Multi-step forms are a great tool for gathering more information about your subscribers without overwhelming them. By breaking down a sign-up form into two steps, you can increase conversion rates and collect more data about your audience.
This guide will explain the benefits of multi-step forms, how to create them and provide instructions on creating welcome automation for email and SMS subscribers. Whether you are an experienced marketer or just starting out, multi-step forms can be a useful tool. Let's dive in!
Before You Begin
You can create a multi-step form from a template or add an additional step to any existing form—whether it's a popup, landing page, or embedded form.
Multi-step forms are built from the same Items as other forms. This guide will only discuss them briefly, but you can refer to this page for more information.
The first step of the form is an email opt-in, which is considered a separate signup. This means that views are only counted on the first step shown. If the first step is filled and closed, the second step will not be displayed.
Currently, multistep forms must start with an identifier input (email or SMS or both) in the first step, followed by other fields in the second step. It’s not possible to create a form that only has multiple choice options and a submit button in the first step — such forms cannot be submitted.
Benefits of Using Multi-step Forms
Collect More Subscriber Data. With multi-step forms, you can collect more information about your subscribers without overwhelming them. Customers can fill in the first step, which usually only requires their email address, and then decide if they want to provide additional information such as their phone number, name, preferences, etc. This way, you can gather more data about your subscribers without asking for too much information upfront.
Higher Conversion Rates. Multi-step forms have been proven to increase conversion rates. By breaking down the form into two steps, customers are more likely to complete the form. They are also more likely to provide additional information in the second step if they have already committed to the first step. This leads to higher conversion rates and more subscribers.
Easy Collection of Phone Numbers and Emails. Multi-step forms make collecting phone numbers and emails more accessible. Customers don't have to provide both pieces of information simultaneously, which can be overwhelming. By collecting the email address in the first step, you can then encourage customers to provide their phone numbers in the second step. This way, you can gather both pieces of information without jeopardizing the email subscription, and customers still receive the discount.
Personalized Communication. With the additional information gathered from the second step, you can personalize your communication with subscribers. Knowing their name or preferences can help you create more targeted and effective email and SMS campaigns.
Setup Process
Omnisend allows you to easily create a multi-step signup form. The process is similar to creating any other form but with an extra step.
To create a multi-step form, start by building a form with one step. Go to the Forms tab → Create Form → Choose the template you like. The first step should be clear and straightforward and collect your customers' email addresses.
The second step can be used to collect additional information such as phone numbers, names, or preferences. To add a step, press the "+" button. To delete a step, click the "more" button → Delete. We suggest encouraging subscribers to opt-in to SMS marketing in the second step. Make sure to collect consent for both channels to be legally compliant.
Personalizing your communication by collecting more profile information in the second step is beneficial. However, be mindful that too many fields may deter customers from providing information. Consider making this step optional and adding a skip button for those who prefer not to share additional details beyond their email.
You can always switch the order of the second and first steps if you find that it improves customer experience.
Here are some suggestions on the information you can request alongside the phone number. This data can be gathered with additional items added to the second step like Input, Dropdown, Date, Radiobutton, and Checkbox.
Address: If you have an ecommerce store or provide services that require a physical location, you can ask for the user's address;
Preferences: You could ask the person about their preferences related to your product or service, such as their preferred color, style, or size. This can help you personalize your communications and provide a better customer experience.
Referral source: You can ask the user how they found out about your store to help you determine which marketing channels are most effective;
Feedback: You can include a survey or feedback form (checkbox item) to collect user feedback;
Interests: You can ask the user about their interests to help you personalize your marketing messages;
Demographics: You can ask for the user's age, gender, or other demographic information to help you segment your audience and send targeted messages;
Company information: If you're running a B2B business, you may want to collect more information about the company of the person filling out the form, such as the company name, industry, size, or location;
Purchase intent: If you're selling a product, you could ask the person filling out the form about their purchase intent, such as when they plan to buy, what they're interested in purchasing, or their budget;
Event registration: If you're promoting an event, you could use the second step to collect more information about the person's registration, such as ticket type, dietary restrictions, or preferred session tracks.
💡Tip! You can also run a teaser for your multi-step form
Once you enable the form and it collects subscribers, you can track your results in the Reports and Forms sections. The signup rate will reflect the number of subscribers who sign up in the first step of your form.
Please note that if a customer only submits their email in the multi-step form, this information will be saved right away as they proceed to the next step.
Using Different Button Actions: Yes/No Buttons Signup Form
We already know how Multi-Step Forms can help you create a captivating user experience to gather valuable information from your customers. But let's take it a step further by incorporating different button actions into your form. This solution is beneficial if you want your customers to be prompted to subscribe by clicking "Yes" or close the form by selecting "No."
To optimize the effectiveness of your form, it's essential to experiment with various question formats and field combinations.
Important Notes 💡
You can engage your customers through Yes/No buttons during the first step. Remember that you cannot add additional fields to the Yes/No step.
However, in the second step, you can include fields like Email, SMS, and more to gather additional information from interested customers.
Step 1: Accessing the Form Builder
As usual, to get started with creating a Multi-Step Form featuring Yes/No buttons, follow these simple steps:
Go to the Forms tab and click Create Form.
Choose one of the presets to streamline the creation process.
Step 2: Designing the First Step
Designing an engaging first step is crucial for capturing your customers' attention and increasing the likelihood of positive responses.
Incorporate questions that your customers are likely to answer positively. These questions can help cultivate a positive mindset as your customers progress through the form. Consider these question ideas:
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Button Actions
You can assign buttons to different actions in each step of the form. Just select the button and adjust its action and the text. Here are the available button actions and how to use them:
Go to Next Step: This action guides the customers to the next step but does not submit the form. Associate this action with the button linked to the "Yes" option.
Close Form: If you want the form to be closed when a button is clicked, assign this action to the button linked to the "No" option.
Step 3: Adding Fields to the Second Step
In the form's second step, you can include additional fields like the Email and SMS fields. If you started with a form preset, you will already have some fields added. You can also add more fields to the same step. This allows you to gather more specific customer information, providing insights into their needs and preferences.
Interactions and Form Submission
It's essential to understand how interactions and form submission work within your signup form report. Button actions tracking:
Clicking the "Next Step" action counts as an interaction.
When the "Close Form" action is selected, the interaction will not be counted.
Additional Information:
Multi-step form with the first step being email and the second step being SMS (or any other specified method) will show the performance of the first step in the report. You will be able to assess how well the email step engages users and how many successfully proceed to the second step.
In the case of a multi-step form with a Yes/No question format, the engagement of the first step will be reflected in the interaction rate. The second step, which involves an email (or any other specified action), will be shown in the signup rate. This allows you to evaluate the level of engagement at the initial step and the effectiveness of the subsequent email in capturing signups.
Analyzing user interactions and form completion rates will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your form. Experiment with different question formats and field combinations to optimize your form's performance.
Using Different Button Actions: Go to the Next Step
In multistep forms, you can improve user experience by allowing users the option to bypass non-required steps. This feature can lead to a smoother form-filling process and improved completion rates. Here's what is important to know:
Feature | Description |
Go to Next Step button | You can include a button with the Button action Go to Next Step. This button allows users to skip the current step, making the process more flexible.
Ensure that input fields in this step are not marked as required if you want users to have the option to skip them. |
Multiple buttons on the same step | It’s possible to have both the Submit and Go to Next Step buttons on the same step. This provides users with options based on their preferences.
For example, add an input field for the first name and two buttons to your second step. Add a Submit action button with a 'Leave my name' label for users who feel comfortable sharing the name. Add a Go to Next Step action button with the label 'Skip' for users who want to subscribe (first step) but don't want to leave the name (second step). See an example setup of such a form below. |
Field Requirements: If you want users to have the option to skip required fields, ensure that they are not marked as required. If a field is set as required, users must complete it to move forward in the form.
By exploring various question formats and field combinations, analyzing user engagement, and fine-tuning your approach, you can improve the overall performance of your forms.
Remember, your form's effectiveness lies in the ability to create a seamless user experience while gathering the information you need.
Welcome Automation for Multi-step Forms
When you have a multistep form in your store, you can capture more information about your visitors and potential customers. However, it's important to follow up with those contacts to keep them engaged and interested in your business.
One way to do this is by setting up welcome automation for contacts who come from a multistep form. Here's how to do it:
Go to Automation → New Workflow → select one of the Welcome emails presets.
The default trigger Sigup via Omnisend form will be pre-selected. It's important to keep the first delay at least 2 minutes because contact subscription to email will be registered right away, so make sure to give them time to subscribe to SMS as well.
Craft a personalized welcome message: Start your automation with a warm and friendly welcome message that acknowledges the information they provided in the multistep form. You can also include a call-to-action that encourages them to engage with your business, such as signing up for a newsletter or following your social media channels.
To keep your contacts engaged, offer them valuable content in your automation series. This can include educational resources, helpful tips, or exclusive discounts. By providing value, you can establish trust and credibility with your contacts.
Finally, it's important to test and optimize your automation series to ensure it's effective. You can monitor open rates, click-through rates, and conversions to see what's working and what's not. Based on the data, you can make adjustments to improve the performance of your welcome automation.
In conclusion, multi-step forms offer several benefits that can help you collect more subscriber data without overwhelming your customers. By breaking down the form into smaller steps, you can increase the completion rate and provide a better user experience.
With Omnisend, you can easily add a tag to your multi-step form and create welcome automation, which allows you to send targeted emails and SMS messages to your subscribers. Whether you want to offer a discount, ask for feedback, or collect additional information, multi-step forms can help you achieve your goals while providing value to your subscribers. Try it out and see how it can improve your email marketing strategy!
FAQ
If a customer enters their email, which is already subscribed (subscribed status in Omnisend Audience), and then enters their phone number (which they don't have in their profile), will they see a success message and receive a welcome email?
Yes, if the customer enters their already subscribed email address and then adds their phone number, they will see a success message confirming their subscription through the new channel. They will also receive a welcome email as long as the welcome automation doesn't have a frequency setting.