One common concern if you’re a website owner or a digital marketer is the website conversion numbers. Everyone wants their website visitors to take some action and eventually convert into a paying customer rather than just bouncing back or leaving the site.  Raising website conversion numbers is done through multiple approaches. You might have tried out many among those, and would have found them rewarding as well. 

Using popups is an excellent way of improving website conversions. Now, popups, in general, are those boxes that popup instantly while on a website. These attention-grabbing boxes can appear based on one’s scrolling speed, cursor movements or even appear in fixed intervals of time. 

Among the different types of popups, the Exit-Intent popup is a very effective one. The Exit-Intent popup attempts to convince people to subscribe to newsletters or emails even if they are not ready to be an immediate paying customer.  It works based on cursor movements but it has a lot of other complementing factors as well for making it work effectively. 

If you need killer exit-intent popups that convert, just give us a try. Our experts are here to help!

So what is Exit-Intent technology?

Exit-Intent technology monitors website visitors’ mouse movements and detects when a visitor is about to leave the website without opting-in to your services or purchasing something. This technology detects when the cursor goes out of the site’s content area (i.e when the user plans to leave or shut the tab) and then initiates an Exit-Intent popup. 

Exit-Intent popup and your growing business

A well-timed popup has the potential to re-engage website visitors before leaving. Say, after a minute of user inactivity show a popup to grab their attention back with the right deal and re-engage them. 

Suppose if a person added some products to the cart and was about to leave without buying them, then an Exit-Intent popup can be a saviour. The popup can simply display a discount coupon code (because the potential customer was worried about its price and decided to leave the cart) or even remind them about the products in their cart. 

The purpose is simple, offering a discount coupon code can help in immediate sales; a conversion! This allows second thought in the potential customers’ minds. Imagine how easily this practice could reduce e-Cart abandonments.

Engaging people in surveys can help in optimizing the website by understanding the needs & intent of the visitor. 

The most widely used popup format asks for the user’s email Id, which helps to expand the email list. 

When a visitor opts-in and provides their email Id, it can be made useful for maintaining a healthy relationship with potential customers (contacting the prospect via personal emails regarding offers,  sending newsletters, etc). 

This constant engagement can aid future remarketing since we can remind potential customers about our website and services.  

If it tracks only cursor movements, will it work on mobile devices?

We know the fact that Exit-Intent popup works only when the cursor leaves the site’s content area. It is also evident that mobile devices cannot use this functionality. Yet some have developed Exit-Intent popup for mobile. 

For obvious reasons, Exit-Intent technology works differently on mobile devices. On mobile devices, this technology works based on two things, one is when the user tries to switch the tab and other when the user tries to press the “back” button because these are the efforts made by the user for leaving the site.

Why is Exit-Intent popup working?

• Website visitors need to decide whether to interact with the popup, provide their details, or close the popup since it pops up in the center of the page. This urges the user to re-invest time on the website.
• When a visitor wants to leave the website for the next mission, their mind is open for a new task. Now is the best moment to grab their attention and give them a luring deal. It’s important to offer something useful to them. 

How to make it work?

Exit-Intent popups can be efficiently worked out if visual and psychological factors are considered. Both influence a person’s choices to respond positively or negatively to the popup. 

Popups and its visual impact

• The shape of the popup can have an impact on the viewer. Say, using a circle-shaped popup can attract the user’s attention as it is different from the regular rectangle or square-shaped popups. 
• Using appropriate font name, size, style, etc. while designing the Exit-Intent popup helps in conveying the message in the popup better. For instance, using a bigger font size or simply a bold font for certain words (for example, “Flat 10% off”) emphasizes their importance.
• Fewer the fields, lesser the chances of people not choosing to opt-in. Do not ask for a lot of information because people may be busy at that point of time or simply lazy to type a lot of information. Also, minimalism is highly appreciated by people these days.
• Odd colour schemes can greatly influence the visitor’s subsequent action; you can try to use font and background colours that complement each other.
• Using images can be attractive and help in boosting conversion. In fact, any form of visual data can be useful in attracting people; using infographics is a great idea!

Popups and its psychological impact

• A proper CTA (call to action) is the foremost important part of Exit-Intent popups. The  CTA can be anything based on its relevance to the respective customer. Suppose a visitor plans to leave the site, offering them a free eBook download is an effective CTA.  A visitor spent a fairly good time on the site and decided to leave, inviting them to engage in a fun survey could help. Similarly, reminding them about what’s on their cart if its left without purchase is a possible CTA.
• Using creative language like short and simple catchy phrases, humour to hold users up.
• Popups that show a timer (say, time left to redeem the special offer) can create a sense of urgency in the minds of the users.
• Provide them with some value. For instance, offer them a free eBook or any other form of valuable content. This is a good way of keeping potential customers from opting out.
• Asking for a piece of additional information that can help in email personalization rather than just asking for the email id is a good practice. This information can be the user’s name, but always keep in mind that asking beyond this could annoy the user and prevent them from opting-in.
• If you intend to provide a discount coupon code via popup, make sure it is relevant to the user’s search and intention(something sensible to the visitor) so that they feel they’re benefiting from it. This is why the right popup message for the right person can aid conversions.
• Offering something unique in the popup differing from that on the landing page is always better. Suppose if the visitor did not convert on the page, only then offering something to catch their attention with a different CTA would be appropriate. Using the same CTA in the popup and the landing page makes it monotonous and eventually, the user would feel nothing is enticing. This would result in the user ignoring the popup.

Summing up

Although regarded as annoying by many, Exit-Intent popup works great for many websites. The basic idea behind showing up an Exit-Intent popup is to attract and convert. It is that one last attempt to avoid the potential customer from leaving your website; just an initiative to create a second thought in the minds of potential customers.

If you are targeting the right pages and the right audience, Exit-Intent popup can be a great opportunity to give your website visitors a special offer of your service or product and drive sales & conversions. It is also a fact that sites having a fairly optimized popup can yield a better conversion rate.

Exit popup windows perform very well in landing pages, online e-commerce stores, and business websites.

Keep in mind that a popup shouldn’t provide a poor user experience. Learning how an exit-intent popup works can help in successfully making one. So go on and try out the Exit-Intent popup on your website because it actually works! 

Should you need any help with creating a great Exit-Intent popup that works wonders for your business, please reach out to us.