sooner, they’re moving on to the next option – and there are a ton of them to click on just at the end of their fingers.

Set it and forget it

Now that we have to get quick(er), what are some options to improve your response time? Autoresponders can be incredibly effective – but only if done well with compelling information that gets them even more excited. (Unfortunately, a better pricing guide is NOT the solution.)

Want to hear more about this and other ideas? 

Tune into Own Your Business podcast.

If you do one thing this booking season to improve your couple’s buying experience, I strongly suggest finding ways to get back to your inquiries faster and create immediate interest in your services.