Inbound marketing is a methodology with which we seek to attract customers. We create content and disseminate it on different channels with the aim of capturing the attention of those who, surely, need our services. But even so, in inbound marketing there is one last step that is just as essential as content creation: lead generation.
Leads are the contacts of potential customers, those who leave us their information on our website and who are part of our database. In order to reach them, it is very important to create landing pages or create a request form templates. These pages, also known as landing pages, are the ones that contain everything you need to generate leads.
In this entire recruitment process, the key to a landing page is the form. This contains all the information fields that our users must fill in and that, later, will fill our database of potential clients.
In this article we will talk about the importance of having a good form on your landing pages and the best practices for creating forms that convert.
Why is it important to have a good form?
As we have said before, the form is one of the essential points in our landing pages. Many companies pay a lot of attention to the copy of the page, the images and so on, but they forget that, in the end, the element that generates the conversion is the form.
The same landing page, with a different form, can produce very different results. For example, if we include a very long form, we can get a higher bounce rate on the page or lose conversions. On the other hand, if we create a form that is too short and generic, it may be that we will generate many leads, but they are of poor quality and are not useful for our database. In summary, the form is an essential element of our inbound marketing strategy and we must select the one that best suits our needs.
The 10 key aspects to create a good form
Next we will talk about the ten most important points that we must take into account when creating our own web forms:
 Link your forms with your CRM database
To take advantage of the potential of the data you extract from the forms, it is vital that these are linked to your CRM. A CRM, also known as customer relationship management, is software that groups all the information of our contacts. With this tool we can communicate with them and establish strategies to move them towards the purchase decision. Thus, for the data we obtain from the forms to be useful to us, we must automate the connection with our CRM.
 Optimize the fields of your form to the maximum
Forms can have multiple internals to fill out. These, called fields, must be adapted to the type of form we need or the objectives we want to achieve. To get the most out of them, we can:
Limit form fields
As we have said previously, the number of fields to fill in is crucial, since it can demotivate users if it is too long or generate poorly defined contacts if it is too short. To find the balance, the ideal is to limit ourselves to including three or four fields. With this figure, we can get a form that generates good conversions, but at the same time include strategically selected fields based on our buyer persona. Later, we will include progressive forms to increase the information about our lead.
Bet on smart fields
Another way to get good form conversions is by using smart fields. These, for their part, remember the information that the user has previously entered in similar fields, which allows them to autocomplete them and facilitates their work.
Reduce the use of manual input
Third, another way to optimize our forms is to reduce the use of manual input fields. Manual input allows the user to write the answers himself (such as his name or email), but it can be a headache later to deal with large volumes of data. That is why we must limit them and replace them with fields where we establish answers to choose from.
Try different form locations and formats
Nowadays the webs allow us to incorporate the forms in different parts of the pages and with different formats. It is possible to integrate them as banners, embedded forms, pop-up boxes … You can try different formats and locations to see which ones work best with your audience and your website.
Take an A / B test
One way to check which aspects of the forms work best is by doing an A / B test. We can create the same form but with some variant and make our website shows the two types of forms to users randomly. After some tests, we will get results that will tell us which form works best and gives us better results.
Include clear and accurate information
Another reason why we sometimes lose leads is to confuse the user. We must make it clear to users what they will get in exchange for filling out our form, whether it is subscribing to our newsletter or downloading content (known as lead magnets). Similarly, we must meet your expectations and match what was promised in the registry.
Beware of the GDPR
When we talk about forms, you have to be careful with the General Data Protection Regulation (RGPD). This European regulation, in force since 2018, provides that users must give explicit consent to be included in the database and receive our communications.
To ensure compliance with the GDPR, it is best to bet on the use of double opt-in. This technique means that, when the user fills in the form, they have to check a box as they give us consent for us to send them to their email. Subsequently, the user receives an email where she must confirm that she wants to be part of our database. Although it may seem repetitive, it is a good way to ensure that we comply with the regulations and that, in addition, all users are interested in our communications.
Generate leads on your advertising platforms
Finally, it is also advisable to use advertising platforms such as Facebook or Google to generate leads and include the creation of a form there. Both platforms allow us to create forms integrated into your ads and with this we can expand our database.
In conclusion, it is essential to create a good form to generate leads successfully. The form is a key element to be able to get quality contacts and nurture our database, so it is important to know optimization techniques such as those described above to guarantee good results. Now it’s your turn to apply them!