Email is the most common form of communication. Personal emails, internal emails to colleagues, external emails to clients and prospects—they all matter. And one of the most important aspects of email is prompt replies.
Responding quickly to emails can save relationships and business opportunities, but too many of us are guilty of not replying to emails fast enough.
Why are fast email replies important?
Response times are a reflection of your priorities
Responding quickly is a simple gesture that goes a long way. It shows that you value their time as much as you value your own, and it demonstrates that you respect their priorities.
When someone emails or calls you, they’re making an investment in your relationship. They’re saying “I want to talk to you right now, in this moment.” That means it’s important to them — so important that they're going out of their way to reach out instead of doing something else with their time.
And when you respond quickly, it shows them that what they have to say is valuable — that they matter enough for you to give them your attention right away.
It will reduce the chances that the person you’re emailing will feel they need to chase you up
People get frustrated when they have to wait too long for a reply and are more likely to take matters into their own hands by sending another email or calling you up.
This not only leaves a bad impression, but creates even more unecessary email clutter which you'll have to sort through.
If you can’t get back to someone within 24 hours, it’s good practice to send them an update with your expected response time (e.g. “Thanks for getting in touch, I'm going to look into this to make sure I give you the best answer possible, I should be in touch by tomorrow at the latest”).
Replying quickly creates momentum
The power of momentum is one of the most undervalued concepts in business. Having a project or sale that's moving at a rapid pace creates an environment where everything else falls into place. The best way to create a sense of momentum and urgency is to reply quickly. When someone sends you an email, they may be waiting on your reply before taking the next step in a process or making a decision about purchasing something from you. If you take too long to respond, their enthusiasm may wane, so it's important to be responsive when possible.
Fast responses improve your customer service experience
Fast customer service can be the difference between a customer being thrilled with your company and becoming an advocate for your brand or being disappointed and taking their business elsewhere.
Fast responses build trust with customers. When a customer has a question or concern about a product or service, they want an immediate response from an actual human being — not from an automated system or Help Center. When these customers receive an immediate response from someone who cares about them as a person, it builds trust between you and them. This trust lets them know that they can count on your company in the future when they need help again... maybe even helping them choose another product or service from your company!
Fast responses can stop a problem from getting worse and customers from churning
If you're dealing with an angry customer, for instance, the last thing you want to do is wait days or even hours before responding.
In some cases, customers will take to social media to vent their frustration if they don't hear back from a brand quickly enough. That's bad news because it can start to harm your brand's reputation and make customers less likely to purchase from you in the future.
A fast response can also help you retain customers who had planned on leaving but were pleased by the speed of your reply — especially if they complain about something that's out of your hands (like a delayed delivery).
How can I reply to emails quickly?
Keep it short, write with a purpose
The first thing to keep in mind is that you don't need to write a novel when you're replying to an email. Keep it short and sweet. If you have a lot of information to share, use bullet points or numbered lists instead of paragraphs.
Not only are shorter emails much easier for your contacst to read and digest, they're also much quicker for you to write—meaning faster response times.
Know what should be fast and prioritize
Make sure you don't waste time on unnecessary emails when there are more important ones that require your attention. If you're unsure about which message is more important than another one, ask yourself: "Will my client/colleague/friend/family member be upset if this email goes unanswered?" If their answer is yes, then make sure you reply right away!
Plan your email time
Now, I'm not saying you should have a ridiculous amount of time set aside for replying to emails, but regularly processing them (even just looking at the subject lines and asking someone to help you out if need be) really makes all the difference. Two
Make email triage part of your daily routine.
If it's not already part of your morning routine, make sure that checking and responding to emails is part of what gets done first thing in the morning — before anything else gets in the way of getting things done.
Check email at least once an hour (or more).
It's important that you check email frequently enough so that if someone needs an immediate response, they'll get one — immediately! Checking once an hour can help ensure you're ontop of things. Just make sure it's you check and reply as quickly as you can, without getting distracted or sidetracked.
Use your phone to get access to email on the go
While work-life balance is extremely important, and you shouldn't be working 24 hours a day, using your phone can be a great way of staying ontop of the most important things on-the-go. Your phone is always with you and it’s easy enough to type out a quick response on it without having to go through your computer first — saving you time in the long run.
When you need to write a long response, let the sender know
It's important to provide an accurate estimate of when you'll be able to send a response. If your response will take more than a few minutes or hours, say so.
"I'll get back to you shortly."
"Let me get back to you in about 30 minutes."
"I'm not sure of the answer yet and need to look into it."
"I'll have an answer for you by tomorrow morning."
If you've promised a response by a certain date and can't meet it, let the person know that too.
Set yourself a response time SLA and stick to it
Set up a standard that your team can adhere to — and make sure everyone knows about it! This is an easy way to ensure that everyone on your team is responding in a consistent manner and will help keep customers happy.
If you need a way to track response times, we've got you covered. Email Meter dashboards include a number of response time metrics for your and your team — Get your free report here.
Don't overthink, commit and move quickly
When it comes to emailing, it's better to make a quick decision than overthink things and never respond at all. The best way to respond quickly is to not think too hard about what you're going to say.
Don't get caught up on formatting issues. We want everything to look perfect before we send it out into the world — but in most cases, there is no such thing as perfect when it comes to email correspondence! If something seems like it will take longer than five minutes to format properly (and most things do), don't do it! Formatting issues are not worth your time or energy; just get it done as quickly as possible so you can move on with your day.
Use an autoresponder for after-hours work
You don't have to be in the office or on the clock 24/7. But you do need to be available for customers, clients and colleagues.
So what should you do when you're not there? Use an autoresponder for after-hours work.
An autoresponder is a tool that automatically responds to emails when you can't. It can be set up to send a response within seconds or minutes of receiving an email, and lets customers know they'll get a response when you return to work. This way they won't think you're ignoring them or not taking their needs seriously. It also helps cut down on repetitive questions from customers who don't understand why they aren't receiving an immediate response.
Use saved replies for common questions or sections of emails
If you get the same question all the time, create a saved reply that includes all the information you need to provide. This can save time and help ensure that you always have the right information in your inbox when someone needs it. Remember that they are not always appropriate or effective, so make sure you don't rely too heavily on them. They can make your emails sound impersonal or robotic, so try to personalize and edit them as much as possible.
Use inbox zero
Inbox zero is a productivity method that involves keeping your inbox empty and organized at all times. You also set up filters so that important emails go directly into their own folder rather than cluttering up your inbox. You won't waste time scrolling through emails when there's nothing important there, and if someone sends an email while your inbox is empty, you'll see it immediately — which makes it even easier for you to answer right away! We've written a full guide to inbox zero here.
Use a formula to approach how you write emails
It can be great to follow a structured strategy for replying quickly without sacrificing quality. The following approach is just one of many:
1. Read the email carefully before responding.
2. Write down the three most important things from the email so that you know what it's about and won't forget them later on (this will save you time when writing).
3. Write three sentences that address each of those points and let them flow naturally from your brain onto paper (don't stop until they do).
4. Proofread those three sentences carefully — once is not enough — to make sure they are clear, concise and correct (if necessary, rewrite them until they are).
5. Send the response along with a smiley face or another positive signifier (e.g., "Great idea!")
In summary
It's not rocket science. Quickly responding to a customer's email shows them you're interested. It puts people at ease, which helps build trust and leads to more business/income. Once you begin replying to emails in a timely fashion, you should see a noticeable difference in your inbox hygiene and the interactions that you have with your clients. Now's the time to implement these changes in your own life, and start the journey towards becoming an email ninja! Good luck!
