Response time: the reputation metric customers actually notice
Ask customers what a business's reviews should show and they say honesty. Watch their behaviour and it shows something else: they are timing you.
The psychology of the wait
A complaint is a bid for attention. Every silent hour confirms the complainer's thesis that the business does not care, and hardens the story they tell. The same resolution delivered in two hours reads as competence; in two weeks it reads as reluctant damage control. The fix matters, but the clock does the framing.
The public dimension
Response times are visible: platforms date-stamp everything, and readers subtract. A profile whose complaints get same-day replies communicates an attentive operation before a word is read. This is also the metric most within your control: sentiment depends on operations, volume on market size, but speed is purely a process choice.
Setting the standard
- Negative and question mentions: same working day
- Everything response-worthy: within 48 hours
- Crisis-flagged: within the hour, even if only a holding reply
Median, not average, is the honest measure; one ancient reply skews averages. Track it monthly and give it an owner.
The system behind the number
Speed requires seeing mentions quickly, alerts, not weekly checking, knowing who replies, a rota, not hope, and knowing what to say, a playbook. When those three exist, same-day response is unremarkable routine. Its absence is what the metric detects.
MyView watches every mention of your brand and tells you what needs a reply.
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