How often have you looked through a website and had to actively search for contact details? Were they sitting in a footer at the bottom of the site? Were they written out in full or displayed as a “contact us” link? How about up in the main menu bar - did you find anything in there?
As a business, the harder you make it for your prospective customers to get in touch with you, the less likely they are to bother. If you’re dealing with straightforward sales transactions and require minimal customer support, then displaying your contact details in the usual places may work just fine. However, if your business relies on building good customer relationships and communicating with your prospects, you might want to consider integrating a contact form into your website during your next custom web design project. Here’s why:
ConvenienceIf customers can easily locate a contact form and type their message directly into a box, it saves them the time and effort of copying and pasting your details into their phone or email browser. They’ll feel more of a direct link to you and know that their message will land with you safely (and not in your junk folder!).
ControlUsing an integrated contact form in your custom web design gives you the opportunity to put your customer in control. By offering a preference option for either a phone call or email response to their query, you can ensure your customers feel comfortable communicating with you in a way that works best for them.
CommunicationYou can set an automatic email response on your contact form if you want to. This is an opportunity for you to tell those who get in touch a bit more about your business and your offers. Have you got more of your story that you want to share? Here’s your chance!
ComplianceIntegrated contact forms are a brilliant way of ensuring your business is compliant with the latest data protection policies (GDPR). You can overcome “opt in” obstacles more easily with simple check boxes, and you can choose to collect data about your customers through the form should you wish. Depending on what information you ask for, you could gain a great insight into your customer base which will in turn help you to improve your website and your marketing. This small change to your custom web design could give you a big return on investment in the long run!
ClutterReplacing your email address with an integrated contact form will prevent spammers from lifting your contact information straight from your site, meaning the quantity of spam messages you receive should be lower in general. Also, it’s far easier to identify spam messages through contact form submissions than through normal emails, so any spam you do receive can be identified straight away!
Has this post got you thinking about your contact details and how you display them? If you’d like to have a chat about how to make your custom web design work best for you, get in touch with the Kartogram team today. We’ve got extensive experience with all aspects of custom web design, including integrated contact forms. Check out our portfolio for more details.