The Basics of Lead Capturing
Lead capturing is simply gathering information from new prospective customers. Customers can enter information in a form on one of your landing pages. Based on the question you ask, you can send them down your marketing funnel and start generating sales!
Example Lead Capture Forms
A Real World Example:
Websites commonly use survey software to capture simple leads. For example look at Daymond John's website. If you click the "BOOK MR. JOHN" button on his contact page you'll notice this brings up a dialog box. The form is relatively simple and collects the data needed for Mr. John's staff to capture leads for his consultation business.
If you submit the form without all the correct info you'll notice it redirects to the Wufoo website. This is something you want to avoid. Redirects give the impression of an untrustworthy form. You always want users to stay on your website.
A SurveyKing Example:
The below button is an embedded form that was made with SurveyKing. After creating your survey, simply copy and paste generated code onto your website. You'll notice no redirects for required questions, and the form itself is more visually appealing than the previous example.
The form is basic and only asks a few questions. We ask the first two questions to be able to segment the results. For example, we could now assign to certain sales people the younger age demographic, or first-time users of an online survey tool.
Keys to Lead Capture Success
To be successful collecting leads, your page needs to be clear, concise, and grab the user's attention. Grabbing their attention ensures they will fill out the form. The form needs to have the right balance of "questions" and "rewards". The "questions" are the form elements you use, and the "reward" is the offer you're promoting, which could be a coupon emailed to the client, or a promo code given at the end of the survey.
From December 2016 until July 2017, we asked over 500 websites who used SurveyKing for lead capture, what were their total leads generated compared to how many questions they asked on their form. The results showed that more leads were captured on shorter, more concise forms.
What to Include on my Lead Capture PAGE?
Based on the feedback we've received from customers, the following should generally be included on the WEBPAGE where you want to capture leads.
Attention-grabbing headline:
A creative headline will grab the users' attention and encourage them to stay on your site. What separates your company from the competition or what makes you unique? The headline should briefly summarize this.
Testimonials:
Customer reviews will go a long way to put your brand in positive light to new customers. Try to include any relevant links to the reviews when possible, so prospective clients can see they’re legitimate.
Offer Explanation:
Why do you need a new client’s contact information? Do you simply want to give them a promo code or do you want to be able to setup a consultation? Your goal should be clear.
What to Include on my Lead Capture FORM?
Based on the feedback we've received from customers, the following should generally be included on the FORM where you want to capture leads.
Contact Information:
From phone numbers, to street and email addresses, make sure you can contact your leads!
Demographic / Relevant Information To Segment Results:
In the SurveyKing example above, we asked if you have ever used an online survey tool in addition to asking your age. From this, our staff would be able to segment leads based on age and survey tool experience to determine who the appropriate sales person for each lead is.
File Attachments:
A popular feature unique to SurveyKing is the ability to upload attachments to your form for free! Virtually all other survey tools charge hundreds of dollars for this feature. Over 55% of lead generation forms made on SurveyKing since 2016 use a file upload question. This is extremely useful to collect documents that relate to your client/lead. The documents can be reviewed prior to making contact to enable better dialogue and understanding of client needs.