People who enquire are often asking several suppliers at once. The one who replies first, and helpfully, usually has the advantage.
What to aim for
Set a standard and measure it.
- An automatic acknowledgement within minutes
- A personal reply the same working day
- A follow up if there is no answer after three days
- A clear next step in every message
Make it reliable
Send new enquiries to the people who can answer them, with a phone alert, so they are not waiting in an inbox. Give someone the job of covering when others are away.
Measure the gap
Record how long each enquiry waits for a first reply. The number is often worse than people expect, and improving it is cheap.