Have you ever scrolled through Instagram and seen an advertisement for a product or service that you have just checked out on another website? Such a situation is an example of retargeting, which is often confused with remarketing.
Retargeting is supposed to re-engage the people who have already visited your website or social media profiles but have not made a purchase just yet. On the other hand, remarketing aims to re-engage past customers, often using email and paid advertisements.
To put it another way, retargeting and remarketing are not the same thing. They have a similar goal, which is to get you to click through and make a purchase, but they utilize vastly different techniques and tools. Here is how they work and why you should incorporate both of them into your marketing strategy.
What Is Remarketing?
Remarketing is a marketing tactic that aims to re-engage past customers based on their previous purchases. It is a crucial part of any customer retention strategy and is often done using email marketing.
Imagine that you own a store with things for pets, ranging from food to various accessories. Someone who bought your food for pet hamsters is likely to be interested in buying more of it in the future. They might also be interested in buying accessories for pet hamsters, such as bedding, exercise wheels, and water bottles.
You could email such a customer to tell them about sales on high-quality hamster food and hamster accessories. If they have not made a purchase in a while, you could send them a discount code for products meant for pet hamsters.
In other words, remarketing is meant to re-engage people who have already completed your sales funnel. Once they make a purchase, you want them to stay interested in your company by sending them deals and recommendations based on their purchase history.
To incorporate remarketing into your marketing strategy in the best way possible, you should get in touch with a professional remarketing agency, such as one at https://www.munro.agency/remarketing-agency/. Alternatively, you could read up on the topic online and start experimenting with remarketing on your own. It is up to you!
What Is Retargeting?
Retargeting is a marketing tactic meant to re-engage people who have already interacted with a brand online but have not yet purchased anything. It can be incredibly effective in driving conversions. Only 2% of traffic converts during the first visit to a website, and retargeting gives you an easy way to reach the 98% that did not convert.
The way retargeting works is relatively simple. It adds cookies to your business website, and when a potential customer pays you a visit, the cookies gather data about them and the things they interacted with during their stay. As a result, you will be able to see which products they viewed, when they left the website, and whether there are any abandoned items in their cart.
Since you know what that person was interested in buying, you could create specific pay-per-click advertisements on Facebook, Instagram, and Google to target and re-engage them.
For example, you could make it so that the advertisement displays a photo of one of the products your potential buyer has just viewed. In addition, you might want to make the advertisement copy suitable for the situation. For example, if your potential client was looking for a dress, you could make the advertisement display a message asking the client whether they remember that particular dress.
When Should You Use Them?
Remarketing should be used to share discount codes with existing buyers and let them know about interesting events and deals. On top of that, you should use it to test whether someone is interested in other products you are selling based on their purchase history.
As for retargeting, it works best when it comes to gaining new customers and reminding people about their abandoned carts. Aside from that, you can use it to engage with potential customers who have already visited your social media profiles or your website but have not made a purchase yet.
Which One Do You Need?
As we have already mentioned in the introduction to this article, both retargeting and remarketing can really add to your marketing strategy. By using them, you get to engage with both current and potential customers, as well as keep your products at the forefront of their minds.
However, keep in mind that these tactics will not stand on their own. They will surely boost your conversion rate but will not drive traffic to your website or social media profiles.
So, your best bet is to use a mix of different marketing tactics to engage with customers, particularly the ones who have deviated from your sales funnel. Do not be afraid to experiment with multiple innovative approaches to see which combination works best for you.
In Conclusion
While the distinction between retargeting and remarketing might sound pedantic, it is not really about using the proper terminology. Instead, it is about understanding the big difference between the two, as these tactics use different channels and, most importantly, have different goals. With that knowledge, you should find it easier to achieve the said goals more effectively.
If you still have questions or doubts, reach out to a marketing agency specializing in retargeting and remarketing. By doing so, you will get the help of professionals who know everything there is to know about these marketing tactics and how to use them most effectively.