Three targeting opportunities for online and omni-channel retailers
The above explanation of a strike is only a rough overview, but it covers the general rule quite well. The same is true for online advertising campaigns when it comes to what retargeting is. We’re dealing in generalizations in this article, but the general rule holds true for a whole range of different campaigns:
Visibility campaigns for brand promotion
Performance campaigns seeking conversions
Campaigns for engaging retail app users
Gaming app campaigns for driving in-game revenue
Here are the three strikes that break down the question of ‘what is retargeting’ and how they represent your key retargeting opportunities for users who are already engaging with your brand in some way.
Strike One: Active Users
Your loyal customers regularly make purchases. They visit your site to check what’s new and have perhaps downloaded your app. It’s tempting to think that sales from this group will take care of themselves but active users are perhaps your best target group.
Performance campaigns increase order volumes, conversion rates, and purchase frequency. The more often customers buy, the more likely they are to return to your brand. This is particularly true in domains like fashion where brand loyalty is high, especially when they have downloaded the app.
However, brand awareness campaigns are also still important for active users. 40% of consumers said they tried new brands in just the first months of the pandemic. Loyalty is changing fast and brand awareness campaigns are a good opportunity to share information about product offers and more, such as: opening times, omni-channel innovations, and changes to your evolving brand.
Strike Two: Lapsed Users
What about users who were frequent buyers but haven’t made a purchase for a while. Maybe they still browse but never buy. Or they still have your app but open it less often, if at all…
Lapsed users are lacking engagement. If they were really not interested in your brand anymore, they would uninstall the app and not visit your store.
Once-active users become lapsed users because something has changed. Perhaps they had a bad purchase experience and need convincing to commit again; or they don’t like the new seasonal range; or their personal circumstances changed. The way to re-engage users is to identify the reasons why they are no longer active and entice them back through retargeting with strong offers.
Again, upper-funnel awareness campaigns are also important here. If a user has cooled on your brand, make sure to show them video content that feels both inspirational and aspirational once again.
Strike Three: Lost Users
Your third strike has the greatest potential value per user. With retargeting, lost customers are not lost forever. They may have deleted your app or stopped visiting your site but reacquiring or re-engaging users through retargeting is still easier than finding totally new users—you just need to give them a strong enough reason to return.
Gaming apps are a great example here. 45% of people who deleted an app will reinstall if retargeted with an incentive. That incentive can be a special offer, new content, or simply a strong reminder of what they are missing out on by not engaging with your brand.
While you may still want to measure campaign success based on performance, softer communication is usually the best approach for those who are currently lost to the brand. Send them a signal that you are still out there, and a great reason to come back. If they decide to re-engage, make sure you notice and reward them.
Using Deep Learning technology to maximize targeting opportunities
The importance of what retargeting is can be exemplified through these three strikes which are your key targeting opportunities with each customer. Making the most of them depends on with whom you’re partnering and the technology you are using.
At RTB House, we believe that Deep Learning algorithms are the only way to properly assess and react to different customers. By using contextual and behavioral analysis, along with big data processing and self-calibration, Deep Learning can decide if a customer is active, lapsed or lost and decide if they are the right target for your campaign. If so, it can tailor the content to each individual user to give you the absolute best opportunity to hit a home run.
We should also say that, unlike in baseball, you get to turn back the clock. If you can move a customer from being lapsed or lost back to active, then you are back to strike one again.
If you have any questions, comments or issues, or you’re interested in meeting with us, please get in touch.
