Lead registration forms? Don’t make people think!

Most marketers assume that a long lead registration form is a bad thing – i.e., the more questions you ask, the more likely the prospect is to abandon the form altogether.  And this is true.

But it’s not all about length of the form.  The biggest obstacle to higher response rates with your lead registration form is when you make the prospect stop and think.

By the time your prospect gets to a form (to ask for a demo, or get a copy of a white paper, etc.), they’ve already done as much thinking as you need from them at this stage.  They’ve been to your Web site, read the ad copy offering the white paper, or done something else to compel them to want to learn more.

Your form, therefore, merely needs to capture as much information as you need (and no more) to help that prospect or buyer to take the next step.

Asking for name, title, company, email address – those don’t require thinking.

But most sellers want further qualification.  When are you going to want to buy?  How many will you need?  What’s a good time to schedule a follow-up call?

These questions require thinking.  And the more you make your prospect think, at this specific stage in the lead generation process, the more likely the prospect is to abandon the process altogether.

The job of the registration form in a lead generation campaign is to quickly capture the interest generated by the prospect from the previous step.  The form is not there to sell.  It’s there to capture.

Every business and campaign strikes a balance between quantity and quality with lead generation.  How many leads vs. leads who are ready to buy right now.  The truth is, you need both.  And if your ad campaigns and copy have done their job in clarifying the value proposition and lead offer, it’s far more valuable to allow the registration forms to capture as many prospects as possible.