The Most Annoying New Marketing Tool Ever Since The Popup

Agreed! 100 SQUILLION percent agreed!!

Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather earn less money and not annoy people.

I don't mind pop up subscription boxes... they don't bother me at all and the fact is, they work.

But, when I try to exit I've already made the decision I'm leaving, and annoying me is DEFINITELY not going to seal the deal.

JK

P.S. I know people are going to come on here and say, "yeah, but it works". But, is it worth it? I think not.

Amen, Amen!! And those who say it works are not always right. Trying to get past it will make you never want to return.

If your offer is good, your potential customer will either buy or bookmark your site for later viewing. You don't have to try to hogtie them to your site.

Dixie

Jared,

I agree, that popup box annoys the hell out of me too. It usually has a discount offer in the box when you click on the back button. Why not just offer the discount right on the page instead of that popup gimmick?

Jeff

You guys are right on point with this one. I freakin hate when that happens, and it seems to spreading quite rapidly. Who says that it works, I think it flat out sucks. Yeah, thanks Jared for pointing that out, I'm with you all the way on this one brotha.

Terry

What makes it worse is that after that "virtual smart agent" tells you about this 10% special discount, and you go back, only to find that there is actually NO discount at all. Now I don't know how this works, but to me it's false advertising! And it devalues the entire product/program.

Hey Mike... Thanks very much for the well thought out & valuable reply.

- Jared

I personally hate them -- but from a business perspective it makes absolute 100% sense.

I believe its Mike Filsaime that said if a visitor is leaving your site from an offer, they aren't coming back - so do what you have to to make the sale - even if it's at a discount, it's more than you get if they leave the site.

I think Mike (from post above) is right - personal preferences and business practice aren't always the same. I despise all popups, yet I use them on my sites to build an email list.


Matt

Seems to me you only want replies that agree with your opinion.

John

I've actually got a solution already in development that does something similar but is not annoying so it's good to hear perceptions on what's soon to be the 'old way'.

The bottom line is that they do work, and you shouldn't be upset for being sold something, especially as a marketer. I don't see how increasing sales can be interpreted as being desperate, it completely makes sense from a business standpoint.

As a customer...yes I absolutely hate those exit prompts (or whatever they're called). But the marketer inside of me can't hate the website owner for using them. It's just another opportunity to learn something new.

Solomon Huey

Instead of saying "I hate this", "I hate that", why not do a TEST to see if it works for your business?

I must be strange as I'm quite happy to have pop-ups invade my privacy. Just so long as I can exit them at will.

The most 'criminal' pop-ups are those that freeze your browser & 'force' you to look at the page until it's ready to allow access again, (or I pull the plug from my computer). I really don't understand the mentality of 'any' marketer who uses them, it HAS to be counter-productive.

Probably the most annoying marketing ploy from my standpoint is; the 'multiple' OTO.
It's bad enough that 'after' you purchase something you really want, that you then get directed to a OTO. But when you get re-directed to 'three or four' after making a purchase it drives you to wanting an instant refund.
YES! INSTANT REFUND!

So be warned all you 'multiple' ONO practitioners out there :-(

Pete.

Totally agree Jared. When I try to leave the page it's because I have no further interest in what the site has to offer. I don't need anything blocking my way out.

What is the point in this thread - the method work and has been proven to work.

It works.

To the tune of increasing my bottom line on some sites 10% or more.

That's monstrous.

The same way those annoying opt-in popups net almost 25% of my subscribers on some pages.

That's monstrous.

And when the next mildly annoying tool comes out that increases my front end, back end, or bottom line, you better believe I'll buy it!

It's all about testing.

I was gonna comment here, but wow... I thought Big Mike's comments are all RIGHT ON TARGET.

This OTO can be responsible for anywhere b/w 20-60% of total sales! (I know firsthand)

Well said Mike.

I don't mean to flame you Jared but your comments clearly reflect those of a consumer, not a marketer.

i dont care whether they increase sales, i know this is fricking marketing forum.
This is the most annoying, obscene, customer-un-friendly plague which should be BANNED by google and all those sites should be eradicated from the SERPs forever and punished with $7 minimum bids on AdWords.

Its still me who decides when to enter and EXIT a web site....and i cant stand those scripts screwing up my navigation with their "fake chat room ladies" popping up at exit.

Customers should not want to leave your site w/o buying in the first place. Instead of installing this #&%$! of a script better go over your sales pages and improve there, instead of depending on an exit catcher to "turn" your customers around and make them buy when they already decided to leave.

They personally annoy me but I have tested the VSA
and seen it increase opt-ins.

Haven't had hate-e-mail about it either.

I've found that the VSA does work. I use a "fake" cartoon agent who admits upfront that she isn't a real human.

And I make good on whatever I'm offering in the box, be it a discount or a freebie throw-in.

Charlie

that crap virtual sales assistant fake chat popup thing, got to be the worst, I had 1 popup once that was offering a discount of 0.00, i asked it what colour panties it had on and it closed on me.

"It works," responses are usually based on short-term numbers, first time customers. It's tough to measure the long-term effects of such tactics because so many other factors come into play, but it would be interesting to find out.

I can't remember where I read this, but a visitor might be
interested in the product without buying it the first time
they enter the sales page. Many people go out and look
for reviews, coupons or just do a simple google search to
see if the product/service is legit.

So saying that a visitor isn't a customer when they leave
the page is correct BUT, Like Alice said you don't know
what the long term effects are of such tactics.

I'm sure many marketers here will agree that they hardly
never buy the service/product the first time they land
on it!

aaaaa.... Now I remember. I read this in some list building
report where it goes into graping the visitors email and
name because most people don't buy until their 4 or 5
visit. I'll try to find this to back up my comment here but
I'm sure fellow warriors have heard or read something like
this before.

Treating visitors that leave your page as non-customers will
do exactly that. Grab the visitors email in a honest, good old
fashion opt-in box and build your list.

"Money is in the list" - It's been true for many years and still
today it's one of the most successful marketing tactics around.

Just look at the BIG company's.. CPA networks have never been
this popular since they begun and it's 80% about getting people
on there list, not annoying them until they do! One simple offer
they can say yes or no too.

Ebbi

The Most Annoying New Marketing Tool Ever Since The Popup

Silly me. I thought it was the spoofing of 'x $ in y hrs' threads clogging up the first page.

Seriously those are SO annoying. Is someone supposed to say to themselves after they are tricked into staying on the page

"oh i think ill buy this on second thought!"

Again, most IM'ers are annoyed by virtual sales lady pop ups because we are all subject to these tactics. But, when these strategies are applied to niche markets outside of IM, then what happens?

Conversions? Yes. In some cases. Which is what the script was made for.

The bottom line as BIG Mike said is that personal preference should play no part in how we market to others.

The only thing that counts is to implement what works - Period.

Something to remember too is that just because someone is leaving the sales page doesn't mean they don't want to buy. It could be that they can't afford the product or their skepticism radar is high.

To reduce skepticism slightly and help people afford the product, most, or should I say some of the offers give you some sort of discount or freebie.

It also helps those people who are "on the fence".

That's why they work. They only annoy marketers because it's a marketing tactic. Just like the Opps.. emails or anything other tactic that people whine about.

IMO, test it. That should tell you what your niche thinks about it.

Completely agree with you brother!

I've seen so many that now I know if it's something I'm sort-of interested in, maybe I can get it for less. It has struck me as unfair to those who pay the first price, though.

Actually, I've found that this discount popup has caused new behavior when I want to buy a product. I ALWAYS leave the page once to see if there's a hidden discount. If there's a discount, I'll take it, if there's not, I'll pop back in and buy at regular price.

I've seen a few of these and to me they bother me as most of the time you actually have to click "cancel" to exit when your brain naturally thinks to click "OK" to go back or exit the site. A bit of trickery there for me. If it does give a discount though and your on the verge of buying, I can see it being helpful but I haven't tested this anywhere myself.

agree. Ipersonally hate them.

lopez-people-search.ws

My testing shows higher conversions with them so as a marketer I will continue to test and use as long as they are effective.