Getting your message to the right people at the right time is imperative to driving business results, and knowing your audience is a key factor in driving those results. When you think about your target customer and intricacies of the customer journey, two common marketing approaches to use are retargeting and prospecting. Retargeting refers to the act of re-connecting with customers who have already interacted with your business. Prospecting, is the reverse, where the goal is to generate new customers.
These approaches are representative of upper and lower funnel activities and should be balanced accordingly. Ideally, your strategy should be made up of 60-70% prospecting and 30-40% retargeting. Why is this the case? Studies have shown that new customers are better than existing customers for driving long-term growth – though existing ones are important for shorter-term revenue.
Within the marketing landscape, Meta and Google platforms can be used for your retargeting and prospecting strategies. There are many solutions that can be implemented across both platforms for increased and optimized marketing effectiveness. Here are a few ways to put these tactics into practice:Within the marketing landscape, Meta and Google platforms can be used for your retargeting and prospecting strategies. There are many solutions that can be implemented across both platforms for increased and optimized marketing effectiveness. Here are a few ways to put these tactics into practice:
At the top of the funnel, consider awareness as the prospecting objective. Prospecting is the first interaction between your business and a potential customer as they are not yet informed. Targeting prospects tend to produce expanded reach, increased awareness and better conversion. When creating a campaign, you are searching for a new potential customer – a customer that may not lead to immediate purchase but can still be nurtured and guided through the customer journey.
Google: Google Ads has audience targeting products that aid in finding the right prospect for your message. These include:
- Affinity: user interests and habits (ex. car-lovers)
- Custom: relevant keywords, URL's and apps (ex. Honda cars)
- Detailed demographics: advanced targeting options (ex. HHI of $65K+)
- In-market: recent purchase intent (ex. researching cars to buy)
- Dynamic prospecting: using AI to match users with your business (enable dynamic prospecting to allow Google systems to supply relevant users)
Run these targeting strategies with your campaign goal to show your ads to the desired audience.
Meta: Meta’s audience targeting allows you to customize your audience in Ads Manager. Attract new customers by updating demographic info and detailed targeting areas such as interests and behaviors. Then use these levers to pinpoint and connect with your audience across Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. Be sure to choose a campaign that most closely aligns with your prospecting business goals.
Top Tip: use the exclude function to narrow your audience to those who have not interacted with your FB/IG page.
After you have successfully acquired new customers, retargeting can be utilized to reach people who have already show interest in your business (visited your website, made a purchase, etc). This tactic is not only effective for drawing lapsed customers in but boosting conversion by individuals who are already familiar with your brand. As previously mentioned, existing customers usually have the least effect on long-term growth. However, retargeting activities should not be overlooked.
Google: Google Ads uses your audience data to simplify the retargeting process. It can be used for Search ads, Video, or other Google solutions (ex: running a Search campaign to target customers who have already visited your website). To begin with this targeting method, audience data is retrieved by the unique site tag added to your website then added to the Audience Manager library. Once audience data is populated, you can create an audience segment specific to your business goals as well as create a campaign and ad groups where they can be added. Remember to continually evaluate the performance of your campaigns and adjust where needed for your retargeting needs.
Meta: Similar to Google, the Meta pixel helps your business deliver ads to users who have already interacted with your business online. The pixel can track events such as ad clicks, website visits and purchases. If not using a pixel, Meta allows a list upload of collected customer information (ex: CRM data from store visits). Then, utilize custom audience to mirror pixel events or your list and finally, add to campaign to reach the people you are most interested in with your ads.
Although retargeting and prospecting are two different approaches, using both contribute to a well-mixed marketing strategy and can improve the quality of your campaigns. Knowing how to leverage both will be crucial to your sales efforts and long-term business goals. Consider Google and Meta and their various audience targeting capabilities in sending the right message to the right people.
