The design of your event inquiry form can be a big factor when it comes to securing venue bookings.
Event inquiry forms are a crucial component of your venue business and are there to help you collect information from potential leads. A well-designed form can encourage clients to make use of your venue services.
Let’s discuss how to design a comprehensive event inquiry form for your venue to increase lead generation and business revenue.
What Does an Event Inquiry Form Do?
An event inquiry form makes the booking process easier from your side and the side of your clients. Its format is similar to that of a questionnaire. With the information provided, event venue managers can determine the event's costs and provide an initial quote to the client for approval.
Fields to Include on Your Form
Contact Details
The first section in an event inquiry form is the contact details section. You typically want to ask for the following client information:
- Client name: Asking for the client's name can help personalize their experience.
- Email address: This is useful for sending clients quotes, invoices, and other documents.
- Phone number: The phone number is a direct and immediate way to get hold of your client.
- Organization name: The name of the organization or company associated with the event (if applicable).
Accurate contact details help with effective communication throughout the event management process. You can easily get in touch with your client to clarify any important information or request additional information about the event if it’s needed.
Booking Information
The second section should gather information related to the event details. This section is where your potential clients provide their requirements for the event. Important information to obtain at this point includes:
- Date: The date or dates of the event.
- Time: The start and end time of the event.
- Location: This may be applicable if you have multiple venues.
- Type of event: The nature of the event, such as a wedding, conference, birthday party, etc.
- Number of attendees: The estimated attendance refers to how many guests will attend the event.
- Additional information: Prospective clients can provide additional information, such as catering requirements, the event name, and so on.
This information will help you, as an event manager, when you’re considering how to organize an event a client has booked. This is essential for determining the resources you'll need to succeed.
Tips for Designing Your Form
Use Great Venue Management Software
Great venue management software can make the process of event management smooth and simple. This software can help you automate many tasks that will otherwise take up your time.
So, what is a great example of what this software can do? If you’ve ever wished you could easily customize inquiry forms, you’re in luck!
Good event management software can help you automate the process of collecting and managing client inquiries. It can do this through a templated form that links to a CRM.
Consider a platform such as Perfect Venue. With just a few clicks, you can customize the form to match your brand.
This way, you can seamlessly link your website and the software for quick and efficient lead management.
Perfect Venue allows you to customize single, multi-line, dropdown, or checkbox fields to capture all the information you need to prepare a proposal. Once an event host submits an inquiry form, they will receive an automated email to confirm the form submission. This serves as a holding message until you’re ready to send a more personalized response.
Keep it Simple
This tip can make all the difference between receiving inquiries or not. When it comes to event inquiry forms, keep it simple! If your form can be defined by the phases outlined below, you’re good to go!
- Easy to understand: The form should be straightforward and not require a lot of effort to complete. Avoid using complicated language or asking for unnecessary information.
- Quick to fill out: The form should take a few minutes to complete. The fewer fields there are, the less time it will take for the user to fill out the form. Make sure your questions are relevant!
- Efficient: A simple form reduces the likelihood of potential clients becoming frustrated while filling it out. It helps increase the chances of inquiry form completion.
- Better user experience: A well-designed form, that is quick and easy to fill out, will enhance the user's overall experience. It leaves a positive impression of your brand.
- Use validation: Make use of inline form validation to ensure that users submit accurate and complete information.
By keeping the form simple, you'll make it more appealing to your clients. You will increase the chances of receiving all of the information needed to plan and manage events.
Only Ask For Relevant Information
By focusing on the information necessary for the upcoming event, you can improve the quality of the information you receive. By keeping questions relevant, you make filling out the form a more effortless process.
Asking only relevant questions also helps to reduce confusion and avoid frustrating users. A well-designed form enhances user experience and streamlines the event management process.
Carefully consider what information is essential for your event management strategy, and make sure that the form focuses on collecting only this information.
Confirm Submissions
By creating a submission confirmation, you assure users that their information has been received and that they can expect a speedy response. This automated confirmation, sent once the lead hits send on their inquiry form, helps to reduce confusion. It also prevents multiple submissions.
Confirming submissions can increase trust in your brand, as clients will feel more confident that their information is handled professionally.
Make It Mobile-Friendly
Over 60% of internet users today are browsing the web on their mobile phones. A mobile-friendly form provides a better user experience, as people can fill these out on any device they choose.
Adapting the form to different screen sizes and orientations makes it easier for all users to navigate and complete the form.
By considering the mobile experience and designing a form optimized for different devices, you can improve the chances of receiving completed submissions.
Conclusion
An event inquiry form can be a significant part of your customer experience. Clients should find it easy to reach out, check if your venue suits their requirements, and receive a quote.
After reading this guide, you should be well on your way to improving your inquiry forms.
Designing an event inquiry form can be a simple task. With venue management software like Perfect Venue, you can access tools that will turn those inquiries into bookings. Sign up for a 14-day free trial to see how Perfect Venue can support your event venue business.