Why Won’t Prospects Give You Their Email Address?
“Are you worthy of my email address?” your prospect asks when visiting your website. An email address is a thing of value. Therefore, prospects evaluate whether connecting to you is worth this exchange of value. What stands in their way is a marketing term known as “friction” – or the mental roadblock that says, “I don’t want to do it.”
Each piece of information your contact form requires adds to the cost prospects feel they’re paying (even though no money has changed hands). And reluctance to cough it up increases.
Let’s say a typical form requires first name, last name, email address and phone number. In this group, the phone number is likely the information prospects would consider the costliest. They don’t want to give you that until they know you better. So, you could drop that field or eliminate it as a requirement. However, because this is largely psychology, there’s another trick to employ.
Instead of eliminating the phone number as a field, you could simply add “optional” in parentheses beside that entry. In fact, one study tried both ways – dropping the phone number field altogether or adding “optional” beside it. Turns out, the version with “optional” had a far higher response.
Earning trust also reduces friction. For example, your free estimate provides much-needed information and guidance. You get an email capture when your prospect views this as a greater value than the cost of contact information.