Many Australian SMEs struggle with a common website challenge: getting visitors to fill out forms. Long forms deter people, but short forms don’t give us enough information to properly qualify leads. Progressive profiling offers a smart solution – increasing form conversion rates without sacrificing the quality of data we collect.

Essentially, progressive profiling means asking for information gradually, over multiple interactions. Instead of hitting someone with a ten-question form the first time they show interest, we start with just a few key details – perhaps name and email address. With each subsequent interaction, like downloading a resource or registering for a webinar, we ask for a little more information. This feels less intrusive and builds trust.

Here’s what we’ve found works well for our clients:

• Focus on behavioural triggers: Don’t just randomly ask for more data. Tie requests to valuable actions. Someone downloading a case study? That’s a good time to ask about their industry.
• Prioritise data fields: Identify the information that *really* impacts your sales and marketing efforts. Don’t ask for data just because you can. Think about what helps you segment, personalise, and score leads effectively.
• Use smart forms: Invest in a marketing automation platform with smart form capabilities. These tools automatically show different fields to returning visitors based on what you already know about them.
• Maintain data hygiene: Progressive profiling only works if the data we collect is accurate. Regularly cleanse your database and implement validation rules to minimise errors.

The benefit isn’t just higher conversion rates. By building a more complete picture of each lead over time, we can deliver more relevant content and offers, improving engagement and ultimately, driving more sales. We’re seeing clients achieve up to a 20% increase in lead quality when implementing a well-planned progressive profiling strategy.

If you’re looking to improve your website conversion rates and get more value from your lead generation efforts, we recommend starting with a simple A/B test. Shorten your existing forms and see if you can maintain – or even improve – data quality. From there, you can explore more sophisticated progressive profiling techniques.