Getting a prospect into your database is step one in building a direct relationship with them. After this, marketers must continue to engage and learn more about the prospect; their preferences, needs, opinions, and so on. Marketing Cloud Interactive Email Forms are an amazing tool for doing just that.
What are Marketing Cloud Interactive Email Forms?
Marketing Cloud Interactive Email Forms exist within the Email Builder and are available in Marketing Cloud Pro editions or higher. Simply put, they are forms within an email that a recipient can submit without ever needing to leave their inbox.
Not requiring the prospect to leave their inbox means you are more likely to;
- get a direct response.
- learn more about your subscribers and prospects.
- make marketing and business decisions based on the data you collect.
- tailor future email communications to prospects and segments.
- boost conversion rates.
From a prospect’s perspective, having the ability to complete a form directly within an email creates a seamless experience without the friction of slow loading landing pages or the decision to veer away from their current task of checking their emails.
When used strategically Interactive Email Forms can be hugely powerful for all of these reasons.
Here are some of the top use cases we like for Interactive Email Forms:
1. Gather customer reviews
Reviews are often a pain because so many businesses ask for them and if you don’t make it easy for people, your conversion rates will be low. Marketing Cloud makes this easy with a simple click in an email rating you 1 - 5 stars!
Whilst this isn’t public like Google Reviews, you can be smart with how you manage 1-star reviews vs. 5-star reviews. If someone submits 1 star, you can take them to a page and show a message asking them why they thought the product/service was bad.
If 5 stars are submitted, then you can direct them to Google Reviews, Trustpilot, etc. and ask for a public review. The journey is completely up to you!
Image credit: Trailhead
2. Understanding prospect interests
It sounds really simple but the best way to work out what somebody is interested in is just to ask them.
Embedding a form in an email and asking someone what they like or what type of content they are looking for is a really good way of showing that you want to tailor the experience for them and that you really care what their interests are.
Remember, people mostly only care about themselves and this is why it’s important you make your emails about your prospects.
Image credit: Trailhead
3. Give an easy route to sales
Interactive Email Forms for Marketing Cloud mean you can be more explicit in your intentions and simply ask the end-user Would you like to book a demo? Speak to sales? Schedule a call?’.
Those that click yes can be seen as extra hot leads!
4. Deliver customer service
Moving away from the sales concepts, how about using Interactive Email Forms as a customer service channel by asking the customer if they would like any help with the product/service?
This is a great way to retain customers and even turn them into brand evangelists who tell their friends about how great the customer service from your brand is!
These types of forms can easily create Cases’ in Service Cloud so that your team can respond quickly to any requests.
Get imaginative
These are just four examples of how marketers can use Marketing Cloud Interactive Email Forms to increase engagement with prospects and customers directly within their inbox.
Of course, you can get super imaginative and creative with these and come up with use cases that suit your business, audience, and goals. Give them a try and don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like support with Marketing Cloud!
Tom Ryan
Founder & CEO of MarCloud, Tom has been on both sides of the fence, client-side and agency, working with Salesforce platforms for the best part of a decade. He's a Salesforce Marketing Champion and certified consultant who loves to co-host webinars and pen original guides and articles. A regular contributor to online business and marketing publications, he's passionate about marketing automation and, along with the team, is rapidly making MarCloud the go-to place for Marketing Cloud and Salesforce expertise. He unapologetically uses the terms Pardot, Account Engagement and MCAE interchangeably.
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