Why Forms Are Dead And Conversation Is King For Marketers To Generate New Leads

As we know, marketers are always looking for an edge that positions them above their peers. The traditional approach to capture leads has been through web forms, an interface where visitors can submit data. They vary in format, length, content type, and design but all have a common goal – collecting user information.
 

Form fatigue

 
It is easy to assume online forms are a straightforward process, yet we are all too familiar with multiple landing pages and boxes to tick, meaning form fatigue can set in pretty quickly. Albeit this is contextually dependent, but for those looking to maximise conversion rates, approaches to lead capture need to shift to keep up with the constantly changing landscape.

The standard practice is to put your content into a form to capture more inbound leads. We’re seeing a shift in approach as conversion rates drop from customers not wanting to fill in yet another form. People’s inboxes are overflowing, and messages could easily get lost in the digital abyss. The idea of going formless can be daunting, but the rewards and benefits make the leap worth it.
 

Capturing attention

 
The past 18 months have accelerated digital innovation and adoption as marketers fight for prospective customer attention, although the integration of conversational marketing tools remains to be seen. Engaging in real-time conversations can offer a much more enriched and insightful view of your prospect than other channels. From this, marketers can learn precisely how the individual would like to interact with the business. There is no inferring or guessing, just the cold hard facts.

A chatbot is an example of an automated real-time conversational tool. The purpose can be to entertain, provide support or collect user information. Rule-based no-code chatbots offer a level-up to the engagement opportunity as deployment is easy, simple and accessible. Teams are no longer required to have extensive training to make sure this technology can be efficiently utilised.

This new approach to lead generation can strengthen relationships and demonstrate how marketers can improve how they capture essential information to serve multiple purposes, improve response times, better triage requirements and improve conversion rates.
 

Conversation is king

 
By embracing new conversational technologies such as Chatbots, businesses can design a conversation flow and solicit more valuable information about customer needs. Chatbots can learn from pools of data to give the necessary analytics for teams to better understand the granular meaning of why their conversion rates are not high enough and what barriers to entry prevent completion.

Data-driven marketers can surpass the competition as decisions are informed, and the experience is tailored to the user’s needs, leading to greater satisfaction and conversions. Chatbots can facilitate greater engagement as it emulates human interaction. Content mapping techniques can still be used to segment customers and leads nurtured through targeted messaging.

Conversational assistants are not limited to being web form substitutes and are beneficial in a plethora of business situations. From digital marketing and frictionless engagement, empowering sales teams, assisting with customer service support to HR and internal communications, the scope for chatbots to support businesses achieve their goals is significant and exciting.
 
 
Written by Jiaqi Pan, CEO and Co-Founder at Landbot