Nearly 100% of all websites have a “contact us” page somewhere on the site.
I am starting to wonder why.
Two weeks ago, I filled out a form on a local veterinarian’s site as my horse, Diamond, is appearing a little sickly. As of today, there has been no response to my query.
This isn’t the first time this has happened, and certainly I am not the only person who has experienced this.
The purpose of "contact us" page is to allow users to communicate with the site owner or moderator. If a website is set up correctly, when the contact form is filled out, it triggers an email to the person moderating the inbox.
This is supposed to be a hassle-free method of contacting a company and getting a quick response. The key words: "supposed to be."
One of the important reasons to have a contact form on your website is to reduce the amount of spam that hits your inbox. Having this form saves a lot of time cleaning the junk mail from your emails. This is the reason not to just publish one’s email address on the website instead.
The second most important reason to have this form on your website is lead generation. If you are a salesperson, you understand why. If you are a business owner, you understand this.
There are several other reasons a business should have a contact form, and here are just a few.
If your company does not have a customer relationship management (CRM) platform it utilizes, this form is a method of tracking leads. Contact forms can collect any information you choose, but most are effective in getting the basics including name, phone number and email address.
Collecting this information bolsters your mailing list. Do you send out newsletters with tips, tricks of the trade, sales or other industry related information?
Customer support. This is the easiest way for your customers, existing and potential, to get in touch with you. But, they expect an answer, and oftentimes, the questions are urgent.
It's important to have 24/7 availability. If people cannot reach you, chances are, they will lose interest and move on to the competitor. This affects your conversion rate (if you closely watch it). Being able to fill out this form holds your leads’ interest.
Remember, these forms can capture just about any information your business needs. That includes feedback. Positive, or negative, feedback is important. In today’s times, it seems that complaining face-to-face is popular, but there are some people who genuinely want to offer good feedback in an anonymous manner or in a non-confrontational manner, which is rather refreshing. What better way to gather it?
According to website developers and builders, having a contact page is one of the top three most important pages on a website. Without being able to communicate with anyone, how many needs go unmet, how many potential customers go to your competitor, and how much money is your business leaving on the table?