Retargeting In 2012: Will You Annoy Your Past Customers?

Don’t panic!

Hundreds of companies are entering the New Year realizing that many of their old customers did not renew their contracts. Whether you just began starting a small business or had a hectic 2011, it is likely that you’ve lost a few clients along the way. This typically sets business owners into a…panic; especially if they didn’t notice they’d lost these clients until now. Once this happens, most business owners decide that they need to find interested clients—and fast. This then brings up the popular question: Is retargeting the right move?

For those who are unfamiliar, retargeting is a form of marketing that targets users who have already visited your website. This is typically done through banner ads on display networks. In other words, a retargeting campaign drops a “cookie,” or a text string stored by your browser, on website visitors, and then that company can retarget that specific person by showing them ads even after they leave the website. Many experts call these types of clients “window shoppers” because they saw your website, but kept moving. The mentality is that if they see it again, they may think differently. Consider a few of the pros and cons of retargeting:

Retargeting Pros
According to AdRoll, “2 percent of shoppers covert on the first visit to an online store, and retargeting brings back the other 98 percent.” For this reason, the idea of retargeting seems extremely appealing. The Internet can sometimes be overwhelming, and with the fast-paced lives of Americans, it’s easy to get sidetracked. Many genuinely do not get enough time looking at a website, and then quickly forget where it is or why it matters. Retargeting serves as a reminder for these types of shoppers.

Retargeting Cons
However, the statistics aren’t so high when it comes to every individual business. Some may see this type of marketing as a way of stalking a customer. You have no control over where your ads will show up, so customers may see your ads in odd places. This could very well annoy clients and give them a bad image of your company. For this reason, it is important to utilize retargeting correctly, and in some instances this means not retargeting at all.

Consider some retargeting best practices, and then decide whether or not this is a campaign that will work for your company. This will help make sure you fall under the “pros” and not the “cons” of this marketing strategy—you’re walking on a tightrope when retargeting, so make sure you have good balance.

How to Retarget Right in 2012

– Segment Your Audience – If you plan to slap together a retargeting campaign to everyone that’s ever visited your website, you will find yourself dealing with all those cons. It’s important to make sure that you know who you’re retargeting and tailor your ad to that audience. For example, you will not want to retarget people who have already made a purchase or signed up for a service your company offers. You will then want to split up your customers based on where they were searching on your website. If one group was looking for shirts and the other pants, have two separate retargeting campaigns.

– Burn Your Audience – Although the term doesn’t sound very kind, your audience will be thrilled if you “burn” them. This simply means that an audience member will be removed from the campaign if they have made a purchase or have not made a purchase after a certain amount of time. The rule of thumb is generally 30 days. If you continue to send these audience members retargeting ads, you’re sure to annoy people; therefore doing more damage than good.

– Control Your Numbers – It’s important not to be overbearing with the number of ads you put out when retargeting. As I stated before, retargeting is a slippery slope because it’s very easy to annoy people. For this reason, it’s extremely important that you keep your ads to a minimum. Most experts recommend 15 to 20 ads to each visitor throughout the month. This should help give your brand some recognition in a positive way.

In the end, retargeting can be a great campaign if done correctly. Many give it a bad name because so many companies get too excited and overbearing. The goal is not to cold call people via the Internet, but rather to serve as a reminder to people who were previously interested. If you can pull it off correctly, retargeting might be just what your visitors need at the start of the New Year. Visit Front Street to read a step by step guide to setting up a retargeting campaign when you’re ready.