Forms are the cornerstone of turning website traffic into leads, customers and revenue. Capable form builders like Formidable Forms make it easier than ever to create custom lead capture, contact forms and surveys for your WordPress site.
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But as your forms start collecting hundreds or even thousands of entries daily, processing and managing that data at scale quickly becomes painful. What if you could automatically route form submissions to the right apps and teams for instant follow-ups?
That‘s exactly what integration platforms like Zapier enable – making it simple to connect Formidable Forms to CRMs, email marketing, analytics, storage and 1000+ other web services.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll dig deeper into the most effective ways to fully automate formidable forms beyond basic data capture. Whether you want to streamline lead management, send highly personalized post-submission messages or build cross-app logic with workflow automations, let‘s get started!
The Rising Popularity of NoCode Tools Like Formidable and Zapier
The demand for easy-to-use, drag and drop tools that can simplify complex business processes is evident.
According to MarketsandMarkets research, the no-code development platforms market is projected to grow from $13.2 billion in 2021 to $187 billion, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29.2% from 2022 to 2030.
Clearly, offering solutions that empower anyone to build apps, workflows and forms without coding knowledge has revolutionized many industries. Small business owners are relying on tools like:
- Form builders – To quickly spin up data collection mechanisms (Formidable Forms, TypeForm)
- Automation platforms – To connect workflows across web apps and APIs (Zapier, Integromat)
- Low code tools – To launch internal systems and customer portals (Appian, Quickbase)
In particular, Formidable Forms by Strategy11 has become the go-to form builder within the WordPress ecosystem.
With over 1 million active installs globally, Formidable Forms be used by bloggers, agencies, directory sites and SMBs alike for 100% front-end data capture.
Leading research firms Progressive CIO and GoodFirms have consistently rated Formidable Forms among the top form builder tools over the past few years.
It stands out with its drag-and-drop editor, flexible layout options, multi-page form workflows and hundreds of field/widget types to optimize data collection.
Advanced features like multi-lingual support, conditional logic, calculated fields and partial submissions enable powerful enterprise-grade forms as well.
On the integrations side, Zapier is the market leader when it comes to pre-built automation recipes and simple interfaces to connect web apps.
The cloud-based platform now supports over 5000 unique app combinations through intuitive zaps and triggers without needing developer resources.
Over 7 million users rely on Zapier to instantly move and manage their data across tools like Gmail, Slack, Trello, Hubspot and more.
The addition of capabilities like filters, delays, error handling, nested logic, and chaining multiple steps have essentially allowed anyone to build complex workflows just like an application developer.
As Formidable Forms captures exponential amounts of raw data, Zapier provides the missing automation layer to transport it instantly across sales, marketing and analytics systems.
Now, let‘s explore some common ways business owners are leveraging these incredible tools in tandem to accelerate growth.
Automating New Lead Capture and Management
Forms are most commonly used in SaaS, agencies and SMBs to identify new potential customers and build a sales pipeline.
Let‘s see how a Zapier integration can instantly organize submissions as structured lead records across your stack.
Push New Leads to Popular CRM and Marketing Tools
The most popular template zaps connect Formidable Form conversions directly to lead/contact management systems like:
- Salesforce – Adds new lead with details like name, company, location etc
- HubSpot – Creates organized contact records automatically
- ActiveCampaign – Sign up interested contacts to segmented email lists
- Zoho – Builds your CRM database with enriched customer data
Here‘s a sample zap that enriches your Salesforce instance with every new Formidable form submission:
The benefit of such integrations is instant availability of new lead data within relevant sales and marketing tools without manual exports or updates.
This means sales teams can immediately view/assign new prospects for timely follow-ups. Email marketers can set up contextual nurture campaigns based on lead info.
According to Salesforce research, over 80% of sales require 5+ follow-up calls with stakeholders over time before closing. Yet 44% of companies give up after a single attempt in contacting prospects.
Automations are key to enabling prompt yet structured outreach at scale. Segmented messaging ensures contacts only get content specific to their needs and interests.
Custom API and Database Options
For advanced use cases, Formidable form data can also get routed to internal company APIs (application programming interfaces) and databases.
Companies rely on specialized systems like Oracle, SAP etc. for managing operations, inventory, logistics etc.
Instead of migrating entire legacy infrastructures, Zapier enables modular integrations. Interested leads get fed directly into relevant backend platforms beyond the CRM.
Companies can also build custom REST/SOAP APIs using open frameworks like NodeJS, Laravel etc. These act as the glue connecting modern SaaS tools with on-premise servers.
For example, new customer sign ups on a Shopify store may need syncing across quoted legacy systems like:
This hybrid model brings together the best of modern and legacy tech stacks. Form data seamlessly flows across front-end UIs (Shopify) to document databases like MongoDB while also updating transactional systems like Oracle DB.
Advanced Marketing Automations with Ontraport, Drip, and More
For advanced lead nurturing capabilities, integration options like Ontraport and Drip allow configurable multi-touch attribution. Meet prospects where they are in the buying journey with tailored content.
Key capabilities enabled through these platforms include:
❏ Smart lead scoring algorithms
❏ Segment contacts by demographics, interests, activity metrics
❏ Timed and conditional nurture sequences
❏ A/B testing on emails, landing pages, offers
❏ Accurate ROI measurement across channels
Say your freelance consultancy business relies on organic traffic, referrals and cold outreach for new leads. Each cohort discovers your brand differently and has varied expectations.
Ontraport lets you model the ideal path using milestones. An effective sequence may involve:
- Visitor fills out services inquiry form on site
- Gets added to relevant list with tags like "new-lead, ad-agency"
- Receives personalized email + content offer from segment advisor
- Advisor doesinbound call to discuss initial needs
- Lead enrolled into detailed nurture campaign if interested
- Converts to trial customer post demos/discovery call
Now your entire sales playbooks is codified to adapt depending on lead activity. Focus on qualified opps instead of spraying and praying!
Advanced Post-Submission and Operational Workflows
Simpler zaps help organize incoming data to relevant stakeholders. More advanced options entirely eliminate repetitive tasks via automated multi-step follow-ups.
Send Personalized Confirmation Messages
Double conversions and customer satisfaction by sending an instant "thanks for submitting" email to each new lead or contact request.
Custom variables allow personalization with merge fields from the form like first name. Dynamic text lets your include submission details like inquiry type, requested service etc. directly within message body for relevance.
Attach PDF proposals, recommended content offers, special promotions etc. based on form details provided for increased relevance.
Transactional and triggered emails often see 3-4x more open rates compared to batch blasts. Yet, most businesses fail to utilize them effectively despite apps like Formidable Forms capturing the perfect trigger data points.
Auto-Schedule Meetings with Calendly/Acuity
Inbound leads often need quick discovery calls before moving opportunities forward. Yet, coordinating schedules with multiple prospects via email is tedious and has delays.
Now you can instantly enroll each new submission into a booking portal like Calendly or Acuity with just a few clicks:
Sales reps simply share available time slots on their calendar. Interested leads pick an open slot upon form submission that syncs down instantly to the rep‘s Outlook, Google Calendar or iCalendar.
No more waiting days or weeks for perfect timings – boost sales velocity today!
Organize and Analyze Incoming Data at Scale
Tracking form metrics and having easy access to lead data quickly becomes unmanageable beyond a few hundred monthly entries.
Unlock enterprise-grade analytics and databases to measure ROI while collaborating across teams – all via automation.
Store Unlimited Entries in Cloud Storage
First, configure bulk archival of all form submissions collected over time into secure, shareable platforms like:
Google Drive – Access submission data from anywhere through the Spreadsheet format
Dropbox – Share uploaded file attachments seamlessly across team members
Box, OneDrive – Take backups and build audit trails with unlimited cloud storage
This helps overcome Formidable Forms restrictions like 5000 maximum entries for the free tier.
Build Custom Reporting Dashboards
Simply dumping data in spreadsheets is just the first step. Transforming insights is where business intelligence tools like Klipfolio shine:
Now you can build TV-style interactive dashboards to showcase key trends:
❏ Entries volume and projections over time
❏ Most popular lead sources, form types and fields
❏ Conversion rates segmented by campaign, referrer etc
❏ Customer satisfaction and NPS benchmarks
Share across the org on TVs or central knowledge hubs to drive visibility.
Sentiment Analysis of Open-Ended Feedback
Understand true customer needs and expectations from long-form question responses leveraging AI-powered language models like AWS Comprehend.
Uncover:
❏ Key topics and concepts mentioned by users
❏ Detect levels of positive/negative sentiment
❏ Auto tag/group kindred feedback for aggregation
This provides a pulse on hot pain points and feature requests even before manual inspection. Prioritize research that moves metrics!
Creative Cross-App Automation Recipes
While info capture forms provide the base data layer, creativity really unlocks potential here!
Let‘s explore some unconventional use cases next.
Build Quizzes, Surveys and Assessments
Form building isn‘t just for standard lead capture or contact forms. The versatile Formidable Forms editor lets you model multiple complex structures like:
❏ Multi-step wizard workflows spanning 20+ fields
❏ Quizzes and tests with advanced logic for scoring
❏ Employ assessments for capturing sentiments
This allows moving beyond basic data entry to interactive experiences.
Say you want website visitors to take a short LTV or demographic analysis quiz before accessing gated offers.
You can capture responses across various stages while using conditional logic to validate and provide instant feedback along the way!
Notify Team Members of Priority Issues
Convert certain submission types like critical bugs or priority feature requests into Slack notifications.
Set up tagging and custom messaging so relevant owners are alerted on selected channels.
Separate noise from urgent items in your inbox. Support differentiation is key here to managing growing customer bases.
Update Ecommerce Platforms Upon Purchase
If a customer provides additional details on a WooCommerce order form at checkout, append info back like new address, special instructions etc. directly to their order record.
Support agents access 50%+ more context when fulfilling requests without needing manual lookups across platforms.
Verify Event Attendance or Badge Pickup
Have on-site event staff confirm attendee check-ins via form scans. Sync verified entries back to your master event registration sheet.
You now have full audit trails even for physical events held externally across cities!
These are but a few examples showcasing the versatility of Formidable Forms and Zapier beyond basic data capture tools.
Key Metrics and Benchmarks for Form + Automations Success
Like any digital transformation initiative, size ROI and optimize theOps processes for efficiency:
Volume
❏ Form entries per month
❏ Growth trends over time
❏ Identify seasonal or campaign peaks
Conversion
❏ Bounces rates on key forms
❏ Fall off tracking across multi step flows
❏ Improvement areas for form design
Lead Quality
❏ Ratio of quality vs irrelevant submissions
❏ Profile high value segments
❏ Update form fields/paths to attract 20% of traffic driving 80% revenue
Automations
❏ Tasks hours saved from manual processes
❏ Multi touch attribution from workflows
❏ Automations adoption across teams
Satisfaction
❏ User ratings for form relevancy
❏ Customer feedback velocity and sentiment
❏ Churn or unsubscribe rate
The building blocks are now in your hands! Experiment ruthlessly and grow faster by taking advantage of these incredible platforms.
Let me know in comments if you have any other creative ideas or examples on topics like:
❏ Reporting/BI analytics
❏ Payment integrations
❏ Form + docs generation use cases
❏ Cool conditional logic recipes
