Glossary / Lead Response Time
Lead Response Time
Lead response time is the measured interval between a customer inquiry and a business’s first substantive reply, typically reported as a median across many inquiries.
Why it matters
Tracking it over time, rather than guessing, is what lets a business tell whether a fix (a new process, tool or hire) actually worked.
The median is the preferred statistic because a single very slow or very fast case can distort an average. A useful measurement also reports the share of inquiries answered within five minutes and the share never answered at all, since those two numbers point to different problems.
Response time is usually worse at night, on weekends, and during busy periods, which is why slicing the data by hour often reveals more than the overall average.
Example
Ten inquiries have a median wait of 30 minutes, with 20% answered within 5 minutes and 20% never answered. Each of those three numbers suggests a different fix.
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