If you have a business, you would know the importance of order forms. They help the customer order a product or service from your company while specifying their precise requirements. Almost all businesses require these forms, including groceries, restaurants, bakeries, and clothing stores.
However, an order form also serves other purposes than just receiving orders. For example, some companies use it to collect information about potential customers and their preferences before they even become active users on the site. It helps them personalize their websites based on what people are interested in buying.
In what ways are such forms helpful for businesses and customers, and which features should companies include in them? Read on to find out.
In what ways are they helpful?
- Customers can use a simple order format for a one-off purchase.
- Clients can use more complex order forms for recurring purchases, such as monthly subscriptions.
- You can include additional information to make it easier for the customer to decide, such as an introductory offer or free shipping on their first order.
- These forms help collect customer information (for example, name, email address, and phone number), which you’ll need before fulfilling an order or contacting them about future offers and promotions that might interest them.
Things to include in them
When creating an order form, you’ll want to consider the required information and include all necessary fields. For example, how many items will the customer purchase, what is the price per item, and is there any additional tax or shipping cost that you should charge with the item’s price?
Freedom to customize orders
A good form allows customers to customize their orders to meet their needs (eventually saving you time). Customers like being able to choose what they want, so let them! Allow them to select their options, such as color or pattern.
If you sell different sizes of the same product, allow customers to specify which size they want. There’s no need for every person who buys your product to get precisely the same thing if it doesn’t fit their needs or tastes.
Letting your customers decide on customizations themselves helps if your form allows them to communicate any questions or concerns about their customization choices before finalizing their orders.
Include a price field
In some cases, customers might even have access to pricing on your website so they can see how much different options cost before placing an order. If you want to include this information, you’ll want to include a visible price field that can be edited only by your employees, thus preventing customers from changing the price of their items when placing their orders.
Include relevant images
You’ll also want to include relevant images so customers can see what they’re ordering before adding a product or service to their cart. Ensure that the product images are clear and high-resolution to grab the customer’s attention.
You may also find it helpful to use images with variations of the product—maybe you have one blue shirt in small sizes and another in mediums with a different collar style. It all depends on what kind of inventory you have.
Images are great for showing different views of a product as well—a customer might want to see how an item looks from all angles before ordering it, so having multiple pictures will help them make that decision easier!
Use a readymade template
Some companies offer a readymade template that makes creating the format easier. They come with a readymade design, layout, appearance, and tabs. Further, they contain the essential technical and functional features you should look for in order forms. And if you don’t like any in their collection, you can customize them using a form builder. An order form is essential to any business that sells products or services. You should ensure it’s attractive, easy to use, and contains the necessary information, thus guaranteeing customer satisfaction and increased sales.
