Ten Trust Building Ideas For Your Online Forms

Last month we described ten design related items that may stop people from using your online registration forms.

In this article we suggest ten things that you should do to build trust with your event participants that will lead to more people registering online.

1. Don’t make people join another service before they can register.

Some online registration suppliers require event participants to create an account with them before registering. In some situations this may be useful, but most of the time people are turned off supplying their information to a company that they don’t know.

2. Have a privacy policy.

Tell people what you are going to do and not going to do with their information. If you are using an online registration supplier have their privacy policy on the form too.

3. Only ask for the necessary information.

Don’t ask for information that you don’t really need. Many people are hesitant to give even basic contact details, so unless it’s critical to your event, don’t ask for information like education level or marital status. If you would like to gather more information about your event participants, do so after they have registered or after the event once they are feeling more comfortable with you and/or your organization.

4. Anticipate questions.

Provide enough of the right information in an easy to find format on your website, so people don’t abandon their registration because they have questions about the event

5. Give the name, email and phone number of a person to contact

If questions do arise during registration make it easy for people to contact someone with the answers. If you are expecting people from outside of your local area it is a good idea to set up a toll free phone number as well.

6. Show your cancellation and refund policy.

People need to know what happens if they need to cancel, so clearly state your policy and include if there is a cancellation fee, if there are deadlines to cancel or if refunds are even an option. This will also help to avoid disputes later on.

7. Use branded registration forms that match your website or event.

Make the online form resemble your website even if you are using an online registration supplier. Your familiar brand will help keep event participants comfortable with the process.

8. State who is processing the credit card transactions.

Make it clear what name will appear on the event participant’s credit card statement if online credit card transactions are an option. In some cases it may be the name of the organization hosting the event, the event planner or the online registration supplier. Making this clear during registration will help prevent chargebacks.

9. Be upfront with costs and requirements.

Make sure pricing is clear and easy to understand so people aren’t surprised during the registration process. Unexpected fees or details can reduce trust and cause people to abandon the registration.

10. Use a secure server.

Most people now know to look for a lock or key icon or for “https” in the URL before entering credit card details. Make sure you are using a secure server to make people feel comfortable and to actually protect their data.
 

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or comments about this article.


Back to Article List