Eva McKnight
A huge part of running any business is data collection and curation; whether it’s customer information, surveys, job applications or marketing information. And these days there are more and more digital tools to help business owners and individuals collect whatever information they need effectively and efficiently.
We recently checked in with Eva McKnight, a PR specialist with online form builder Formstack, who shares how sites like hers can do everything from helping people save money to developing marketing leads, and even planning an event.
“We’ve actually spoken to several customers who have used Formstack to plan their weddings,” Eva says. “Because all form submissions are securely stored in each user’s Formstack account, it makes it easy to collect and organize RSVPs, catering and other contracts, and addresses.”
Here’s what Eva had to say about how Formstack can make your next big project easier:
Tell us about Formstack. What services do you offer?
Formstack provides its users with an easy-to-use online form-building solution that quickly creates a gateway for online data collection. Our drag and drop builder gives customers the power to quickly build a variety of branded forms, such as contact forms, event registration forms and surveys. We integrate with more than 30 other web apps, making it easy to automate any data cycle. Formstack users can use its forms to collect payments, contact information for email lists, and any other data needed to run their businesses or departments. Formstack is not only a data collection tool, but also a gateway to help businesses and digital marketers manage more efficiently and capture leads more aggressively.
Who should be using Formstack?
Formstack caters to a variety of different industries because it’s so simple to create any type of online form, including higher education, small business, web design and nonprofit. A growing segment of Formstack customers hold positions in marketing communications or digital marketing management. This audience relies on Formstack to quickly build and deploy branded forms so they can consistently engage with their target markets, reducing the wait or need for IT assistance.
What sets your site apart from other online form builders?
In October, Formstack launched a new feature called Approval Workflow, which allows users to approve, deny, or comment on form submissions. It gives our customers the power to quickly collaborate on data, reducing the paper chase and information delay. For example, if a team is collecting applications for a job opening, Approval Workflow allows a user to screen the candidates in Formstack and approve the candidates they like. Then, this information can be passed to or accessed by a supervisor or coworker, keeping the data streamlined.
Besides Approval Workflow, we also offer a wider selection of in-app integrations and mobile apps on iOS, Android and Windows Phones.
How can your product help small businesses save money?
Our ability to integrate with popular web apps like email marketing and CRM platforms make it easy for users to create a custom marketing automation solution. By passing form data to the other marketing tools a business already uses, there is no need to use a larger, full-platform marketing solution to consolidate customer engagement. Additionally, Formstack provides substantial time savings, as it previously would have taken hours to manually code a form.
How can Formstack help business owners collect marketing leads?
Our forms are a great gateway for collecting customer information and passing it to the next level of each business’ marketing cycle. If you are active in email marketing, place an email field on your form, and that data can automatically be added to an email list. If your marketing team works closely with your sales department, submitted data can also be passed to CRM platforms, making it easy for sales to continually engage with prospective customers.
What are some tips/best practicing for creating online forms?
Formstack offers a full access 14-day free trial, so we encourage users to spend the first two weeks creating a variety of forms and exploring the many features that Formstack offers. We also maintain a tips and tricks blog, where we frequently post new content and tutorials. Also, we encourage all users to reach out to our support and sales team with questions about new features or how to maximize their Formstack plans.
Thanks for your time and insight, Eva! Follow Formstack on Facebook and Twitter.