Contact forms: a story in three parts

“Contact us”

“Click here to connect with us”

“Request a demo”

“Schedule a call”

And all the other calls to action that we put on our websites. 

That might be where the website journey ends for our visitors. 

But it is only the beginning of our story together. 

Lead generation is more than a click

You don’t want prospects and clients to call you. 

You don’t want them to click on a submission form. 

You don’t want them to send you an email. 

You want them to buy from you. You want them to start a conversation. You want them to ask you a question or tell you about themselves. 

The button, the phone, the email, the form: these are all means to an end. Don’t stop planning the journey at that click. 

Before they click

As all great things do: calls to action start long before the visitor is on your website. 

As much as you want to see clicks on those action buttons, you don’t want just anybody to be contacting you. 

You want the right prospects to be contacting you. 

Know who you want to attract and aim your website and online communications to that audience, first and foremost.

Struggling to pin down your ideal client? Contact me for consulting in customer profiles. (I will respond to arrange a short phone call)

It is much better to attract the right audience, for the right reasons, in the first place, than have to spend time turning incoming queries away. 

When they click

What do you want to happen when they perform your call to action? 

Do you want people to send you some information?

Do you want them to ask you particular questions?

Do you want them to tell you about their business or life?

Do you want them to download something, schedule something, subscribe to something, etc.?

Know what you want them to do, and then make it easy for them to do that thing. 

After they click

Now, it’s back to you. 

What needs to happen next?

As you answer that question, remember that whoever contacted you has no idea what is happening behind the scenes. If it takes you five days to respond because you are preparing information, they might just think that you are slow or lazy. 

Let people know what to expect, and then keep the promise you make. 

And make that interaction memorable. 

What next

Customer experience starts long before somebody is a customer. 

Take some time this week to write out:

• Who do you want to attract to your website
• What do you want them to do when they are there
• And why is that important to you