User engagement has always been a challenge for every business. A more engaging solution came in the form of an exit intent survey. This type of tool aims to get feedback from users as they are getting out of the website. This type of website feedback tool has been great in giving insights into user behavior concerning exits and how to better deal with the users in question. This article will look at the use of exit intent surveys, their importance, and how to implement them in the best ways.
What is an Exit Intent Survey?
An exit intent survey is a website feedback mechanism that is particularly visible when a visitor is in the process of exiting a page. This tool is based on the detection of user behavior, identifying such actions as the movement of the cursor close to the cross or back buttons, and deploying a survey just before the user leaves the site.
Such surveys often include ‘exit’ questions whose primary purpose is to learn why a user has decided to leave the site without taking a desirable action e.g. purchasing or subscribing to a newsletter. By placing this context at the last possible moment just before the user exits, and then the businesses can gather feedback and highlight the weaknesses of the user experience and why this may have happened.
Benefits of Exit Intent Surveys
Identify Reasons for Abandonment
One of the main advantages of exit intent surveys is that they allow businesses to understand the reasons for users’ abandonment of their websites. Be it high shipping cost, complex checkout, lack of content, or anything else, exit intent surveys allow users to express their dissatisfaction. This information can then be used to develop strategies geared towards improving the website and consequently minimizing abandonment rates.
Improve User Experience
By collecting insights from users who have their sights set on leaving, a business can determine the deterrents of a positive user experience. For instance, users may complain of poor website navigation, unresponsive pages, or complex designs. This information can be helpful for businesses as they can make appropriate changes as a result causing less friction in the experience and increasing chances of retention.
Reduce Cart Abandonment
Cart abandonment is a typical problem in e-commerce, and many visitors do not convert into customers. Users are given an exit intent survey to solve this issue by finding out their reasons for leaving their carts behind. Once businesses know these reasons—for example, high unexpected shipping fees, or concerns over credit card fraud—changes can be made to bring down the rates of abandonment and increase conversions.
Boost Conversion Rates
In exit intent surveys, businesses have access to several pain points for which they can directly address the conversion rates. For example, where a great proportion of users report that they are unable to purchase due to the prices, a business can include in the exit survey a dynamic discount offer or free shipping. This action taken at this stage may help to persuade the users to abandon the process and enable them to either finish the purchase or subscribe to a service.
Gain Actionable Insights
Real-time, actionable data is what exit intent surveys offer to businesses. This is advantageous as it enables businesses to adapt and counter issues that would have been otherwise overlooked quickly. Rather than depend on conjecture or obsolete information, exit intent surveys allow businesses the opportunity to collect new, user-oriented information that will help to improve their strategies.
Best Practices for Implementing Exit Intent Surveys
Keep the Survey Short and Focused
With exit intent surveys, how long do you suggest the average survey should be? Users are already headed out, which means that they are unlikely to waste their time filling out long surveys. Rather aim to ask one or two very specific questions that will give the most pertinent data.
Time the Survey Appropriately
Exit intent surveys must be triggered appropriately, that is when the user is about to exit the site. Based on the advanced exit-intent technology, such a survey is deployed when the user is detected to be hovering the mouse on close or back buttons. This helps to make a feedback seeker without disrupting of brand experience.
Provide Incentives
Incentives can also be utilized to encourage users to stay on the platform and carry out the intended action – discounts or free shipping codes. For instance, an exit survey may offer a ten percent discount for submission or completion of the purchasing process.
Optimize for Mobile Devices
As more and more users are prone to visiting websites over their mobile devices, it has become essential that the exit intent survey has a good mobile view. The mobile survey must also be comfortable to read and respond to without the complication of scrolling, using only finger taps on the screen.
Personalize the Survey
Customizing the exit intent survey depending on the user activity or on the page from which a user is exiting can enhance the relevancy and engagement of the survey. For instance, when a user is leaving a product page, the survey can seek resolutions to product or price-related issues. When users drop out of the sales funnel featuring the shopping trolley, the survey can deal with matters about the trolley.
Analyze and Act on Feedback
Collecting feedback is just part of the process; it needs to be processed and acted upon. Businesses should not stop at measuring satisfaction and researching reasons for dissatisfaction – there might be problems related to price, technology, or usability, but those are the types of issues that warrant change on the website in response to information collected from exit intent surveys..
Key Takeaway
Exit intent surveys are one of the most useful website feedback elements that allow a company to understand its target audience, adapt to its critical issues as well as enhance its conversion rates. By soliciting such feedback from the users at the stage just before they exit the site, companies can learn the reasons behind users’ dropping off their course of action and the ways of improving the entire experience as a result.Â
When incorporated into a process the right way, exit intent surveys cut down on the rates of shopping cart abandonment, and increase shoppers’ satisfaction as well as the number of sales which makes such a tool a necessity for every improving website.
