What is a thank you page?
When a user submits your contact form, you have two options. You can either show a generic message on the same page as your user submitted the form. Or you can redirect them to a thankyou page.
Far too often I see a generic thankyou message appear when I submit forms on websites and for me this approach is not recommended as you are giving up a great opportunity to further develop customer relationships.There are many benefits to adding a simple redirect to a thankyou page on contact form submission, and in this post I’m going to go explain what they are
Benefits of using a thank you page
As with most things there is no one size fits all solution and it depends on your circumstances to dictate the best course of actions for your business. If you fit any of the below criteria you mighty consider enlisting the help of a web designer for designing and building your businesses website
- Using a thankyou page makes you look capable and professional
I often see many companies using a brief inline default message when you submit their contact form. To me this comes across lazy and isn’t giving the user the appropriate feedback. By using a Thankyou page you are acknowledging receipt of the users contact form submission, and you can supply them with more detailed information of the next steps that will take place. - Helps you to strengthen your connection with the prospect and stand out from the competition
Submitting a contact form is usually the last touchpoint your user will have whilst browsing your website. Using a thank you page gives you an opportunity to end your dialogue with a positive impression, and gives you the opportunity to stand out from the crowd.
If you thoroughly understand your customer profile you can serve appropriate content to help strengthen your relationship with your user and stay memorable and leave a good impression.
This could be anything as simple as a message with a friendly profile image, through to a high production welcome video.
- Allows you to offer more value to the user and solidify your position as an authority
Using a thank you page offers you the opportunity to strengthen your position as an authority in your industry by showcasing your expertise. You could offer your prospect a free PDF downloadable guide, a link to a video course or any other pieces of information that offers value, and shows your knowledge in the subject. - Allows you to connect with the user on social media in order to create another touchpoint
A Thankyou page provides a great opportunity to ask your prospect for a follow on social media. The secret is to position the social media follower as a way to keep in touch and make it clear what value you are offering in your social media feeds. This could be tips, tricks and insights in your area of expertise. - Easily Track the Conversions of your contact form
A thankyou page is the perfect milestone to track conversions. I personally track contact form submissions as a conversion, as even if I don’t get the business’s my website has played its role in persuading a prospect to contact me for more information.
An example of how to structure your thankyou page
Now we know the benefits of using a thank you page, I’ll run you through a quick example of an effective thank you page.
1. Thank and reassure the user for sending the enquiry
- The primary purpose of the thank you page is to give the user feedback and let them know that their inquiry has been submitted to the relevant person / department. Think of it like a receipt. The action of the page redirecting is going to give your user a lot more confidence that a generic message popping up. By adding a thank you page you are reassuring the user that their enquiry has been submitted to the relevant person.
Not only will this make you look professional it will also breed confidence that you care about the users inquiry. Thank the user and let them know that you value them reaching out to you and let them know when you will be back in touch. Consider the image and message you used based on your industry. You could use a formal tone and photo, or something more fun and playful. The goal is to connect with your target user, and let them know that you are the right solution
Show an appropriate image, this can be a profile image or a picture of your team.
2.Offer value on your thank you page
If you have any lead magnets or PDF’s you can also give these away as free downloads. You don’t need to ask for an email as you will already have this. By letting them download this guide with little friction and offering genuine value, you are further strengthening your position as an expert or authority in your given industry.
If you have anything of value to offer now is the time to offer it to the user. It might be a video course, a branded PDF download or an email signup to a nurture email campaign. Whatever it is, make it clear and easy to understand to avoid confusing and losing your user.
The purpose of this value offer is to further develop your relationship with the prospect by offering them some extra value and cementing your position as an authority in whichever industry you work in.
You can also track downloads on these specific buttons using Google Analytics to see how effective this approach is. If it’s not converting then you can switch out the PDF download for another value offer. Another thing I recommend is hiding a PDF download on a mobile device and instead just offering a social media follow
If you have any valuable content, whether it be youtube videos, PDF downloads, or free tools, offer them to the user as a “Special Gift”, if not then it’s fine to just encourage them to give you a follow on social media.
3. Ask for a follow on social media
To complete the thank you page you can also ask for a follow on the social media channel that you are most active on, again make sure that you are outlining the value of them following you by highlighting the benefits of the user following you, and then perhaps showing your social media feed just below.
I recommend asking them to follow you on social media and giving them an incentive to do this. For example “follow us on instagram with a single click for daily industry secrets” this will encourage them to take action as you are offering them a benefit to follow you with little commitment on their side.
4. Track the contact form submission
The final stage is to track the visit to the thank you page. If you’re selling a service, I think it’s safe to consider a contact form submission as a conversion. You can easily track conversion in Google Analytics or tag manager to give you vital data on how effective your website is at converting.
Thank you page design tips
Always keep your ideal customer in mind and make sure that you keep the tone of your content appropriate. Make sure that your thank you page has a clear layout and doesn’t confuse or leave a bad impression on your user. If you’re unsure about what information you should offer your user, I recommend keeping it simple and just including a thank you message and social media follow prompt.
Summary
So there you have it, five reasons to make sure that you are utilising a thank you page on your website, which will make you look more professional, build a stronger relationship with prospects and allow you to track contact form submissions.
