When you think about filling out forms, chances are your mind jumps to lengthy questionnaires at a doctor’s office or an online survey that takes up a better chunk of your hour. You may think you’d rather keep your website free from pesky forms as a pledge to the everyman, empowering them to take their time back into their own hands.
But before you start drawing up a manifesto, you should know that not all forms have to be stuffy or time-consuming. And even more importantly, some of the simplest forms can significantly impact your customer experience for the better. You’ll want to include these five forms on your website to help provide higher-quality services for prospective and returning customers.
Contact forms are an absolute must; this is a form that customers will actively hunt down to try and get questions answered directly from you or your team. A well-placed form on your Contact page allows anyone and everyone to reach out regarding the services or products you offer.
If you think slapping your email on the contact page is the superior method, the millions of bots spamming websites like yours would love it if you kept believing that. While it could feel more personalized, leaving your email address on your website could render you vulnerable to these bots that actively harvest emails like yours from websites.
Not everyone loves having a vast display of forms pasted all over their website. If you relate to this feeling, you could instead have a single contact form with a dropdown menu that allows the sender to choose why they’re contacting you. Going this route could make for a more effortless experience for some, especially those with smaller businesses or sites, but splitting the forms up will be a wiser choice for some.
Email marketing goes a long way in fostering a better relationship with your target audience. If you don’t offer an email newsletter, there’s no telling how many people are thirsty for more information about your business with no place to find it. So do them and yourself a favor by providing a newsletter with a signup form on your site so they can get details sent to their inbox.
You can secure additional signups by offering incentives when visitors provide their information. But one of the best ways to secure newsletter subscribers is by keeping this form short, sweet, and to the point. Remember that usually, you will only need their name and email, so don’t go overboard on a form like this one.
Feedback is essential for growth, and shutting yourself out from feedback almost ensures your business will stay stagnant. Give your customers a platform to review and discuss your business. Learn from what they say about their experience with your company so you know what works and doesn’t.
If an unhappy customer doesn’t have a way to reach you, you won’t have the opportunity to correct the wrong. You can even layer up some additional positive feedback by thanking those who leave it, improving and personalizing their experience even further. It’s just one of the ways you can go the extra mile so that customers will remember you positively.
You could also create a feedback area on your website that operates as an insular social media for your business. You could display your customer’s feedback and reviews and any comments from you or others that could facilitate a more open dialogue around your services. Do so at your own risk: if you can’t provide the review section with consistent moderation and communication, it’ll probably be more of a hassle than just reviewing the feedback privately.
No matter how clear-cut your products or services may be, there will come a time when a customer will need support. Without it, they’ll become disenfranchised and frustrated, and your window to help them or fix the issue will narrow with every passing second. A customer support form on your website encourages those with questions to reach out and shows that you care about their experience even after you make a sale.
You can keep your inboxes from bleeding into one other by using a feedback form on your website that goes right to a dedicated support email. This location could be a separate email handled by your team or a support ticket platform. Either way, having this feedback is crucial to improving relationships with existing customers and improving the experience for potential ones.
If you’re a business that books calls to discuss your products or services, you can streamline the process by adding a simple form to your website. A call scheduling form is efficient for your business and convenient for the client. It’s an excellent way to let customers see your available times and choose a slot that works for them. A form like this is a must-have if you’re a business offering paid consultations, as these forms can help you receive payment and keep your schedule on track.
You can also opt to use a call back form instead. This method is where the visitor offers their contact information to request a callback. Like with the other forms, you can have this information sent to a specific location so the proper channels can address it when they’re able. These forms are great if you offer consultations but only sometimes have set hours you can include on a calendar. Many of these forms can send you updates via SMS, so you’ll receive and handle the updates in real time.
If you’re still operating in a formless world, you’re leaving precious information on the table. With these five simple forms, you’ll have higher engagement with your target demographics and a broader scope of improving your processes. Do your best to keep it simple and streamlined, and you’ll be surprised by how many customers will reach out in hopes of connecting with and understanding your business a little bit better.
If you need help developing your website to improve customer communication and retention, contact BHirst Media today to learn more about our services.
