How to Use Your "Contact Us" Form

Increase your visibility online, grow your marketing subscribers, keep track of inquiries, and make it simple for your customers to reach you! An easy-to-use "Contact Us" form helps to lock in value for restaurant websites.

 

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Contents:

1. Why Do You Need a "Contact Us" Form?

2. "Contact Us" at a Glance

3. Receiving and Responding to Inquiries 

4. Customizing the "Contact Us" Form

Why Do You Need a "Contact Us" Form?

It's a simple way to put in a good word with Google - increasing how many searching diners see you online - while also allowing a simple way for customers to contact your business. 

Your form offers the most streamlined communication, preventing visitors from going through the tedious process of opening third-party applications or mailing systems. All while organizing outreach directly within your SpotHopper platform.

Plus, the contact form boosts your marketing campaigns by gathering more subscribers. Every visitor who reaches out through your contact form gives you permission to add them to your mailing list–just like your other SpotHopper inquiry forms.

"Contact Us" At a Glance

Your "Contact Us" form appears as a small message icon in the lower right corner of your homepage.

When your customers click on it, a pop-up appears, prompting them to choose a reason for submitting their inquiry:

There are five different types of inquiries your customers can submit through this form:

1. Special events or private parties

2. Catering 

3. Reservations

4. Job applications

5. Other

If you have a dedicated page for Private Parties, Catering, Reservations, and/or Jobs, hitting the "Next" button will direct your customers there.

Otherwise, a pop-up with a detailed form to be filled out will appear. Your customers will fill out the same form if they choose the "Other" reason, as well. This ensures that you will never lose out on potential revenue. Instead, you will always see what your customers are willing to spend money on at your business.

Your "Contact Us" form is also customizable. If you don't want all five inquiry types on your website, go to "Contact Form Inquiries" and click on "Settings" to adjust this.

Then toggle the specific inquiries off and make sure to click on "Save Changes." 

Receiving and Responding to Inquiries

As with any other type of inquiry, submissions through the "Contact Us" form will notify you via email and instantly appear in your SpotHopper account.

To view them in SpotHopper, go to "Contact Form Inquiries" under "Sales & Inquiries." All of the submissions will be listed under the "List View."

For new inquiries, you will even get a notification alert:

To view the details and respond to the inquiry, either click on the underlined name of your customer or the notification pop-up.

You can even leave an internal note regarding the inquiry visible only to you and your team managing your SpotHopper account. The note will not be sent to your customer.

To respond, scroll down to the "Message Your Customer" section, write down your response, and click the "Send" button.

 

How Does This Look from Your Customer's Point of View?

When your customer submits their filled-out form, they will see a pop-up indicating that their inquiry has been received.

Once you respond, they will receive an email from the SpotHopper's Inquiry Coordinator email.

If your customers reply back, you will be notified via email and their message will be shown in SpotHopper with the status clearly marked 'waiting on you.' You'll never be left guessing again if it's on the customer or yourself to respond next.

Customizing Your "Contact Us" Form

To customize the look and change the settings for your "Contact Us" form, go to "Contact Form Inquiries" under "Sales & Inquiries," and click on the "Settings" tab.

From there, you'll have the option to edit:

The Layout of the Form

You can customize the title of the form (maximum number of characters - 12), and craft a description that will encourage your customers to submit their inquiries.

This will be reflected only on the form, and not the initial "Contact Us" pop-up

Gather Texting Permissions

Want to grow your texting subscribers as well? Then, make sure to toggle the option for your customers to be able to opt-in for text messages when filling out the form.

Add Your Email Address for Alerts

Finally, you have the option to choose the email address the "Contact Us" inquiries will be sent to.

Once you've customized the settings, don't forget to hit "Save Changes" in the lower right corner of the screen.