How to REALLY annoy your (online) customers.

Remember when I was still in university, we have to vote for 'the most annoying online retailer ever' in our first digital marketing lecture. I am not going to disclose which company got the title, but that webpage hit the following criteria to successfully annoy us:


1. Unrelated Ads and pop ups. 

Yes, we are interested in your products when we visit your website, but no, we are not interested in someone else's products, especially when they are completely irrelevant to what you are selling. These adverts can interrupt customers' experience and can create a negative attitude towards the advert, as well as to your website, aka your brand.

Pop up questionnaire or email sign-up box are also quite popular and they can annoy users when they come up in the wrong time. Often they pop up before people have the opportunity to start reading the page. Consider putting these at the side or at the end of the article to minimize interruption.


2. Many Many clicks
You can blame it to the society but people are becoming less patient now. When they want some information they want them quick. No one likes being dragged around, making circles. Extra click is a big no no. If you want to lead people to watch some clips or images, allow them to view them alongside the information that they are looking for. Clear and easy navigation is the key so that users can find whatever they want efficiently. Look at Amazon, they have everything so well sorted, and they even have one click purchase to make life easier.






3. Play music/ video automatically
I guess that is why the mute button is on so many keyboards nowadays. People like to have things under control and when there is some music popping up unexpectedly they tend to mute the page or even close the browser. Especially when they are in public place and some music start playing in a coffee shop/ on the train. If they want to listen to music I am sure they would have their own playlist. You can still put video and music on your website but make sure they only play upon clicking.