Enquiry follow-up
Lead Follow-Up for Local Service Businesses: From Message to Job
Good lead follow-up confirms receipt, checks whether the job is a fit and gives one person responsibility for the next action. Automation can acknowledge a message and notify your team; a person still needs to answer the customer's question, quote accurately and confirm any booking. Stop chasing when someone declines or asks not to be contacted.
Reforge Media Local service business marketing
Give every enquiry an owner and a status
Messages can arrive through social accounts, website forms, email or the phone. Pick a shared way of recording them so the same enquiry does not disappear between channels. At minimum, keep the contact method, job request, general location, owner, status and next action.
Useful statuses include new, awaiting information, ready to quote, quote sent, booked and closed. Choose statuses that match your actual process rather than adding complexity. One person should know what needs to happen next even when several people help with the job.
Acknowledge receipt without pretending the job is booked
An automatic response can tell a customer their message has arrived and ask for missing information. It should not pretend that a person has inspected their request or promise a visit that is not confirmed. Only state a response time you can actually meet.
Example acknowledgement: 'Thanks for getting in touch. We've received your enquiry. Please send the type of work you need and the general location, if you haven't already, so we can check whether we can help.' Adapt this to your service and the information already supplied.
Answer the question before asking for more
Check what the customer has already told you. Repeatedly asking for the same information creates friction. If they ask whether you cover their area or handle a particular job, answer that first. Then request only the detail needed to move forward.
Do not quote a precise price from insufficient information. Where an inspection or more detail is required, explain the next step and who will arrange it. Automation is helpful for collecting details, but it should escalate requests that need judgement to a person.
Follow up a quote with a clear next step
Record when the quote was sent and any timing the customer gave. A useful follow-up asks whether they received it and whether anything needs explaining. Avoid false urgency, invented availability or repeated messages with no new value.
Example quote follow-up: 'Just checking you received the quote for the work we discussed. Is there anything you'd like us to explain before you decide?' If they decline, close the enquiry. If they ask not to be contacted, stop and record that preference.
Keep enquiry replies separate from promotional campaigns
Responding to a requested quote is not the same as adding someone to an ongoing promotional mailing list. Before using contact details for wider email or text marketing, check the applicable privacy and direct-marketing rules. Do not assume that submitting an enquiry gives permission for every future campaign.
Keep only the information needed for your work, restrict who can access it and make opt-outs effective. This guide is practical process advice, not legal advice; the ICO's direct-marketing guidance is a starting point for UK businesses, and businesses operating elsewhere should check their applicable local rules.
Review outcomes, not just reply counts
Track how many enquiries were suitable, received a useful response, became quotes and became booked jobs. If people are repeatedly lost at the same point, review that step before spending more on ads. A fast automated message alone does not establish a good customer experience.
Reforge sets up enquiry-reply systems, notifications and automatic follow-up alongside Meta ads and content. The business still needs to provide accurate job information and handle decisions that cannot be automated. Contact Ollie to discuss the process you already use and where messages are being missed.
Your checklist
- Assign a named owner and next action.
- Acknowledge receipt without promising a booking.
- Answer the customer and request only missing detail.
- Close declined enquiries and respect contact preferences.