Deal-breaker

So how many times has this happened to you: You want some information from a company’s website. They tell you that it is free, but then WHAM. You get hit with a form that asks for way more information than you are prepared to give for a 5-page PDF on whatever. And. you. bail.

This happens every day to seemingly well-meaning companies. They haven’t conducted a proper assessment for the information that they ask for in their forms.

People don’t like forms. Period. So if you are collecting information, then you must make filling out the form as painless as possible. Ask for information that no one would have trouble volunteering: Name, email address. Bam. That’s it. What else would you need to reach out to a prospective customer?

I get that these free documents are designed to generate leads, but you’re not generating leads if your prospective bails right when you’re ready to seal the deal. Check your form design, layout and composition. You can reduce the load on your user and your bail outs by 1/3 if you cut out the unnecessary questions.