Where the business actually happens.
WHY THIS MATTERS MOST
For many small businesses, more enquiries arrive by social message than through the website.
An unanswered message is a lost customer.
RESPONSE TIME
Within hours, during stated hours.
Some platforms display your average response time publicly. A slow one is visible to everyone considering contacting you.
SETTING EXPECTATIONS
State your hours in your profile.
An automatic reply confirming receipt and stating when you will respond is worth setting up.
WHAT TO PREPARE
Saved replies for common questions: prices, delivery, availability, location.
Most platforms support these.
MOVING TO A PROPER CHANNEL
For anything substantial, move to email, phone or WhatsApp.
Social messages are difficult to search and easy to lose.
RECORDING ENQUIRIES
An enquiry existing only in a social inbox is lost when the account changes hands or the platform changes.
Record the ones that matter.
WHO RESPONDS
If more than one person, agree who and when.
A customer receiving two different answers is worse than one waiting.
