Form Submissions: Less (Questions) is More (Leads)

Every business needs leads to follow-up with. An easy and very common way to collect lead information is to ask for it via a form. Forms are everywhere and used for everything from a simple contact us form to a way to grant access to white papers, case studies or other information. From the business perspective, forms allow for the collection and organization (assuming a good CRM is being used) of lead information. However, forms are only valuable if they are filled out. 

Here are some things to consider when creating/using a form to get them filled out more often:

Consider What Information is Needed

There is a common saying that ‘Less is More.” When it comes to forms, fewer questions generally means more submissions. Additionally, when it comes to creating your form determine what information is actually needed. If you are not planning on calling them, then you do not need their phone number. 

Put yourself in the shoes of your lead… Are you willing to fill-in all the information? Would you be willing to fill it out on a phone? If the answer is No, then you should try to reduce the amount of information needed to be input by your new lead. This does not always mean less questions…

Consider How to Ask (& Answer) Your Questions

Not all questions need to be answered by typing in a blank text block. Take advantage of all your type of question options:

• Yes/No
• Radio Buttons (select one)
• Check Boxes (select many)
• Rating Questions
• And More

Be creative with your form to make it easier for the user to fill-out, while still acquiring the needed information from them.

Consider the Value For Them

Why are they taking their time to fill-out your form? What (if anything) are you offering them - free download, access to information, trial access, etc.? Is the time, effort, and most importantly their privacy (remember, they are giving you their information) worth what you are offering?

Consider the User Experience

This is more than just filling out the form, but also includes how the form is delivered.

Landing pages, the least popular type of signup form, have the highest conversion rate (23%). On the other hand, pop-ups, the most popular signup form, have the second-lowest conversion rate (3%).

(Omnisend, 2018) (Source: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics)

Why are Landing Pages so successful, while pop-ups do not work? It is partially due to the user experience. A landing page is a requested arrival. The user actively clicked on something (ad, post, link…) in order to arrive at the landing page. This gives the landing page the opportunity to gently guide the visitor through compelling information before delivering the work of filling out the form.

On the other hand, a Pop-up is an interruption. The user was most likely navigating away or leaving the site, page, or window, when the pop-up stopped them. The Pop-up is a last ditch effort to get the visitor to convert before leaving.

While there this is only a brief list of things to consider when using a form, keeping this in mind will help improve your overall success rate. The best question to ask yourself when using a form is, “Would I be happy filling this out knowing what I am getting back in return?”

 If you would not fill out your own form, then why would anyone else?

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