One, Three, Seven

Every client-facing team I have led has run on the same three numbers. I call it 1-3-7, and it applies wherever a customer is waiting on us: in support, in services, in success.

One: the same day, acknowledge the request. Call; if you reach voicemail, call back; then email a recap. Say when you will respond with next steps, as a date, not "soon." Acknowledging is not resolving. It tells the customer a person has their request and when they will hear from us next.

Three: within three days, a touchpoint that consolidates the feedback and makes it actionable. Define the problem, recommend the solution and give the timeline, then call to confirm the customer received it and accepts it. By day three most customers have explained their problem more than once. This is where they stop explaining and start deciding.

Seven: within seven days, a major update, or the complete resolution or action plan. Where the real fix takes longer, the workaround and the options arrive inside the seven days. A week is about as long as a customer will wait before they decide we have forgotten them.

It is a standard, not a feature of any one play. Every play on the shelf that answers a waiting customer carries it word for word: The Success Initiative, The Adoption Workshop, and the Feedback Cycle when it ships. If you want one number for any client-facing team, count how often each of the three was met. That is the first number I read.