Improving Response Times in Customer Service

Last week, I talked about the possibilities of AI to make work easier. This week, I want to share a clear example of how we are doing that at HubSpot. We’re focused on helping our customers grow. So naturally, we take customer support seriously. Whether it’s a product question or a business challenge, we want inquiries to be answered efficiently and thoughtfully. We knew AI could help, but we didn’t know quite what it would look like! We first deployed AI in website and support chat. To mitigate any growing pains, we had a customer rep standing by for questions that came through who could quickly take the baton if things went sideways. And, sometimes they did. But we didn’t panic. We listened, we improved, and we kept testing. The more data AI collects, the better it gets. Today, 83% of the chat on HubSpot’s website is AI-managed and our Chatbot is digitally resolving about 30% of incoming tickets. That’s an enormous gain in productivity! Our customer reps have more time to focus on complex, high touch questions. AI also helps us quickly identify trends—questions or issues that are being raised more frequently—so we can intervene early. In other words, AI has not just transformed our customer support. It has elevated it. So, here is what we learned: Don’t panic if customer experience gets worse initially! It will improve as your data evolves. Evolve your KPIs and how you measure success- if AI resolves typical questions and your team resolves tricky ones, they will need more time. Use AI to elevate your team's efforts How are you using AI in support? What are you learning? 

If you wait 3 days to respond to an email, your buyer will wait a week. If you reply immediately, they match your pace. 👉 6 reasons to prioritize a rapid email response: -  Every 10-minute delay results in a 400% drop in conversion chances. - Leads contacted within five minutes are 21 times more likely to convert than those contacted after 30 minutes. - You're 100 times more likely to connect with and qualify a lead when responding within 5 minutes compared to 1 hour. -  Responding within 1 minute can boost conversion rates by 391%. - 78% of buyers purchase from the first company that responds to their inquiry. - 30% of unresponded leads will reach out to a competitor who responds faster Most of the data I found was for inbound, but the same logic applies to outbound and MoFu. 👉 The easiest ways to control deal momentum? Set a pace that conveys urgency. Speedy replies create urgency. Slow responses create stalled deals. 📌 Quick tip Send, "receipt confirmed" emails. If you can't reply immediately, and sometimes you can't because you need to send a more thoughtful reply or perhaps you're in the middle of more focused work .... Just let your buyer know you got their email and that you will reply within 24 hours. Trust me, taking 30 seconds to send a receipt confirmed email will earn you a lot of aura points. 👉 Set the pace, or your buyer will and odds are, they’ll slow it down. ✨ Enjoyed this post? Let me know in the comments & follow Leslie Venetz for more. Data from - LeadAngel Gobluebird Podium GetCensus SalesWingsApp Chilipiper Calldrip Rep.ai #b2bsalestips #emailtips

One of the key principles in my new work on the power of responsiveness in business is the idea of "replying without answers." What usually happens now is that when someone asks a question that we can't immediately answer, we go look it up. We procure the answer by checking with accounting. Or asking Google. Or investigating with a sales rep. Or whatever. That can take hours. Or days. And then, once we have the answer, we respond to the query. STOP DOING THIS. Because the whole time you're "finding out" the person who asked is FREAKING OUT. They are wondering if you got the question. If you are ghosting them. If their email went to spam. It's a tea kettle of anxiety and doubt. The better way is to immediately reply with "Great question! So much so, I have to find out the answer. I'm going to do that, and then I'll be back in touch." This way, the person knows you are working on it, and the anxiety kettle goes off the burner. The result is that the perception of your responsiveness goes way up, AND you actually buy yourself MORE time to gather the actual information. Because my research finds that psychologically, speed of RESPONSE is more vital than speed of RESOLUTION. I've been using this "reply without answers" technique for 2.5 years, and it's made a BIG difference across my whole life. What do you think? #thetimetowin #keynotespeaker #speakerlife

Can AI Grow Your KPI? (super short answer: Yes!) I am often asked how exactly Gen AI can improve productivity. And which tools are ideal to start implementing first. Departments set Specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) To be in line with their company’s objectives and goals. The easiest tools are often data AI tools: - The data team is not customer-facing. - Productivity is easier to quantify in code. - Coding related KPIs can grow quickly with AI tools. However, the biggest ROI on AI tool investments Is seen in Customer Service enhancing tools: - Customer Support Agents who use AI tools work faster. - Multiple academic studies find quantitative support. Sometime ago, I worked with a client to reduce waiting times For their customers by providing faster service. I created this example to demonstrate how the KPI for Customer service can improve with AI tools. ----- Example of IMAGINARY Company, Inc. Employee type: Customer Service Representatives (CSR) Company Objective: Helping more customers without compromising quality. KPIs: 1. Average Service Time (in minutes) = AST 2. First Call Resolution 3. Customer Satisfaction Score Focusing ONLY on AST right now: --> 10 CSRs given access to AI virtual assistants. --> AI offered real-time information. --> AI suggests responses during customer calls to CSR. --> 4 week testing period. --> Before AI and After AI service time per call measured. Results: * AST before AI = 8.6 minutes per call. * AST after AI = 6.4 minutes per call. * Mean Difference = 2.2 minutes less per call. * Paired Differences t-test score = 4.71. * P-value = 0.001 implies significant change. * Total customers served per hour before AI = 70. * Total customers served per hour after AI = 94. ______________________________________________ Results indicate that 26% of time was saved, 35% more customers were served each hour by the CSRs, After a robust implementation of AI Tools to assist them. _______________________________________________ Actionable Insights: 1. Other KPIs also need to be tracked. 2. AI training and ongoing support are essential. 3. Call volume and other variables need to be included. 4. Adopting relevant AI Tools can improve productivity. 5. Track CSR performance to identify bottlenecks. Follow Dr. Kruti Lehenbauer & Analytics TX, LLC on LinkedIn #PostItStatistics #DataScience #AI insights. ------------- P.S.: What is your experience with an AI tool implementation?

Handle time is costly for contact centers. How do you cut it without crushing customer service? Here are 5 ways: 1. Fix your knowledge base Agents at one contact center couldn't answer 14% of customer questions. The knowledge base was outdated. Agents spent had to put customers on hold and search for information. Searching for answers = wasted time. 2. Prevent escalations One team identified the top 10 reasons calls were escalated from Tier 1 to Tier 2 support. Five of those call drivers were prevented by sharing more information with Tier 1 agents. Escalated calls = wasted time. 3. Eliminate survey reminders Call center agents ended each call by asking customers to take a survey. It was awkward and time consuming. Removing the prompt saved 10 seconds per call. Survey prompting = wasted time. 4. Upgrade listening skills Active listening helps agents quickly understand customers' needs and how they want to be served. Help your agents develop their listening skills so they can serve customers faster. Poor listening = wasted time. 5. Reframe handle time Most contact centers measure time per call. A more accurate measure is time per issue. If a customer has to call back about the same problem, the handle time for THAT call should really count on top of the original one. One contact center leader found that adding 1 minute per call to solve the problem on the first try reduced their overall time per issue by 5 minutes. Second calls = wasted time. Bottom line: Use these tips to cut handle time without hurting customer service. ✍️ What else would you add to the list?

Let’s say your support center is getting hammered with repeat calls about a new product feature. Historically, the team would escalate, create a task force, and maybe update a knowledge base weeks later. With the tech available today, you should be able to unify signals from tickets, chat logs, and social mentions instead. This helps you quickly interpret the root cause. Perhaps in this case it's a confusing update screen that’s triggering the same questions. Instead of just sharing the feedback with the task force that'll take weeks to deliver something, galvanize leaders and use your tech stack to orchestrate a fix in real time. Don't have orchestration in that stack? Start looking into this asap. An orchestration engine canauto-suggest a targeted in-app message for affected users, trigger a proactive email campaign with step-by-step guidance, and update your chatbot’s responses that same day. Reps get nudges on how to resolve the issue faster, and managers can watch repeat contacts drop by a measurable percentage in real time. But the impact isn’t limited to operations. You energize the business by sharing these results in a company-wide standup and spotlighting how different teams contributed to the OUTCOME. Marketing sees reduced churn, operations sees lower cost-to-serve, and leadership sees a team aligned around outcomes instead of activities. If you want your AI investments to move the needle, focus on unified signals, real-time orchestration, and getting the whole business excited about customer outcomes....not just actions. Remember: Outcomes > Actions #customerexperience #ai #cxleaders #outcomesoveraction

I get it—keeping up with rising customer expectations can be challenging, especially for business owners managing lean teams. In my experience, and through countless conversations with leaders across various industries, I’ve found that with the right tools, improving the customer experience doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are three tools I consistently recommend: 1. AI chatbots: Chatbots can handle everyday inquiries like booking appointments or answering FAQs, freeing your team to focus on more impactful tasks. Plus, they’re available 24/7, ensuring your customers get help when they need it. 2. Automated customer feedback tools: Many business owners I speak with want faster insights into customer experiences. Automated surveys sent immediately after an interaction offer real-time feedback without putting extra strain on your team. 3. Customer relationship management (CRM) software: A good CRM keeps customer interactions organized, reducing the chances of missed follow-ups or overlooked details. Smooth, timely communication is what truly makes customers feel valued. These tools not only reduce pressure on your team but also create a better, more seamless customer experience. If you haven’t tried them yet, now’s a great time to start.

Responsiveness is one of the most powerful superpowers you can have in work and in life. Was on a run this morning with some engineering leaders who told me they chose their vendor simply because that team **replied first** Speed absolutely wins. And responsiveness is the form of speed people can actually feel on the other side, whether they are a customer, a founder, a colleague, or a friend. For a startup, this shows up as sales velocity. A buyer who emails three vendors with products that look very similar – one responds within the hour, schedules a demo that same day, and is ready to help them implement that afternoon. They may not have the best product or the lowest price, but they are the fastest, and that usually means they win. The same principle applies to customer success. If your customers know they can send a message and get a reply right away, whether by Slack, email, or phone, they will feel supported, and that speed builds trust, and that trust compounds over time. It is no different for investors, employees, or even friends. The investors who respond quickly are the ones who get into the most competitive deals. The employees who respond quickly are the ones who get more responsibility, more ownership, and eventually more promotions. The friends who respond quickly are the ones you turn to first when something important happens. Speed signals seriousness. It shows that you care. It creates momentum. And once people know you are fast, they will bring you more opportunities, more trust, and more responsibility. Responsiveness, the form of speed that others directly experience, often makes the biggest difference in who actually wins.

The number 1 driver of customer satisfaction for accountants: Not: Technical ability Not: Your tech stack Not: Your website aesthetic It's answering the d*** phone. Responding to emails. Following through on [your desired comms channel] within [timeframe your client expected]. It isn’t a high bar these days, but simply being responsive and following through puts you ahead of the pack. 13 tips to standardize comms & align expectations: 1. Communicate a standard turnaround time. Doesn’t matter what it is, it just needs to exist. 2. Not all requests are created equal. Your turnaround time is your *acknowledgment* time. Many requests will take longer to resolve. 3. The only exception is when you’re OOO. So don’t forget your OOO, or pull in a teammate when you’re out. 4. Over-communication beats under-communication. Never be afraid to send a quick update, or a no-update update. 5. Don’t leave turnaround time up to your team to decide. For each role there’s a rule, and we’re all held to our turnaround time rules. 6. Your availability is the most scarce in your firm. If it isn’t, why won’t clients just go to you every time? 7. Design turnaround times to drive client behavior. For example an immediate call with an admin, same-day call with a staff, 72 hour call with the big boss. 8. No channel should jump the line. If you respond to that text, they’ll never follow the flow again. 9. Where possible trade synchronous work - let’s have a quick call to discuss - with asynchronous work - here’s a loom outlining my proposed solution, and a scheduling link if we still need to discuss. 10. In almost no situation should the big boss be taking unscheduled client comms of any kind. 11. Enable self-service wherever possible. Fetching docs from their own portal, paying an invoice online etc. 12. Integrate response times into how team members are incentivized. Be careful rewarding over-responsiveness, but keep a close eye on under-responsiveness. 13. Wrangle rogue channels. You make the rules about how clients can interact with your firm. Any comms outside those channels must be redirected. Clients are no different than mice in a maze. If they can get the cheese by texting you, calling you directly, they’ll never go through your team again.

“Speed doesn’t just impress buyers. It changes how they think.” I was supporting a deal with a government agency in India. After months of slow movement, one of our AEs decided to change pace. Instead of waiting days to reply to follow-up questions, she started responding within 30 minutes. Instead of booking calls a week out, she offered same-day options. Instead of letting the buyer’s process set the tempo, she respectfully started dictating rhythm. Something shifted. The buyer’s team — previously unhurried — began mirroring that pace. Questions came faster. Decisions followed more quickly. Procurement even escalated approvals internally to stay in sync. ✅ What happened? We triggered urgency. Not by pressuring the buyer — but by resetting their internal tempo. Speed changed the emotional texture of the deal from “eventual project” to “active initiative.” ✅ What we did systematically: – Rebuilt our MAP (mutual action plan) with tighter next steps and weekly internal follow-ups – Used short email recaps post-meeting to clarify alignment – Trained reps to end every call with a same-day or next-day scheduling option – Flagged every unanswered email internally within 12 hours for follow-up 🎯 Behavioral psychology at work: – Temporal Contagion: People mirror perceived urgency – Momentum Bias: Once in motion, inertia helps keep deals alive – Availability Heuristic: Fast responses feel more valuable, more reliable, and more urgent Speed isn’t just about “being helpful.” It influences how buyers prioritize you in their mental stack of decisions. And in complex B2B deals, staying top-of-mind is half the battle. 📌 If you want faster deals, act like it’s already urgent — and watch your buyer catch up. 📥 Follow me for more insights. Repost if this resonated.