How can an online store incorporate online forms effectively into its marketing strategy?
Although online forms may not be the obvious choice to include in a marketing strategy, they can be incredibly helpful. Web forms can be involved in marketing strategies in order to help gain brand awareness, build customer relationships or improve the customer experience. So despite forms not being a standard marketing activity, they can help to achieve some common marketing objectives.
One of the most popular types of web forms to include in a marketing strategy is an email newsletter or email sign-up form. Collecting customer data through an email newsletter or signup form helps e-commerce stores contact their customers and remind them that the online shop exists.
Selling to an existing customer is much easier, and more effective than selling to a new customer and these forms help online stores connect with existing customers which is likely to increase sales. Email marketing forms also help to build brand awareness and customer trust. Customers will become more used to seeing the name and branding of the store. Considering that 71% of customers are more likely to buy from a brand they recognize, raising brand awareness is crucial.
Another type of form that is popular for marketing purposes is a customer satisfaction survey. The benefit of these surveys is that they make customers feel valued. This is important for marketing as valued customers are likely to be loyal customers and customers that are going to recommend the online store to other people.
Furthermore, customer satisfaction surveys allow online stores to gather valuable information that can assist with future marketing campaigns.
It’s important to understand that when forms are being used as part of a marketing strategy, they need to be in keeping with the design and feel of the branding and website.
Matching the form design to the overall feel of an online store is always beneficial, however, when forms are being included in marketing, it becomes essential. Forms must work with the branding and not against it; forms that stand out in a negative way are going to draw attention for all the wrong reasons.
Using a form builder like Paperform that allows businesses to make forms that look and feel like theirs is a great option when it comes to using forms for marketing. Not only are these surveys more aesthetically pleasing, but it reinforces the brand image and helps customers become more familiar with it. Powerful, fit for purpose, and attractive forms are great for marketing.
What type of online forms are the most useful for e-commerce businesses?
The types of online forms required for each business differ slightly depending on industry and business goals. For e-commerce businesses, we have found that the most useful forms are payment forms, order forms, and customer satisfaction forms.
E-commerce is based around selling, in order to thrive these businesses need to sell as many products as possible. Therefore it is essential that online shops can take payments. Payment forms are arguably the most basic form that every online shop needs to have on their website as it becomes almost impossible to sell products and generate profit without them.
Order forms are also useful for e-commerce businesses as they allow customers to efficiently place orders and spend money at the store. An order form differs slightly from a payment form as order forms allow customers to contact sellers when requesting a specific product or service, whilst payment forms simply bill the customer. Order forms are a great addition especially if custom orders are an option.
Another form that is exceptionally useful for e-commerce businesses is a customer satisfaction form. This is an unusual one because these forms do not directly help an e-commerce store sell it’s products. However, when stores focus on optimizing their website based on customer behavior and feedback, it can increase conversions. Satisfaction forms tend to decrease acquisition costs, improve product development and build brand loyalty through showing customers you care.
Case studies (of your customers) and/or industry examples
As a form builder, Paperform caters to and meets the needs of all types of businesses, including e-commerce. One of our favorite case studies is how the flower shop Blutenthraume used our payment and order forms to sell their products online during the pandemic.
Like many retailers, Blutenthraume had no online presence prior to the pandemic, however, when Covid-19 hit and shops were forced to close it became apparent that they needed to find a way to survive. With online shopping still an option, the obvious choice was to take their business online.
Blutenthraume took advantage of Paperforms secure payment gateway integrations, automatic invoicing, and email features in order to improve their presence online. The benefit of these features for a business such as Blutenthraume is that they require minimal upkeep and inventory management is simple, making the transition from a shop to an online shop much easier.
The pandemic forced businesses to think outside the box and change how they function, and for businesses like Blutenthraume, it has been a huge success. Investing in a Paperform subscription and focusing on building an online presence helped Blutenthraume not only survive the pandemic but thrive.
Once Blutenthraume got their website up and running, they received 300 online orders within 5 days with Paperform. This is an incredible result and highlights how successful online retail can be.