Keep your forms relevant and streamlined

Asking a respondent to hand over personal information—even if it’s only an email address—is no small request. Customers are skeptical or even wary of divulging any information these days. Admit it, most of us are. So the onus falls on us, the marketers, to alleviate their fears, be considerate of their need for privacy, build trust and confidence (the list goes on)…all while still finding a way to get that sought-after respondent data! Achieving this cosmic balance could be simpler than you think. I can sum it up in two words: 

Tread lightly. 

B2C and B2B relationships are delicate ones. And yes, a form could be the very thing that will make or break it. Here are a few proven best practices to make sure your post-click forms are performing at their best:

Don’t be greedy.  Limit form fields to only the absolute, must-have, ‘we can’t process this lead/order/request without it’ fields. Adding more jeopardizes total conversions in the interest of collecting ‘nice to have’ information from a handful of respondents. The form is the moment of truth, and perception is everything. Extra fields may result in a more cumbersome form, or worse—the perception that you’re prying (“Why are they asking me this?!”). Neither reflects favorably on your company. So the rule of thumb here is that if it’s not critical to your end goal, don’t ask for it. 

Say ‘no spam’ (and mean it).  Including a link to your ‘no spam’ or privacy policy on or near the form is a little accessory that can make a big difference. Plus, everybody’s doing it. Do you really want to be the only one not openly professing your steadfast commitment to protecting the privacy of your customers? (Nothing like a little peer pressure to bring things into perspective.) 

Make it easy.  A tried and true formula for any target audience. When it comes to forms, this translates into organization and functionality. 

• There are standards in the world of online forms, and the best thing you can do is follow them. For instance, organizing fields in the order of name, address, city, state and zip (the same way we address an envelope in the offline world). Standardization adds a sense of familiarity and comfort for respondents, minimizing hesitation and increasing the likelihood of a conversion. 
• Remember multiple-choice tests? Back in school, most of us preferred them over written exams. That’s because the answer is right there in front of us—just choose a., b., c., or d.—easy, right? At least that’s what it seemed like. The same holds true for online forms; the less thinking or work required, the better. Need to collect address information? Typing in the State leaves room for error, use a drop-down menu instead. A user-friendly form is a conversion-friendly form.