Removing Obstacles for our Clients
When a client makes an enquiry or booking, the easier we make this process
for
them, the less likely it is that they will 'drop-out'.
Consider each stage of
your enquiry and booking process as an obstacle and potential 'drop-out' point
and then look at ways to reduce the number of these; making your system as
straightforward as you possibly can for the client.
Enquiry Form
Analyse each *required box on your enquiry form. Is it absolutely necessary
to have this information in order to provide a quote for your services or could
you leave some as optional? For example - the clients home address - OK it would
be nice to be able to send them some literature in the post but is it essential
at this stage? If you make it an optional box and they fill it in - great. If
they don't you could mention it in your email reply or phone call - asking for
it again if they wish to receive further information. When we design our own
enquiry form we are familiar with the content and layout, it's therefore easy for us to
understand and fill it in. How easy is it for our clients though?
There are
several ways to find out - ask those who do fill it in how easy it was, was
anything unclear, did they encounter any problems etc. But what about those who
didn't get that far? Difficult because unless they contact you by another method
you'll never find out. One system you could use is to ask a few people you know to
complete it. Watch them as they do so - do they pause at any point, do they look
over to you with a blank expression, do they omit areas that are compulsory and
have the form rejected? How long did it take them? Ask them to also rate your
form for ease of use, clarity and any fields you nominate as required that they feel shouldn't
be.
Other Obstacles
CAPTCHA codes (require the user to type letters or digits from
a distorted image that appears on the screen before the form is processed) are great for preventing spam bots sending you
unwanted emails but they can also be a hurdle for your potential clients. Before
using one on your form consider carefully if you really need it. If you only
receive the odd spam enquiry then I would suggest putting up with these rather
than add this obstacle for your clients.
There are many other ways to thwart these bots. For instance on the sites used to bring in enquiries for our AMPdj
members we have 3 levels of security. About a month ago, whilst testing some new
pages, only the 1st level was added and within hours the spam bots found them.
Two more layers were immediately added and we haven't had a problem since.
All 3 are invisible to clients so don't add any extra hurdles for them but they
are successful at preventing auto completion by bots. These methods will be
covered in detail in a future newsletter.
If you do decide to use CAPTCHA codes on your forms then try to find one that is
fairly easy to read. A couple of failed attempts may be enough to send your
client elsewhere.
One other facility that some DJs use is a check that the person sending an email is
human. This is provided by the email provider and auto sends an email to any
client not already registered with you, asking them to prove they are human by clicking a
link. If they don't click
the link you don't get the enquiry.
Supposing a potential client sends out several enquiries, when they next
check their inbox they have replies from your competitors but a 'let's make sure
you're human' response from you. Chances are they won't bother to click the link
and again you won't even be aware of the missed opportunity to quote for work.
Hopefully this newsletter has given you a few ideas to think about - until next time - Good Luck
Paul |
