32% Say Local Businesses Follow Up with Phone Leads in 2-5 Days

We recently asked our readers how quickly local businesses follow up with new contacts after they call. The poll revealed more than 30% of readers thought businesses took between two and five days to respond to a new lead, 28% said they took less than one hour, and 24% said within a day. However, 8% of our readers said local businesses follow up in more than five days, and 8% said local businesses never follow up with new prospects. See all the results in our infographic below.

If you’re like the many local businesses who already respond to new leads within a day or even within an hour, you’re already ahead of the game. Most likely, you’re winning more business with your prompt follow up, since 50% of consumers choose the business that responds to them first.

As for the other half — if you’re not reaching out to new prospects right away, you’re risking losing those potential customers to another business. That’s why it’s so important to check voicemails often or invest in lead conversion software that can alert you whenever you get a new contact so you can follow up immediately and close more sales.

Tamara Weintraub

Tamara is a content marketing manager at ReachLocal with over 7 years experience in B2B marketing and has a nerd-level affinity for software and technology. She specializes in helping local businesses succeed online, writing and learning about Google, search advertising, SEO, and social media marketing. When she's not writing about online marketing, you can find her watching cult TV and hanging out with her Doberman.

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