We’d like to talk retargeting. As one of our five main capabilities here at Benchmarketing (Mobile, Social, Video, Display, Retargeting) we often see the amazing difference retargeting can make to e-commerce campaigns. There are some key areas you need to consider when executing a retargeting campaign and we’d like to share with you some of the insights we’ve gained from our retargeting experience.
There are really three main areas you should focus on for a successful retargeting campaign: audience mapping, dynamic messages and killer creative.
Audience Mapping
At Benchmarketing we segment audiences into what we call an ‘Audience Map’. On top of targeting literally every user who visits your site, we are able to segment these people into groups based on their behaviour using sophisticated tracking methods. On a high level, we put audiences into three categories: Cold, Warm and Hot.
Hot: These are visitors who are very close to conversion. They have probably put one of your products in their cart but have not yet converted. Reminding them of the product they were about to buy is the best way to get them back onto the site to complete the purchase.
Warm: Warm visitors are ones that have perhaps looked at one, or a few, products on your site but may also be considering your competitors.
Cold: Cold customers are people in your audience pool who have possibly visited your site once or twice but have not been tracked by our tag management system as being interested in a particular product.
We are also able to segment customers into more specific groups within these higher level groups, such as warm customers who are closer to becoming hot or cold customers who are almost warm.
Dynamic Messages
After completing the audience map, we are able to help our clients and agency partners craft dynamic messages because creating messages for each different type of customer segment is the best way to increase performance. Some of our different message structures are:
Awareness: Awareness messages are best served to customers in our Cold customer segments. The best way to enrol these customers is to create brand awareness. Creative and messaging can be skewed less to a particular product and more to the benefits of your brand and offering as a whole.
Lead: Our lead messages are often served to customers in the ‘Warm’ customer segments. Using messaging that highlights the benefits of your products in comparison to your main competitors can be the best way to convert these customers. You want to keep top of mind to increase conversion rates. We are also able to target visitors who have looked at specific category pages (such as ‘men’ or ‘sale’) with a message specific to what they have viewed.
Conversion: Conversion messages are for customers in our Hot audience segment. Reminding them of the product they were about to buy is the best way to get them back onto the site to complete the purchase.
Killer creative
Retargeting is tailored but creative does matter. Some of our best advice for campaign creative is:
1. Never have more than one call-to-action and make it urgent. “Grab one today” really does increase conversions.
2. Offers attract. Creating brand awareness is a long term strategy but “15% off today only” is often the best way to increase your customer base, as a Dunnhumby report found last year: “a consumer’s sensitivity to price greatly influences their response to advertising tactics and the channel of delivery”.
3. Test different images and creative. The best thing about retargeting technology is that we are able to create many different ads and test which are the best performers.
As consumers have said that 80% of ads they see online are not relevant to them, crafting dynamic retargeting campaigns is often the key to increased website traffic and a higher conversion rate. Keep mobile in mind as it really is going to be the key driver for growth in the e-commerce industry in the years ahead. Keen for more performance marketing tips? Head to our Facebook or Twitter pages for the latest industry trends and best practices.
