Discussions
Difference between regular forms and Blind forms

Hello All,
I'm implementing Eloqua since from last one year. And recently our organisation wants to use the blind forms instead of normal regular forms.
My question is what is the major difference b/w the normal forms and blind forms and which is the best practice for us to implement.
will this effect on the click through rates.
Thanks
Bhavani Prasad
Answers
-
Hello @User_AL5R9,
Here are my definitions for these two form types.
A standard visible form is displayed on the landing page and the audience has to fill in their details to access the gated content.
i.e. Submitting a visible registration form for a webinar or event. Submitting a visible form to download an eBook.
A blind form submit (bfs) is hidden, and the audience doesn't know that a submission is triggered on their behalf. Read more here: https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/saas/marketing/eloqua-user/Help/Forms/Tasks/CreatingBlindFormSubmitLinks.htm#:~:text=A%20blind%20form%20submit%20link,for%20you%20and%20your%20contact. If you add the elqTrack=true parameter, then these bfs will also be counted as email clicks. Otherwise, you can see the interactions in the form submission data.
i.e. Clicking on a CTA. Let's say you send an email promoting an eBook, but you don't want to gate it. However, you do want to track the clicks and trigger immediate follow-up actions. In this case, you can use a bfs.
i.e. 2 Click on a CTA to cancel an event registration. People should be able to cancel an event registration with a simple click, rather than submitting another form manually. So, in this case, you can build a bfs to collect the cancellations and process them accordingly in Eloqua.
There is also another form type called cloud form submissions. This is added on canvases and helps you process data and trigger actions for specific audiences. Read more here: https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/saas/marketing/eloqua-user/Help/Apps/FormSubmitAction/Tasks/AddFormSubmitActionToCanvas.htm?Highlight=cloud%20form%20submits
i.e. Importing LinkedIn audiences to Eloqua and processing their data to store it to different CDOs, adding them to shared lists, and triggering follow-up emails.
Regarding best practices, I wouldn't say one form type is better than another. It depends on your use case and which one accommodates it better.
Hope this helps,
Ioana