Entry pop-ups are annoying. Online consumers hate arriving at a
website, only to be immediately bombarded by an in-your-face
message intended to distract them into taking the action the
website owner wants. The pop-up message is almost never relevant,
and the timing is so inappropriate that it can annoy visitors into
leaving. So are pop-ups dead? Not exactly. There's a pop-up
which, if relevant and timed right, can be an effective and
nonintrusive marketing tool: exit pop-ups.
Since they're displayed as visitors leave the site, exit
pop-ups don't distract your potential customers from completing
their mission: conducting research, placing an order or some other
action. At the end of their visit, they're more receptive to
seeing your marketing message. You can use an exit pop-up to do one
of two things:
1. Invite them to take additional action. You can create
a pop-up to invite your website visitors to subscribe to your
e-zine, download a special report, request a free quote or shop now
to receive a discount. These may encourage your site visitors to
order before they go, or at least give you their names and e-mail
addresses so you may communicate with them in the future.
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2. Ask them to complete a survey. You can learn from your
visitors how to improve your site by asking a few survey questions
in your exit pop-up. Ask three or fewer questions, and offer a list
of possible answers. You could ask questions about who your
visitors are, what they want or what they didn't find on your
site.
You could even use an exit pop-up to survey visitors and market
to them simultaneously. For example, if you have a gift-basket
site, you could ask which kinds of baskets they're interested
in and invite them to sign up for your online gift-reminder
service.
While entry pop-ups often fail because they're
inappropriately timed and irrelevant, exit pop-ups can help you
serve your marketing objectives and your potential customers. You
may persuade them to stay longer now and return later.