I am sure that many of you have heard of retargeting or remessaging. It is the process by which a visitor to your Web site is tagged with a cookie (not chocolate chip) so that they can be tracked as they travel around the internet, and an ad network can display ads to them in an attempt to encourage them to come back and convert. It is an excellent way to stretch your marketing budget farther. It means you are marketing to visitors that have already prequalified themselves by visiting your site. It also increases your perceived size since they are shown your advertisements on a variety of networks (including some very popular sites).
What’s Next?
I would like to propose taking this targeted display advertising one step farther. Welcome to “Product Retargeting.” It is the same principle as basic retargeting but increases relevancy to the consumer by showing ads that include the exact product a visitor was looking at. While this may sound creepy, it could be a very effective way to stay top of mind when the visitor is ready to make a purchase decision.
Imagine for one minute that you are a B2B online electronics retailer.. In this situation most visitors do not purchase products on their first visit. They gather specs and price comparisons from different vendors in order to make sure they do not make a mistake.
They look at what you have to offer, but then leave your site. How are you going to sell them your product?
Maybe a competitor is cheaper, but they don’t offer the same level of service as you, they aren’t as knowledgeable as you and so on. What can you do to convince the customer of the importance of these differences? Normally, not much, but product retargeting would help you in the following ways:
- You can show them a relevant display ad with the product they want
- You can give them a discount code
- Most importantly, you can be at top of mind when they make their purchase decision
This technique can stretch your marketing budget farther by directing display ads at people who have already shown an interest in your product. We know retargeting works for our clients; ask us how it can work for you!
Photo credit: evelynshere (Flickr)
This article is from Andrew Freeman
Andrew is Sitewire's resident Englishman, having immigrated to the US in April 08. He holds the record for fastest transition from intern to employee at under 3 weeks. He's known for his knack at negotiating media buys and his eye for ROI.
Andrew has written 17 posts.
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Great post, Andrew. I am a huge fan of retargeting. It was one of the main tactics I used in my Digital Media presentation for recapturing “wayward” consumers.
I struggled with keeping my product in front of the people who were mostly likely going to buy, and retargeting provided me that exact opportunity; a way to increase frequency at the time in the buying cycle where it was needed most.
http://www.fetchback.com/ has some great info, testimonials and case studies about the product/tactic. And they’re local!
Thanks again for the post!
Andrew, great to see this. I’m glad that all of my sustainable business teaching whilst you were at Hull University has gone to good effect. Keep up the crusading and remember what I taught you “Nobody can do business on a dead planet”
Andrew, this was a great read!
Retargeting is something I’ve been looking at for a little while now and you have explained the concept very well!
I’ll be sure to pass this along to some of my friends who are currently wondering why people are ‘window shopping’ and not purchasing their product.
Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing!
Nice writeup on retargeting and its benefits. I definitely agree that retargeting can be used for products as well! One of the great things about retargeting is that you can continually increase incentives over time to further encourage a return visit and subsequent conversion.
Kim:
That is what I like about Retargeting too. The fact that we can take somebody who has shown an interest and serve them relevant ads with coupon codes and other incentives.
Jessica:
If your friends need help, let us know, perhaps we could help them.
Web hosting is my ‘bread-and-butter’, this very interesting! Thank you.
David:
It is good to hear from you again.
Retargeting seems such a great idea. If done properly it could be very effective. Good to hear from you.
Interest post. I, too, am a believer in ReTargeting.
I was made aware of this interesting new company called ReTargeter (http://www.ReTargeter.com) that has an easy entry point at $500 for small businesses.
Seems retargeting would be most effective if there was a slight advantageous change to the second exposure to the customer, such as the discount code example. If the ad was identical the customer might dismiss it and move on.
Great idea Andrew! Product re-targeting could be especially beneficial around holidays. I imagine lots of shopping cart abandonment happens then.
Andre:
That is true. I wonder how many of the big vendors try this during the holiday period?
I think it would be a good tactic if you know people have viewed something before Thanksgiving, then start retargeting them on Black Friday.
This is interesting. I think even the church could use it. The church puts out advertisements for the Book of Mormon and so when people are researching religion they would search the church and then go to something like chachlics.com or something and then they will see a book of mormon add there. It could work.
This is a GREAT idea. I hadn’t thought of retargeting in this way.
Very interesting read. Retargetting is something I had heard of but didn’t really understand. Thanks for making it such a lot clearer.
I think responding with a discount is the way to go. Of course, timing is of essence. With the qickness in which one can make a purchase online, “Product Retargeting” could be a nuissance if brought to the attention of the consumer too long after a purchase. Then again, some are willing to send back an item for refund to purchase another for a better deal!
I don’t know about djsbom’s response. I don’t know what he was thinking! Here’s another spin — a broadened perspective of product retargeting is to send the exact product with a discount, in addition to other ancillary merchandise. Generally, people shop for more than 1 item at a time. The tricky thing is selecting which items to include.