Stop The Leak From Your Sales Funnel With Digital Retargeting
Did you know that the majority of your website visitors leave without taking ANY action? That is, unless you use retargeting.
Have you ever heard of the secret rule of seven? The rule of seven has been around for decades and top marketing agencies today still swear by its success. The rule states that your prospective buyers will need to see or hear your marketing message at least seven times before they would be willing to buy your product or service. And this makes so much sense! The key to not only converting a lead but also retaining that customer is building a relationship and trust. Marketing is not a once and done approach.
As digital advertising and marketing methods become more sophisticated, I’m finding that many of our new partners at Vintory are out of touch with the technology we use to improve their marketing funnel. Whether it’s omnichannel marketing, SEO, marketing automation, chatbots, remarketing and more, there is an incredible toolbox filled with digital advertising technology. Unfortunately, for those of us who don’t have a background in programming, many of these technologies aren’t on our radar, or we don’t know how to leverage them to get the best results. But as these trends take the world of online advertising by storm, it is absolutely critical to have a basic understanding of the options available, how they work and the impact they could have on your return on investment.
That being said, here’s my 5 minute crash course on digital retargeting.
What you’ll take away from this article:
- What is digital retargeting
- Why retargeting is essential to your marketing funnel
- How digital retargeting works
- How to use retargeting to drive brand awareness and increase conversions
Digital retargeting explained
Simply put, digital retargeting is a method of online advertising that allows you to stay connected with people who have previously interacted with your website or other digital assets. The majority of visitors to your website will leave without taking any action – it’s true! Simply look at the number of website views you have and compare that with the number of new sales you make a month. But, the good news is that those same views and visits are people who are interested in your brand and services. Retargeting enables you to remarket to them even after they’ve left your site.
Stop losing leads from your funnel
Retargeting is a game-changing, effective marketing strategy because it allows you to advertise directly to people who are already interested in your products and services. And, it’s an incredibly cost-effective way to increase your revenue.
If you did the quick calculation above, comparing your website visitors to the number of new sales you made in the past month, my guess is that over 95% of your website visitors left without taking any action. The headline of this article says “stop the leak from your sales funnel,” but let’s be honest, looking at these numbers, I should have said “stop the drain.” This is where retargeting comes in.
One of the reasons retargeting is so successful is that it is the key to increasing brand awareness and building relationships and trust. Whether you’re looking to grow your inventory or guest bookings, retargeting is the number one way to get customers back to your website and give them the encouragement they need to make that click or call to purchase. The most common analogy out there to explain this is – would you ask someone to marry you on the first date? Likely not…so look at retargeting as an approach to wining and dining.
The technology behind retargeting
Okay so bare with me on this one. While I do have years of experience working for a software company, and I am a tech savvy person – I’m not a computer programmer. So I’m going to do my best to explain this in a way that is simple and accessible. Here’s how retargeting works:
- Retargeting is a cookie-based technology that uses simple code on your website that allows you to advertise to people who have visited your website in the past
- You insert the code into your website and every time a visitor comes to your website they will receive a browser cookie
- The cookie will tell your retargeting advertising provider when to re-market to your website visitors as they continue to visit other sites
- These advertisements might appear as display ads or banner ads depending on what you’ve chosen, and there are many types of retargeting advertising options out there
- The goal of these advertisements is to bring your potential customers back to your website for them to learn more about your services
So how do you ensure your retargeting approach is effective?
Whether you have done retargeting ads in the past, or this is all new to you, the purpose of this article isn’t just to say that you should be using retargeting. Just like any form of advertising or marketing, the strategy you use will determine how effective your approach is.
- Content is king. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, the number of leads you convert will be directly related to your messaging.
- Deliver hyper-focused messaging and content. Move away from using ads to showcase your company as a whole. Pick a single service or offering and demonstrate how that will provide value to your potential customers.
- Use Lead-gen ads. These types of ads are lead magnets that will offer your potential customers something like an e-book in exchange for their contact information. Remember, this approach is all about delivering value and deepening your relationship with your customers.
So there you have it! Go forth and retarget!
Did you find this article helpful? Is there another digital advertising technology that you would like explained? Let me know what my next “5-Minute” crash course should be about!
Author: Brooke Pfautz
Brooke is the CEO and Founder of Vintory and is well known in the Vacation Rental industry as the authority when it comes to growing Vacation Rental inventory. You'll find Brooke at his home office, on the latest Vacation Rental webinar or podcast, or at industry events across the States.
