Country Outfitters gets my attention.
We’ve all seen those pesky ads that seem to chase us around the internet… once we google something, it suddenly appears every place we go online; our news source, an ad in a game, on our Facebook feed. By now, most of us know that we have been”retargeted” by the product or brand, and we are now in their clutches. Or are we?
While to some it is invasive, to others it helps make a buying decision. Have you noticed that the retargeted message changes slightly over the course of a few days, offering a better discount, free shipping, or some other added value to see what will motivate you to buy. I’ve happily been chased by, and purchased, Ugg Boots, new cowboy boots (damn you, Country Outfitter!), summer fashions (can you say NoMoreRack or One Kings Lane?) and more. I’ve learned to wait a few times to see what the best offer is, which has resulted in savings and free shipping and even a gift with purchase!
In other instances, it has been annoying as I’ve already made the decision to not purchase certain items, and yet they chase me anyway. Then I discovered the super-light grey “x” that hovers somewhere in the retargeted ad message… click it once, or twice, and the ad ceases to haunt you. Unless of course, you google the same thing again and yep, the cycle starts all over again.
When I present or discuss this as a strategy to clients or in the seminars I give through the Coachella Valley Women Business Center, the initial reaction is a groan and a “I hate those!” shout out. But then, we talk a little more, people own up to admitting they’ve purchased via a retargeted ad, we mention the little grey “x” and now everyone is on board with the concept.
So let’s look at adopting retargeting concepts for your marketing. Retargeting can be accomplished via display ads, search, e-mail, and now social media, as well as via Facebook’s FBX ad exchange and Twitter’s new retargeting option. There’s no question that this tactic does produce results. It can increase direct web searches for a product or brand, nearly 3 out of 5 US online buyers admit to seeing the ads after their initial search, 30% on US online buyers have a positive reaction to these types of ads, and let’s face it, if the big guys are allocating such large percentages of their budgets to this, it must work.
While it is a commitment of marketing dollars, it is also one of the most trackable tactics and one that can be adjusted, amended, revised or changed on a dime. Retargeting is one of the few tactics that speaks directly to a potential customer who has already reached out to you, so you are almost guaranteeing that you are spending laser-targeted ad dollars on someone who is truly interested. You allot the budget based on the number of impressions and the types of other sites that you want your ad to appear, you control the messaging, and with the addition of a few other capture techniques, you can easily convert the window shopper to a valued customer in a few short clicks. This involves adding specific or promotional landing pages to your website, sign-up options, and other elements.
Remember, be honest with yourself about your true target market and demographic. Just because certain forms of marketing don’t influence you (or so you say!), each medium has a target and performs within it’s own parameters. It’s all in how you use it and what your messaging conveys. And isn’t this true with all marketing efforts… well, of course it is! So while most of you reading this are rolling your eyes and shaking your head and thinking, “I hate those!”, the rest of us will be clicking and spending and happily being influenced by a brand’s effort to become my new favorite online shop. Shouldn’t that be you?
So instead of the eye rolling, try clicking and enjoy connecting with the brands and products that you have searched out, secretly or openly, on the web. They value you, and yes, they are going to keep tapping you on the shoulder for a little while, but hey, you might get free shipping or another 10% off! Happy online buying!