Client Intake Form

How to turn your boring intake questionnaire into a competitive advantage

There’s no way around it. If you’re dealing with clients and need to collect their information, you need to use some sort of intake questionnaire.

Whether you’re a nutritionist, a counselor or a medical doctor, the goal of your intake forms is to gather the information you need in order to give your clients what they’re paying you for. This usually leads to long forms, that demand time and patience from them.

Here at IntakeQ, we think that the role of intake forms is underplayed. We see intake forms as the first interaction between you and your newly acquired customer. Being sloppy about how you present them can send a poor message about the quality of your work.

Moreover, studies have shown that the old saying “your first impression is your last impression” actually has some truth to it. Once a client forms a negative opinion about your service, it can take a significant amount of effort to undo it. So why would you gamble with the first impression you’re giving?

If when a prospect says “okay, let’s work together, tell me what to do”, your reply is along the lines of “print and fill out this long form that I emailed you and bring them to me”, then you’re doing it wrong.

I won’t even go into how ineffective it is from a practical standpoint and how you’re missing on the opportunity to provide value sooner (I’ll save it for another article). Instead, I’ll focus on the message you’re sending to your clients and how you can turn this awkward process into your advantage.

No one likes doing paperwork and your clients are probably not the exception. Many of them are already used to doing most things online, like renewing their driver’s license, paying bills, applying for jobs, connecting with friends and even dating. If you’re sending paperwork to your clients, you’re just making it harder for them to work with you.

With IntakeQ, you can use this to your own advantage. When you eliminate paperwork in favor of a beautifully branded electronic intake form, that your clients can easily fill out in the comfort of their own home, you start out by sending the right message. It not only says that you care about quality and efficiency, but also about their experience.

Most importantly, it sets you apart. Since paper intake forms are still the norm, your clients will be pleasantly surprised when they see your well crafted online questionnaire, and this will definitely create the best first impression you could hope for.

If you’re not convinced, sign up for our free trial and start using e-forms with your patients. I bet you’ll start receiving compliments before the end of the trial, as most of our customers do.