Exit Surveys: How, Why, and Why Not?

“Leaving so soon? Tell us why!”  “What grabbed your attention today?”  “Did you find what you were looking for?” “What could we be doing better?”  We’ve all encountered these questions upon leaving a website. Do you answer them? You should! They can help the website owners improve their site and customer experience. When you are running a website, these surveys can be valuable tools that help us identify why people are “bouncing” and what we can do to get them back.  Let’s take a look at these surveys and how to implement them on your site.

We’ve covered the “why” – surveys give us important feedback. The “why not” is that it can alienate users. Many, the majority, in fact, do not complete the surveys. They do not so much as pause as they click away from your site. Don’t despair; you’re still getting good data off these people. You can check where they bounced and work on your conversion funnel. For those who do fill out the surveys, you will be able to tell what they liked, what they didn’t, and what you can be doing to win other visitors over.

On to the “how.” Luckily, there are sites online that act as survey “wizards” and generate exit surveys for us. For free. What could be better! Here are some services that can help get you on your way:

• SurveyMonkey. Probably the most popular and well-known, you can choose from several templates and create any questions you choose.
• FluidSurveys. This is a great site that lets you create customised exit survey invitations for visitors. If they decline, they will not be prompted when they revisit the site, which prevents them from being irritated at you!
• QuestionPro. Surveys, surveys, surveys! Navigate to “Exit Surveys” and get started.

When crafting your survey, make sure your questions are clear, concise, targeted, and as few in number as you can get away with. Above all, make sure you are respectful of your audience and are able to convey that their input is valuable to you.