There’s no doubt about it: Digital buyers rule the world. Last year, an estimated 1.46 billion people worldwide purchased goods and services online. And that number is projected to climb to over 2 billion by 2019. Even if your business isn’t part of the traditional ecommerce arena (i.e., retail), your users likely take part in online transactions to purchase your product or service, donate funds to your nonprofit, or register for your event. When transactions take place online, you can’t rely on in-person connections to welcome consumers and help them feel confident in their decision to support your company. So what do you do to ensure they have a positive experience with your organization’s online transactions? An easy place to start is with the forms you use to accept payments online. Here’s how to make sure your online forms breed perfect consumer transaction experiences:
Present only relevant fields.
It’s plain and simple: If you want to delight your consumers and keep them feeling great about your organization, don’t waste their time. Keep your online forms lean by including only necessary fields. And if some fields are only relevant to certain users, use Conditional Logic to keep those fields hidden from others. For example, if you have a nonprofit donation form that asks users to select if their gift is one-time or recurring, you can use Conditional Logic to get more information from just those who select “recurring.” Those who choose to provide a one-time donation will then be able to move through the form quickly without stumbling over irrelevant questions about how often they want their donation to recur.
Pre-fill basic information for consumers.
Continuing with the above sentiment, you should do whatever you can to help consumers complete their online transactions in a short period of time with minimal effort. One great way to do this is through autocompletion of form fields. Autofilling basic information (e.g., name, email, and phone number) for consumers through Social Autofill or Pre-Populating Fields can make completing online transactions with your business a breeze. If consumers can fill out most of your event registration form with the click of a button (like the one below), they are more likely to follow through and actually register for your event.
Allow for secure online payment.
With increased online business transactions comes an increased need for payment security. If you want users to trust your brand with their financial information, you must put security measures in place. The first step is to connect your online forms to a secure payment processor like PayPal or Stripe. These credit card payment processors allow you to easily collect registration fees or annual donations through secure online transactions. You can secure your online forms even further with security features like data encryption and Invisible reCAPTCHA. These features let your consumers know their information is being protected so they can feel confident doing business with you. You can even display a security message on your form to reassure users:
Collect discount codes and coupons.
Another way to ensure your consumers have a great online transaction experience is to let them enter discount codes or coupons. Who doesn’t love the thrill of entering an online coupon code and watching the amount owed drop?You could offer a discount to the first 100 customers who purchase your new product by simply connecting your order form to a discount code plugin and gathering discounts as a dollar amount or a percentage off the total price. The example below shows an order form that offers a 5% discount on the purchase of a book.
Thank your patrons.
The final piece of the puzzle when it comes to giving your consumers the best experience with online transactions is the thank you. It’s true that a small thank you can go a long way. If consumers feel valued, they are more likely to do business with you again. Display a custom thank you message after users submit your forms to let them know you appreciate their support. You could even include exclusive information about other products or events that might interest them.
Want to learn more about our payment processing integrations and how they can help you create seamless online transactions? Click here to explore them all.
