# Form tracker that explains next steps: +20% conversion rate

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Lead form (Lead-gen)
- Elements: Progress bar, Next steps
- Date shared: 2017
- Test run by: [HomEquity Bank](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/homequity-bank/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/how-homequity-caters-to-seniors
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/homequity-form-next-steps-tracker/

HomEquity Bank replaced the progress tracker on its inquiry form with a next steps tracker that explains what happens after submitting, and saw a 20% lift in conversion rate. The bank's digital team ran the test, and it was published as a MarketingSherpa case study in 2017. HomEquity Bank sells the CHIP reverse mortgage to Canadian homeowners aged 55 and older.

## Result

**+20% conversion rate**

- Conversion rate: +20% compared with the plain progress tracker.
- This came after a 35% lift from adding the original progress tracker.
- No sample size, duration or confidence level was shared.

## Control

The multi-step inquiry form with a progress tracker showing where the visitor was in the form.

## Variant

The form with a next steps tracker that also showed what would happen after the inquiry was sent.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- People asking about a reverse mortgage want to know what they are signing up for, and seeing the next steps answers that.
- Showing the process past the form makes submitting feel like a small, known step, not a commitment.
- The bank found trust was a strong motivator for its older audience, and clarity builds trust.

## Caveats

The source does not show the exact wording of the next steps or describe the test setup, sample size or duration. The audience is Canadians aged 55 and older.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we show what happens after the form is submitted, then more visitors will submit because they know what to expect next.
- Primary metric: Form conversion rate
- Guardrail: Lead-to-contact rate
- Guardrail: Drop-off at the final step
- Guardrail: Sales call show rate
- Who should test it: Lead-gen businesses where an inquiry starts a longer process, such as a call, a quote or an approval. It matters less when the form delivers something instant, like a download.

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Credit: HomEquity Bank ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/homequity-form-next-steps-tracker/).
Usage: Free to use, quote and build on, with credit and a link: name the practitioner or organization that ran the test and link to its LiftArchive page. The results belong to the practitioners who ran and shared them; the summaries and commentary are LiftArchive's.