Every year businesses are losing as much as 81% of their potential customer base due to form or sign up abandonment. This is a growing problem, especially in what is being called the “Post SSN” era of online ID verification, because most people simply lose patience and/or interest when filling out long forms. Not only can you improve the user experience (UX) by reducing the effort required to fill out a form, but you can also reduce what it is costing you to verify each of those people.
The following are three ways to reduce sign up abandonment that you may want to consider.
1. Use a Gradual ID Verification Process
Here is one of the leading reasons for sign up abandonment that companies like Cognito have found an effective solution for: ID verification process.
Let’s face it. People simply get tired of answering questions and filling out fields which are either unnecessary or monotonous. However, from the perspective of a company, those fields are necessary because identity theft is rampant in our society.
A gradual ID verification process also protects the user from fraudulent activity in their name. It could start with just a name and phone number. Many times, that is all that is required for a platform like cognitohq.com to pull the rest of the information needed to complete most of the form. If the needed information isn’t gathered, only one field at a time may yield the desired results in the verification process.
2. Offer Perks for Completing the Form
Motivation is always a key factor in keeping them around long enough to complete a form. If you have done your research and analytics, you know what motivates your audience.
Take, for example, a sign up form prerequisite to completing their shopping cart. If you make it clear that they need to sign up as a ‘member’ in order to get certain deals, that could be sufficient. However, many online retailers go a step further. They also offer free shipping to new members so the user gets both a discount and a one-time free shipping offer.
When added to an easy-to-complete form, that’s often sufficient motivation if they are really interested in what you are selling.
3. Simplify Your Forms
How many times have you begun to join a membership program or tried to check out after adding something to your shopping cart only to be inundated with seemingly unnecessary questions? Add only the information you need in the ID verification process and you will find that an increasing number of people will complete the form.
Also, the layout is important. Have you ever been unable to move onto the next screen because something was missing in your form? It could be something as simple as a phone number or email address which is placed off to the side or in some illogical placement on the form. Keep it easy to follow and as concise as possible.
Bonus Tip: Mobile Phone or PC/Laptop Forms?
Finally, as a ‘bonus’ tip, you should also know that less than 4% of people like to fill in forms from a mobile phone. Once they are a member or a repeat customer, they will shop from your site but when it comes to completing forms, they prefer to do so from a PC or laptop.
You could either make your forms mobile friendly or cater more to a PC audience. The choice is yours but knowing that, it helps you create forms following the above listed ways to reduce sign up abandonment.
With just a few easy-to-follow steps, you can grow your customer base while saving time and money for everyone involved.