Healthcare websites often serve as the primary point of contact for potential patients seeking to schedule an appointment, ask questions, or gather information about services. One key element in this process is the contact form—a tool that can either facilitate or hinder patient conversions. While contact forms are essential, overly complicated forms can drive potential patients away.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the importance of simplifying your contact forms and how doing so can significantly boost your patient conversion rates.
Why Contact Forms Matter
Contact forms are a crucial part of any healthcare website’s lead generation strategy. They allow visitors to easily get in touch with your practice without having to make a phone call or send an email. For many patients, particularly those dealing with sensitive medical concerns, filling out a form online feels less daunting than making a direct phone call.
However, if your contact form is too long or complex, it can become a barrier that prevents patients from completing the process. In the healthcare industry, where urgency and comfort are often top priorities for patients, simplifying the contact form can make all the difference in whether or not a visitor converts into a patient.
1. The Problem with Long Contact Forms
One of the biggest mistakes healthcare websites make is creating contact forms that are too lengthy or complicated. Forms that ask for excessive information upfront can overwhelm or frustrate potential patients, causing them to abandon the form before submitting it.
When someone is visiting your website, they are likely looking for a quick and easy way to connect with your practice. They might be dealing with anxiety, illness, or pain, and asking them to fill out a long form can feel like an additional burden.
Solution: According to healthcare marketing expert Justin, the key is to strip your contact form down to the essentials. Focus on gathering only the most critical information, such as name, email address, phone number, and perhaps a brief message. You can collect additional details later in the process after initial contact is made.
By making the form as short and simple as possible, you reduce the friction for visitors and increase the likelihood that they’ll complete the form.
2. Two-Step Forms: Breaking Down the Process
For practices that require more information from patients upfront, one effective strategy is to break the form into multiple steps. This method, known as a two-step form, can help reduce the psychological barrier of completing a long form by dividing the process into smaller, more manageable parts.
Solution: Justin recommends starting with a simple first step, such as asking for the patient’s name, email, and phone number. Once this initial information is collected, the form can prompt the patient to move on to the next step, where more detailed questions are asked.
For example, after the patient provides their basic contact information, the next step could ask for the reason for their inquiry or any specific services they are interested in. If the patient decides to abandon the form at this stage, at least you have their initial contact details, allowing you to follow up with them.
Breaking the form into steps makes the process feel less overwhelming and increases the chances that patients will at least complete the first stage of the form, enabling your team to follow up.
3. Prioritizing Mobile-Friendliness
With more patients accessing healthcare websites via mobile devices, ensuring that your contact form is mobile-friendly is no longer optional—it’s essential. A form that works well on desktop but is difficult to complete on a mobile phone will frustrate users and lead to high abandonment rates.
Solution: Justin emphasizes the importance of optimizing your forms for mobile use. This means ensuring that the form fields are large enough to be easily tapped on a smartphone, the layout is simple and uncluttered, and there is enough space around the form elements to prevent accidental clicks.
Additionally, make sure the form does not require excessive scrolling. Mobile users prefer forms that can be completed quickly without having to scroll multiple times. Simplifying the form for mobile users will improve the experience and lead to higher conversions.
4. Be Clear About What Happens Next
One reason patients might abandon your contact form is uncertainty about what happens after they submit it. If they don’t know what to expect, they may be hesitant to complete the form.
Solution: Set clear expectations by telling patients exactly what will happen once they submit the form. Justin recommends including a short message next to the form or on the confirmation page that explains the next steps.
For example, you could say, “Thank you for reaching out! Our team will review your inquiry and contact you within 24 hours.” This reassures patients that their message has been received and lets them know when they can expect a response.
Providing clarity and setting expectations can help alleviate any anxiety the patient may have and increase the likelihood that they will complete the form.
5. Testing and Optimizing Your Contact Forms
Just like any other element of your website, your contact form should be tested and optimized regularly to ensure it is performing at its best. A/B testing can help you identify which versions of your form drive the highest conversions.
Solution: Justin suggests experimenting with different form lengths, button placements, and calls to action to see what works best for your audience. For example, you could test whether a “Submit” button or a “Request Appointment” button results in higher form completion rates.
Additionally, track metrics such as form completion rates, abandonment rates, and mobile versus desktop performance. These insights will help you refine your form to better meet the needs of your audience.
6. Build Trust with Security and Privacy
When patients fill out a contact form on your healthcare website, they are entrusting you with their personal information. This trust is not to be taken lightly, especially in the healthcare field where privacy concerns are paramount.
Solution: Make sure your contact forms are secure and clearly communicate this to visitors. Including a privacy statement or a simple message like, “Your information is safe with us,” can help build trust. Ensure that your website is HTTPS-secured and compliant with healthcare privacy regulations like HIPAA.
The more confident patients feel about the security of their information, the more likely they are to complete the form.
Conclusion
Simplifying your contact forms can have a profound impact on your website’s ability to convert visitors into patients. By reducing the length of the form, implementing two-step processes, optimizing for mobile, setting clear expectations, and testing and optimizing regularly, you can create a seamless and stress-free experience for potential patients.
Remember, your contact form is often the first interaction a patient has with your practice. Make it easy, intuitive, and reassuring to encourage more patients to take that critical first step towards scheduling an appointment.
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