Consider this typical scenario – an online visitor drops an item into a shopping cart on the website of Store A — then decides ‘eh, I’m not sure if I want this big, fluffy pillow.” The customer wanders to another retail website, only to be retargeted by ads from Store A — as well as from Stores B and C.
Who’s got the real advantage here? Store A has the edge, as that’s the one whose cart got touched. If a purchase is forthcoming, the visitor most likely will return to this retailer’s site to make it.
So why are Stores B and C dumping their advertising bucks on retargeting? Because they didn’t know how close their target was to making a purchase from Store A. If they were wise to the fact, they’d realize their own path was blocked. According to the odds, B and C have a slim chance of grabbing the customer’s mind.
Let’s Stop the Waste
As things now stand, truckloads of ad bucks are being squandered on unlikely prospects. The reason for the waste boils down to this – brands typically track website visits and follow users around with retargeted ads, hoping they’ll at least get a nibble. But this scattershot approach is grasping at straws. Ordinary tracking reveals nothing about the most important variable – user intent. Employing this standard methodology, all a brand knows for sure is where a consumer has left his or her footprint.
What brands really need is a doorway to the user’s mind. This opening will provide an answer to the ultimate question — how close is said consumer to a purchase? If moments away from forking over their hard-earned money, this user is a bona fide live one, prime for retargeting.
The Answer is Algorithms
Given the potential of contemporary digital technology, it’s entirely possible for brands to develop algorithms capable of identifying a consumer’s place in the purchase cycle. When a user reaches the critical ‘buy’ point, retargeting begins – and not a nanosecond before. Clearly, such a tool would dramatically boost the accuracy and impact of digital marketing efforts. The upshot, of course, would be less waste, more efficient ad spend, and higher conversions.
If you have any questions or comments about retargeting, or about any other brand-related topic, feel free to send them our way.