There are various types of forms, and each form naturally has a different role. However, there may be many people who do not understand the outline of forms in the first place, or who would like to know the role of each form and then consider it.
Therefore, in this article, we will explain the outline and meaning of forms, as well as introduce the types of forms. We will also explain important points and recommended tools when creating forms, so please refer to them.
What is a form?
First, let’s start with an overview of the form. A form is a type of user interface (UI) that is installed on
a homepage
or website to send information to
a server
. Depending on the settings, the information sent to the server can be sent via email or saved in
the cloud
.
Forms also have various elements such as input elements, select elements, and textarea elements. The combination of these elements is free, and the person in charge of creating the form can decide.
If you use forms well, you can maximize inquiries from your homepage or website and improve customer satisfaction, so it is important to understand that they are not to be underestimated.
Form type
Even when it comes to forms, there are multiple types. Typical form types are as follows.
- Inquiry form
- Event reception
- questionnaire
Let’s look at each form type in turn.
Inquiry form
First of all, the form that is commonly imagined is the inquiry form. This form is placed on a homepage or website to collect user information. Specific user information includes name, email address, phone number, purpose of inquiry, etc., and is connected to business negotiations and customer service.
There are also two types of inquiry forms: one that allows you to manage inquiries from SNS, homepages, and other
channels
all at once, and one that separates inquiries by specific channels. A specific example of dividing by a specific channel is to separate the form for requesting information on a homepage from the form for regular customer inquiries.
If you have a homepage or website, be sure to also create a contact form.
Event reception
Among the inquiry forms, there are also forms specialized for specific matters such as event reception. In addition to the content of the regular inquiry form, we will also create a form that allows you to select the desired reception time on the day, or if there are multiple venues, you can select the desired venue.
Also, since this form is created solely for event reception, the form will be closed once the event reception period ends. Therefore, there are few cases in which event reception forms are created at great expense, and in most cases they are done using tools that can be created for free.
questionnaire
Some forms are specifically designed for taking surveys. The purpose is to obtain information that can be used to improve the company’s services in the future, such as how the customer learned about the homepage and company’s services, and what aspects of the company’s services appealed to them compared to competitors. is.
In some cases, questionnaires are placed on homepages or websites, but in many cases questionnaires are sent to existing customers via email.
Points to remember when creating forms
In particular, contact forms placed on your homepage play a very important role as they are the last line of communication for customers to make inquiries. If your form is poorly designed, you may end up losing out on users who intended to contact you, which is a huge opportunity loss. So here are some points to keep in mind when creating forms.
- Always use encrypted communication
- Optimize the entry form
Let’s look at each in turn.
Always use encrypted communication
First of all, be sure to set up encrypted communication of information. A typical example is SSL certification. If you do not use encrypted communication, there is an increased risk that your customers’ personal information or confidential company information will be stolen by hackers. If it were to be stolen, there is no doubt that the company’s credibility would be damaged.
Of course, even if you use encrypted communication, it cannot be said that it is absolutely safe, but in order to reduce the risk of leakage as much as possible, you should always use encrypted communication.
Perform entry form optimization (EFO)
Next, it is also very important to perform
Entry Form Optimization (EFO)
. Entry form optimization, as the name suggests, means optimizing the inquiry form to prevent opportunity loss. Specifically, when optimizing your entry form, do the following:
- Separate required and optional items
- Minimize input items
- Make error display easier to understand
I will explain each in turn.
Separate required and optional items
First, let’s separate required items and optional items. For example, let’s say you have a form for making an initial reservation at a personal gym. In this case, the required fields include your name, email address, and phone number, as well as the date of your first trial reservation.
In this case, the personal gym operator would want you to enter multiple dates for your first trial reservation. However, if you require all dates to be entered, there is a high possibility that users will leave the site due to too many entries. Therefore, even if you provide three schedule inputs, you can prevent users from leaving by making only the first one mandatory and the other two optional.
Minimize input items
Next, it is important to keep the number of input items to a minimum. A typical example is when you enter your postal code, your address is automatically displayed. If you enter a postal code but don’t see an address, it’s a simple hassle for users. As an administrator, only ask people to enter information that is truly necessary.
Make error display easier to understand
Finally, it is important to make error displays easy to understand. When an error occurs, many forms only display that there is an error, but the user does not know what the error is. Therefore, it is very important to be specific about what the error is.
5 tools to help you create forms
Here are five tools to help you create forms.
- Google Form
- Senses
- access
- formrun
- formzu
Let’s take a look at the features of each tool in turn.
Google Form
Google Forms
is a tool that allows anyone with a Google account to create forms. It has many functions such as detailed conditional branching, and is used by many users as a form that you can’t believe is free. Additionally, form submissions can be automatically linked to spreadsheets.
If you want to implement a form creation function and a customer management function at the same time, why not create a Google account and use Google Forms?
Senses
Senses
is a
marketing
tool that can be used starting from 27,500 yen per month. The details of your inquiry will be automatically saved on the Senses management screen. In addition, it can be linked with the MA tool Senses Marketing, and can be used to strengthen
inside sales
.
Access
Access
is a form creation tool provided by Microsoft. It is equipped with functions for creating all kinds of forms, and its strength is that it can handle any form with just one tool. However, the user interface is not great, so first-time users may find it difficult to use. Access is available by subscribing to Microsoft 365.
formrun
formrun
is a cloud form creation tool. Customer information can be centrally managed, and the monthly fee is set at a low price starting from 3,880 yen. A free plan is also available, so consider choosing a plan depending on your situation. Additionally, since the inquiry form can be divided into multiple pages, it is possible to optimize the entry form and easily create complex forms.
formzu
formzu
is a form creation tool that makes it easy to create forms optimized for smartphones. It also has a function that allows you to create survey-type forms, and there are free plans and plans starting from 6,300 yen per year. You can embed GTM (Google Tag Manager)
tags, so it is also recommended if you want to use it in conjunction with Google Analytics.
summary
In this article, we have explained about forms. There are various types of forms, including inquiry forms placed on homepages, event reception forms, and questionnaires.
In particular, the inquiry form is the last line of communication for customers, so it is necessary to optimize it and ensure that information is communicated in an encrypted form. Why not start by improving your contact form using this article as a reference?