form-cro

---
name: form-cro
description: Use when optimizing a lead capture, contact, demo request, application, survey, or checkout form on fields, copy, layout, or completion rate.
category: Marketing
version: 1.0.0
tools: []
---

# Form CRO

Maximize form completion rates while still capturing the data that actually matters — for lead capture, contact, demo request, application, survey, and checkout forms.

## Initial Assessment

Search the Knowledge Base for product-marketing context before asking questions; use what's there and only ask for what's missing.

Identify before recommending: **form type** (lead capture, contact, demo/sales request, application, survey/feedback, checkout, quote request); **current state** (field count, current completion rate, mobile vs. desktop split, where users abandon); **business context** (what happens to submissions, which fields are actually used in follow-up, any compliance/legal requirements).

## Core Principles

- **Field count** — every added field costs conversions. Lead-gen forms: 3–5 fields is the working ceiling; 7+ required fields is a high-priority finding unless the lead-qualification value is proven.
- **Required vs. optional** — every *required* field must justify itself with a documented downstream use. "Nice for sales" is not a justification; make it optional or cut it.
- **High-friction fields** — phone number, company size, and address are the biggest abandonment drivers on top-of-funnel forms. Demand justification, or move them to a step 2 / progressive-profiling stage.
- **Error recovery** — validate inline on blur, not on submit; use specific error copy ("Enter a work email," not "Invalid input"); never clear already-filled fields on error.
- **CTA** — value-specific button text ("Get my report") outperforms generic ("Submit").

## Method

Analyze the form definition first: count fields, compute the required-field ratio, flag high-friction fields (phone, address, company size on top-of-funnel forms), and assess whether the CTA copy is value-specific or generic. Those flags become the seed list for the audit below — each one gets an Issue / Impact / Fix / Priority entry.

## Output Format

**Form Audit**, per issue: Issue (what's wrong), Impact (estimated effect on conversions), Fix (specific recommendation), Priority (High/Medium/Low).

**Recommended Form Design:** required fields with justification, optional fields with rationale, recommended field order, copy (labels/placeholders/button), per-field error messages, and layout guidance.

**Test hypotheses** to A/B test, each with an expected outcome.

## Experiment Ideas

**Layout & flow** — single-step vs. multi-step with progress bar; 1-column vs. 2-column fields; embedded vs. separate-page form; vertical vs. horizontal alignment; form above the fold vs. after content.

**Field optimization** — reduce to the minimum viable set; add/remove phone number or company field; test required vs. optional balance; use field enrichment to auto-fill known data; hide fields for returning/known visitors.

**Smart forms** — real-time validation on emails/phones; progressive profiling (ask more over time); conditional fields based on earlier answers; auto-suggest for company names.

**Copy & design** — field label clarity/length; placeholder text; help text shown vs. hidden vs. on-hover; error-message tone (friendly vs. direct); button text/color/size/placement variations; trust elements (privacy assurance, trust badges, testimonial near the form, expected response time).

**Form-type specific:** demo request forms — test with/without phone requirement, add a preferred-contact-method choice, add a "what's your biggest challenge?" question, test calendar embed vs. form submission. Lead capture — email-only vs. email+name, value-prop messaging above the form, gated vs. ungated content, post-submission enrichment questions. Contact forms — department/topic routing dropdown, with/without required message field, alternative contact methods shown (chat, phone), expected response time messaging.

**Mobile & UX** — larger touch targets, correct keyboard type per field, sticky submit button, auto-focus the first field, card vs. minimal container styling.

## Task-Specific Questions

Current completion rate? Field-level analytics available? What happens to the data after submission? Which fields are actually used in follow-up? Compliance/legal requirements? Mobile vs. desktop split?

## Related Work

Hand off to a signup-flow-specific skill when the form being optimized is account creation or trial registration, not lead capture. Hand off to a popup-optimization skill when the form lives inside a modal, exit-intent popup, or slide-in rather than embedded on a page. Fix page-level issues first (weak headline, mismatched traffic, poor value prop) if the surrounding page is underperforming, not just the form. Hand off to A/B-test setup once specific hypotheses are ready. Hand off to analytics-tracking first if field-level drop-off data doesn't exist yet. Check existing ICP/qualification criteria before recommending which fields are truly necessary.

## Communication

Every field recommendation is justified — never "remove fields" without saying which and why. Audit output always uses the Issue/Impact/Fix/Priority structure. Multi-step vs. single-step recommendations always include the qualifying criteria for the choice. Mobile optimization is addressed separately from desktop, never conflated. Submit-button copy alternatives always come with at least 3 options and reasoning. Error-message rewrites are included whenever error handling is flagged as an issue.

## Proactive Triggers

Trigger a field audit and core-principles review on any complaint about form completion rates. Proactively offer a form-cro review whenever a demo-request or contact page is being built. Poor lead quality complaints ("we're getting leads but bad quality") usually signal wrong fields or missing qualification questions — recommend a field audit. A desktop-vs-mobile completion gap surfaced elsewhere should trigger the mobile optimization checklist. Any form with 7+ fields should immediately trigger the field-cost framework and a multi-step recommendation.

## Output Artifacts

Form Audit (Issue/Impact/Fix/Priority table). Recommended Field Set (justified required vs. optional list). Field Order & Layout Spec (annotated outline with mobile considerations). Submit Button Copy Options (3-option table with reasoning). A/B Test Hypotheses (hypothesis × variant × success metric × priority for the top 3–5 ideas).