Does an I don’t know answer lift lead form conversion?

Our lead form asked visitors how much they owed, and some were not sure. We tested softer wording, and an I don't know answer that kept the slider amount. Over 50 days, the I don't know answer lifted conversion 15.5% and lead value per visitor 26.7%.

Won Responsive 50 days Called at 90%

SURFACE

Lead form

DEVICE

Responsive

VERTICAL

Lead Gen (CPL)

PRIMARY METRIC

Conversion rate

VARIATIONS

2

The hypothesis

By softening the language on the form, we will make it easier for visitors to move through it with less anxiety, resulting in more leads.

The form asked visitors to set the amount they owed on a slider. Visitors who did not know their exact total had to guess, which can stall a form or make it feel like a test.

We tried 2 ways to ease that: softer wording, and a way to say they were not sure.

What we changed

Softer wording, or an I don't know answer on the debt amount step

Var A softened the wording on the form. Var B added an I don't know answer to the debt amount step, which passed along the amount the slider was set to, so the lead still carried a figure.

VAR A: SOFTER COPY

Softer wording on the form

VAR B: I DON'T KNOW

I don't know answer on the debt amount step
Passes the current slider amount

The result

An I don't know answer lifted conversion 15.5%

CONVERSION RATE

+15.5%

LEAD VALUE PER VISITOR

+26.7%

HIGH-VALUE LEADS

+28.0%

Over 50 days, the I don't know answer (Var B) converted 15.5% better than the original and lifted lead value per visitor 26.7%. High-value leads rose 28.0%, a gain that cleared our confidence bar. Softer wording (Var A) converted 4.3% worse. We implemented Var B.

What we took from it

Visitors unsure of their debt total needed a way to answer

Visitors who did not know their exact total no longer had to guess or leave. The new answer let them move on, and because it passed the slider amount, each lead still carried a debt figure. Softer wording alone did not help.