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Best practices for Digital Forms that actually convert

digital forms

A form on your website may be a digital interaction, but the principles are no different to real-world customer service. You want to make sure to leave a great first impression and you only have a couple of seconds to do it well. After all, almost 70% of site visitors will abandon your form forever if they encounter any complications (according to WPForms). 

It’s fair to say that in a world that has been shaped by COVID-19 the adoption of digital means of communication has been critical to the success of many businesses. Smart forms have been the saviour for many businesses, especially those that rely on digital channels to convert leads into customers and are looking to deliver an exceptional, on-brand digital experience, handling customer data safely, without unnecessary manual processes. 

Smart forms bring all your parts of the business together, from the digital “handshake” to the data and intuition that allow you to maximise conversion. Let’s take a look at the keys to best practice smart forms that actually convert customers.

 

1. Reduce friction

Static forms such as PDF’s or downloadable digital forms that have to be printed, filled out, scanned and submitted again have a very low conversion rate. These forms create barrier after barrier for the customer, even after they have decided to transact with the business. 

Frictionless forms guide the customer through a seamless process and digital experience that allows them to finish what they started. People already live busy lives with many things fighting over our attention, so they won’t take time to figure out a confusing form or to answer more questions than they think is necessary.

Some common sources of friction include forms that:

  • Require download and manual completion
  • Have to be manually submitted
  • Have Clunky systems
  • Suffer Manual processing 
  • Refuse to accept certain formatting
  • Contain unclear instructions
  • Complicate the process of selecting dates (such as from a calendar)

 

2. Carefully designed experience

Customers’ expectations have changed in the past couple of years. With technology changing so much and tech businesses revolutionising all elements of a digital experience, consumers have been shown what is possible. A seamless digital experience with little to no obstacles.

Believe it or not, a beautifully designed form can influence your conversion rates. An outdated-looking form make your visitors question your reliability and quality, and most importantly, your security measures. A digital experience that reflects your brand can be a powerful tool to connect with your audience. 

When you ensure that no matter where your customer comes from, they recognise where they are you are connecting with them on all levels. The conversation becomes more rich.  

 

3. Show the customer some familiarity

An easy way to frustrate a customer is to ask for information that the organisation already has, like their address or phone number. Consumers don’t want to provide more data than absolutely necessary. And they shouldn’t! 

When using smart forms you can build in logic that dynamically shows or hides information relevant to the customer’s journey. This is why they are called smart forms. Do not waste your customers’ time asking for information that you already know. 

Instead, you could be making the process quicker and easier for them to finish, converting customers quicker and providing them with an exceptional digital experience. 

 

4. Allow the customer to interact with you on any device 

Forms must be set up to support different types of all main devices - mobile, tablet, or desktop. Forms can recognise if a visitor is using a mobile device and change its look to fit the screen. So as people are consuming information on the go, the form can configure itself to appear more condensed and shorter depending on the device. 

Allowing your customers to have the flexibility of start a process on one device and finish on a different device proves to be one of the best features for customer convenience. 45% of form data is submitted from a mobile device, users who live a busy life do not want to start a process all over again on a different device if they had already started on their mobile, for example.  

 

5. Integrate with your CRM and other data sources

Smart forms connect to your CRM and other platforms to act as a funnel for newly captured lead data. Not only that, but they also pull information from other sources to correlate and use customer information in smarter ways. This integration is where smart forms really show their mettle; by acting as a conduit for better data collection, integration and usage. And as a result, reduced processing and logging of customer data. 

 

6. Gain actionable insights on each prospect

What if the same prospect wants to download more than one piece of content on your site? The optimal thing to do is use a form to make it easy for them and advantageous for you. 

How? With each new form submission, it can progressively profile each prospect; it will contain different questions each time the same prospect downloads your content. The more info you collect on a prospect, the more personal you'll get. That's something your sales team can sink their teeth into.

 

Following these principles we can assure you your digital forms will be smart in no time and your conversion times will be reduced significantly. A smart business uses smart forms to reduce all unnecessary manual processes and to make their operations efficient while providing a seamless digital journey. How does your organisation fair? 

 

If you want to discuss how we can help you unlock the power of smart forms click here and get in touch!