An enquiry form on the card: how not to lose the people who wanted to contact you
There is a whole group of interested people who will never call you. Not because they did not want to, but because it is 23:40, because they are on a bus, because they are embarrassed to ask about price, or because they are checking three suppliers and do not want a conversation with any of them yet. That group disappears without a trace, which is exactly why it is easy not to know it exists. A short form is what turns it from zero into real enquiries.
Three fields, not seven
Every extra field lowers the number of people who finish. A name, a phone number and a free-text message are almost always enough, because everything else can be asked on the call back. The temptation to add fields is a wish to arrive at the conversation prepared, and its price is fewer conversations at all. If you must have a fourth field, make it one, and make it genuinely important.
What is written above the form decides how many fill it in
"Contact us" is an empty heading. A sentence that says what will happen after they fill it in works far better, for example "leave your details and we will come back to you the same working day". It removes the main worry, which is not knowing whether anyone will even see it. If you reply within an hour, say an hour. If it is two days, say two days; an accurate promise beats a generous one you will not keep.
What happens to an enquiry once it arrives
This is where businesses lose leads they have already won. An enquiry that lands in an inbox is swallowed among twenty other messages, and one written on a scrap of paper is lost. On our card every enquiry is stored in a leads inbox with the name, phone, message and time, you can set a status and add an internal note, and delete when you are done. We went into that side in the guide to managing a digital business card.
Response speed is nearly the whole story
Someone who left their details usually left them elsewhere too, or at least considered it. The gap between an answer within the hour and an answer tomorrow is usually the gap between a deal and "we already went with someone". If you cannot answer immediately, at least acknowledge receipt in a short message and say when you will come back. That keeps the enquiry alive.
Alongside the messaging button, not instead of it
A form does not replace a messaging button, it catches a different audience. Some people prefer to open an immediate conversation and some prefer to leave details and wait, and both options are cheap to offer. The only mistake is showing just one of them and assuming everyone behaves the same way.
Do not miss the people who did not call
Build a card for free with an enquiry form and an organised leads inbox. You only pay when you publish.
Create a cardFrequently asked questions
How many fields is too many?
Above four it starts to hurt noticeably. Name, phone and message are the base that works for most businesses. Email is only worth it if you genuinely reply by email.
How do I stop spam in the form?
The form on the card includes protections invisible to the visitor that filter automated submissions, without asking a real person to solve a puzzle. There is nothing you need to add.
Do enquiries also arrive by email?
They are stored in the card's leads inbox in the dashboard, where they stay organised and do not get lost. It is worth checking it regularly, exactly as you would check messages.
The SimplyCard team
Digital business card specialists
We build SimplyCard, a simple way for small businesses to create a professional digital business card. We write about first impressions, practical marketing and turning introductions into customer enquiries.