What’s So Special About Forms?

Posted by Mark Hess

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Do you have a one-way relationship with your customers, or do they feel like they can connect with you? Interacting with your customers and potential customers cheaply is one of the great advantages of your company website, and has become an expected way of dealing with businesses.

Simple online forms are the simplest way for you to interact, respond and collect customer or potential customer’s information for your business; whether it’s for joining your email list, or asking questions, or getting help, or even for complaining. Forms designed and presented correctly are also critical for all your marketing efforts because getting more information from your customers means better targeting for future promotional campaigns.

Because online marketing is now one of the most innovative and necessary promotional mediums needed for success, forms to gather info like gender, income level, likes, dislikes or any other info that can help you segment and focus your marketing are essential. 

What Kind of Forms Are We Talking About?

Forms used to collect data and information about your customers are often found in the “Account” section of your website, as well as in the original place they sign up for membership, specials and announcements. Here most fields should be optional (lower barrier to signing up), but info that would be useful to know for your company should be able to be filled in. Forms are also useful on Landing Pages, for downloads, signing up, webinars, etc.



Most web forms use checkboxes, radio buttons and/or comment boxes, and are sometimes used to display existing information you want people to know about you.  Your forms need to have an appropriate title and a little help in case they don’t know where the information goes. After sending the form, some sort of friendly validation and thank you that the information input was sufficient and sent should appear.  

Forms Also Have “Value Generating” Uses: Yes forms are necessary for your log-ins, search boxes, contact pages and surveys, all very basic necessities for your company’s website, but forms are also a key element in your future marketing. Forms allow for opt-ins to your weekly specials and announcements, which helps expand your business’ customer base which is the best mailing list you can get. In addition, providing feedback web forms allows your customers to find flaws or problems with your website, or make suggestions so you can address them and better your company.  

So the bottom line is that using various forms on your website can provide valuable source material to improve your business and your marketing efforts, but you need to use them smartly.

The other tabs here showcase great vendors and deals with huge discounts so you can get help creating the most effective and profit raising forms possible.

Mark Hess is a marketer and small business expert as well as an award winning illustrator, painter, graphic designer, entrepreneur and co-founder of BizSaves; with a passion for online marketing and small business success.
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