Have you ever added items to your online shopping cart only to then leave the website without buying them? Days after you might still be dreaming of those perfect black heels or that cozy white robe still sitting in your abandoned cart. Suddenly, while scrolling through Facebook an ad pops up for that robe you’ve had your eyes on.  You swear it’s a sign from the universe and you must buy it because it’s basically falling into your lap.

I hate to break it to you, but supernatural forces are not what reconnected you with the plush garment, you are simply seeing the benefits of remarketing.

What is remarketing?

Remarketing is an advertising strategy of targeting customers that have previously visited your site or showed interest in your products. This approach creates an opportunity to reengage and rekindle customers or leads that have left without converting or purchasing.

Recapturing the lost customer

When a user enters a site and accepts the site’s use of cookies it allows their behavior and traffic to be tracked by the website.  This collection of data makes it easy for the site to then connect with the user in other mediums aside from their own site, namely retargeting. Ecommerce sites do this through the storage of user cookies. The company will be able to see what customers completed a purchase and which ones have yet to go through with a transaction.  As for companies not in the eCommerce world, they can retarget those relevant site visitors that never completed the form that turns them into a lead. If a shopper or visitor has not fulfilled an order or submitted a form, the company can set forth with retargeting to recapture their attention in hopes they will reconsider.  

This can be done by reaching out to customers that have already viewed your site through display ads, video ads, emails, and even social media. This is demonstrated in the previous example of seeing a product that you have left in your shopping cart from another site while scrolling through Facebook. A user could also be contacted through email.  One of the most common means is through display ads on other websites that the user visits. It is important to note that many times while retargeting, it is effective to accompany the product with a code for a percentage off, or a value proposition messaging for non-eCommerce companies, to entice the shopper or potential client and ensure a conversion. 

Remarketing is happening to you right now

Here are some examples you may see in your own life. Sometimes they are more in your face than others but nonetheless, they are effective in reconnecting with a lost customer.

Email:

Social Media:

Display Ad:

Take this blog as a sign to include this strategy in your company practices.  This tactic will help to decrease CPL or increase ROI, brand recall, and customer engagement.