Why Your Contact Form Sucks and What You Can Do About It
Don’t like filling out forms? Neither do your visitors.
But as annoying as they may be at times, those tiny horizontal fields that ask for personal information are totally necessary for you and the potential clients who are visiting your website. Forms not only help you keep track of leads, but they also give your visitors the impression that you’re legit. Finally, asking people to complete a form lets them know that what you’re offering is worth their effort.
If you really want people to complete your forms, the key is to make them a breeze to - or dare I say, somewhat enjoyable - to complete. I’ll show you how by highlighting some of the most common mistakes people make in creating their forms.
#1: Asking the same questions as everybody else
For example, if your business is a hotel and you’re asking basic questions such as event date, type of event, how are you going to stand out to anyone?
You can learn so much more about your potential customer and get them excited about the prospect of working with you by asking more inquisitive and engaging questions in a variety of answer formats.
For example:
What’s the most important part of your event?
Great food and drink
Packed dance floor
Everyone being together
Romance and personalized touches
Who cares? I just want to party!
Some of your questions are more effective when they’re open-ended because they get the respondent to share their thoughts in their own words. One of my favorites is “how do you want your guests to feel?”
Remember - being inquisitive doesn’t mean being difficult. Keep your questions simple, clear, and no longer than one line.
#2: Not asking for a phone number
People who are serious about working with you will give you their phone number.
FULL STOP! Seriously - If they don’t share their digits, then they’re not nearly prepared enough to buy and most certainly not a qualified lead! Save yourself from chasing fake leads and make the phone number a required section on your contact form.
#3: The contact form is too long
Like I said in the beginning, no one actually likes filling out forms, so be sure to keep it short and simple. A typical contact form should include:
Name
Email
Phone
Company
A couple of questions related to your prospect’s needs (see #1)
As a fast and fun rule, if a form takes more than ⏱ 90 seconds to complete, then it’s too long. Long forms are less likely to be completed - it’s that classic rule: KISS! Keep It Stupid Simple!
#4: No confirmation that the information was received
As much as people don’t like completing forms, they really don’t appreciate the feeling that the information they just took the time to compile for you went into a black hole. Any completed form submissions should trigger one of the following to confirm that the submission was received:
A message that appears on the screen ✅
A “thank you” landing page that the visitor is directed to ✅
Set expectations for what the next steps / time frames are going to be ✅
Don’t be afraid to have some fun with these elements. Make them personal and engaging. Additionally, I highly recommend setting up a simple automated confirmation email that goes out to anyone who completes the form. Doing so is a great way to start your working relationship with the contact on the right foot.
Be sure to include some copy that lets them know how much you appreciate their inquiry - and provide a realistic time frame for when they can expect to hear back from you.
#5: A link to the contact form isn’t on every page
Have you ever been to a website and not been able to locate the contact page without some serious detective work? You click around, wanting to reach out but find only frustration every where you click.
Your visitors should be able to easily find a relevant contact form wherever they are in your website. At a minimum, a button that links to your primary contact page should be in the header and footer of your website so that it can be found on every page. If you think that it’s too easy to contact you - GOOD ⚡️⚡️
That means that even the most distracted, multi-tasking prospect will be able to get in touch!
Remember - make your contact forms inquisitive, fun, simple and easy-to-find - reflective of your business, your heart and the spirit in which you operate as a professional. Having clients contact you is essential to your business, so make their experience in reaching out as awesome as you can!
Are you making it easy for your clients and potential clients to reach out?
Questions / Comments / Margaritas? Let me know below! 👇👇