We’ve all been there. You’re shopping for something online and you start to compare options on different websites. You’re excited to explore a particular item, but as soon as you click into the brand’s website, a little window pops up asking you what you think of the website experience. “What experience?” you think. “I barely just entered the page!”
This little pop-up window is more commonly known in the customer experience (CX) industry as an intercept or digital intercept. Though the use of a digital intercept has great intentions, the unfortunate truth is that it can often harm the customer experience more than it improves the experience.Â
How Traditional Intercepts Damage the Experience
The ultimate goal of digital intercepts should be to get valuable feedback about your website and user experience so you can innovate and improve; however, some common practices can actually be perceived as intrusive, ill-timed, or irrelevant.
- Intrusive
When a customer is casually perusing a site, a random pop-up can feel intrusive to the overall experience; they can feel hassled or like their interaction with your site has been interrupted. Ultimately, what may have been meant as a well-intentioned prompt can feel invasive and could cause a customer to abandon your page.
- Ill-timed
If a survey window pops up as soon as a customer arrives at your homepage, your customer has not been able to get a good look at the full page, much less get an impression of how it functions or if they have any suggestions. Therefore, they most likely won’t have much feedback to give you—if they choose to participate in the survey at all.
- Irrelevant
Traditional practices with intercepts are one-size-fits-all; very rarely are they customized to ask the right questions at the right time. This lack of customization means the questions asked are not directly relevant to a customer’s individual experience, leaving the brand with shallow feedback that won’t make a real difference.
What Are Best Practices for Digital Intercepts?
The end goal of an intercept is not about collecting as much data as possible, but about giving customers the opportunity to provide useful data at the right time.
Here are some suggestions on how brands can do just that:
Don’t: Create One-size-fits-all Intercept Surveys
Do: Map Out Possible Site Pathways for Customization
Instead of drafting one intercept survey to serve your entire site, consider all the different touchpoints you want to collect data from and then craft questions.
- Keep in mind how users are browsing your site and craft intercepts around that information. For instance, a feedback tab may be perfect for desktop users, but it’s far too small in size for mobile users. Consider using a banner on your mobile site instead.
- Be creative! Triggers can be used together to target specific user groups for feedback. For example, if you want to collect more feedback from customers in a specific state, you can set a trigger based on IP addresses.
Don’t: Ask Unnecessary or Irrelevant Questions
Do: Gear Questions Toward the User’s Specific Experience
In order to get the best feedback possible, you have to ask the right questions about the right experience for each type of customer. For instance, a question asking about the checkout experience would be irrelevant to a customer who has yet to make a purchase. Instead, set a trigger for an intercept to appear for a customer with a few lingering items in their bag to learn why they haven’t taken the plunge.
- Keep it simple. Surveys that are too long are less likely to be completed and also take away from the user experience. Try to keep it to a few high-quality questions so you can get the information you need without losing your customer’s attention.
- Revisit the map of possible visitor pathways you created to help prescribe questions to specific user situations. The more tailored your questions can be to a customer scenario, the better. For example, you can ask specific questions targeting those who use the mobile site in order to improve the mobile design and experience.
Don’t: Have Something Pop Up Right Away
Do: Give Customers Time to Provide Informed Feedback
The phrase “garbage in, garbage out” is especially relevant when you’re collecting data; if you aren’t collecting quality feedback, your insights won’t create real business impact. This is why it’s especially important to give your customers the opportunity to navigate your site before asking them to give you feedback.
- Strategically place a feedback tab or another always-available channel on the website for instant feedback. This way, customers have the ability to provide you with feedback outside of the triggers you’ve set up.
- Set up an intercept for customers who have lingered on the site for some time but haven’t made a purchase or reached out. This allows you to check in and see if they have any questions or concerns.
Enhance, Don’t Interrupt
Whenever you set up an intercept survey on your website, you should ask yourself if it will enhance or interrupt your customer’s experience. If you seek to enhance the experience with every question, you are well on your way to the best feedback, insights, and positive business impact.
