When a prospective student fills out a form or requests information, the countdown begins. Whether you're a university, bootcamp, or online academy, the faster you reply, the more likely they are to enroll.
But how much does speed really matter?
Let’s break it down with real data.
The psychology is simple: first reply wins
Across all types of educational institutions, being the first to respond gives you a serious edge.
According to multiple studies, up to 78% of students choose the first institution that replies to their inquiry (our source is LeadConnect).
This applies across the board:
In postgraduate education, about 80% of students enroll in the first institution that replies.
In online academies, 82% of users expect a reply within 10 minutes after submitting a form.
Failing to respond quickly leads to lost attention. A slow reply often means your competitor gets the lead.
Conversion rates drop dramatically with time
Here’s what the real numbers show:
⏱ Response Time | 💥 Conversion Impact |
|---|---|
< 1 minute | Increases conversion rates by 391% compared to slower replies |
< 5 minutes | 8–10× higher likelihood of conversion |
~30 minutes | 21× less effective than contacting in the first 5 minutes |
< 1 hour | 7× more likely to convert than after one hour |
> 24 hours | Up to 60× lower conversion rate |
These statistics are from verified studies by Harvard Business Review, InsideSales/XANT, RNL and LeadSimple.
What happens when you’re slow?
A Harvard Business Review study showed that responding within one hour makes you 7× more likely to qualify the lead (source is Slim.cl, citing HBR).
After one day? The chances drop by up to 60×.
Yet, the average response time in the education sector is still around 47 hours (source is MasSimple).
That means most institutions are still losing the race… before it even begins.
So, what should you do?
If you’re serious about increasing enrollments, your follow-up time must drop from hours to minutes. Or seconds.
Here’s how institutions are fixing this today:
Using CRMs that trigger automatic responses within 1–3 minutes
Connecting WhatsApp or SMS to lead forms
Assigning leads instantly to advisors via routing systems
Measuring time-to-contact and improving team SLAs
Final takeaway
The data is clear: in education, speed wins.
You’ve already spent money or effort to generate leads. Now it’s time to convert them before someone else does.
And we can help you with that. Book a demo now.