Update Your “Contact Us” Page

Here’s a piece I did for Businessweek on how we’re still using those hoary old “contact us” pages.

Netflix Kills the “Contact Us” Page – Good Riddance!

One element of the Internet that hasn’t evolved along with everything else is the Contact Us page. Usually it’s a static form asking for your information, and offering a text box for filling in the reason why you’re contacting the company.

Businesses should look at their website statistics to check how many people actually fill out these forms. It’s a negligible number. So we’ve got a problem:

1. You can’t not have a way for someone to contact the company from the website
2. The static Contact Us form is a lousy way to do it

Netflix gets it right. Their Contact Us page offers a series of options for why you’re contacting them. Need to report a shipping problem? Click “shipping” and you’ll see which titles you’ve ordered recently. Having trouble with the streaming service? Click “streaming” and an engaging, conversational interactive form appears to help you troubleshoot the problem and report it.

Granted Netflix has advantages because you’re logged into your account when you get to their page, allowing for tight integration with the Netflix CRM. But anyone can run with this idea.

Dump your static form. Engage your customers – show them you’re listening.

Static Forms Just Don’t Work Anymore

These days we’ve learned to ignore Web surveys, registration forms and other lead generation devices. Chances are the Web form on your “contact us” page hasn’t generated a lot of leads lately. In any case, a static form asking everyone the same set of questions won’t help you understand which leads are sales-ready and which are just entering the sales funnel.

However, there is a way to increase response and better target sales-ready leads: create a conversation-like experience. Ask a question that’s relevant (hint: it’s not “when are you buying?”), and ask a relevant follow up question based on that answer. As an example, you might find out the problem they’re trying to solve, and then ask a value proposition – would it be valuable to have a way to do x to solve y? Get them thinking if it really might be valuable. In short, let them know you’re listening, and open up the possibilities.

On the Web, dynamic surveys and forms (which branch into different topics depending on the answer) are proven to double the number of leads generated from a given activity. It’s all about relevance.