Modernizing Your Data Capture – Demand more from your forms

Last time we explored what makes a document a document and today I would like to do the same but for forms. Often people use to words form and document interchangeably but that is not correct. Forms and documents are different and it is important to be able to make that distinction.

“A form is a structure with space in which to write or select content”.  Another way to take this is a form is a framework that allows the capture of data; meaning a form is the data capture while the document is the static record.

Traditionally forms were designed to be filled out by hand. You would get a form in the mail or have to go to the business to get the form. You would complete it by hand and mail it back to the organization. As technology advanced and people had computers in their homes people were able to not only print the form themselves but were now able to submit the form as well, which is where many organizations still are. Modern technology allows for more than this and organizations should be leveraging all the benefits that can be reaped to avoid falling behind their competitors.

The entire customer journey, including signatures, should be done online. Being able to complete the entire transaction in one sitting allows for higher conversion rates. Further to this having the process being completed digitally we can validate the data before it is submitted. All forms have specific business logic that is associated with the form and structured process behind them. Leveraging modern technology simplifies the end to end process and reduces human errors. 

Lastly, the forms that your customers are interacting with are an underutilized marketing touchpoint. Your forms should clearly be identifiable with your business and you should be conveying your organization's brand through this touchpoint just as you do with every other interaction you have with your customer.

We have all seen good examples of data capture, for example Amazon’s checkout process, and customers are going to compare their most positive interactions with yours regardless of industry because they know what interactions are possible. It is critical that your organization continues to stay current with customer expectations or they will go somewhere that will.