Abandoned shopping carts are perhaps the biggest problem marketers need to face. However, there are some ways to convince a potential customer to return to the website and complete the order. The most effective ones include remarketing and retargeting. What do these terms really mean and what results do they bring?
Remarketing for engaged customers
Remarketing and retargeting are often confused. Their common goal is to once again present the offer to specific users in the form of graphic ads. In order to have advertising displayed on other websites, a potential customer needs to first of all interact with the online store offer. In the case of remarketing, ads usually have a form of banners shown by Google partners and on popular online websites. The key to success of any brand is reminding of its existence on a regular basis – it should be constantly in recipients’ minds.
Retargeting or user selection
Behavioural retargeting is another technique aimed at increasing conversion in an online store. For example, if a potential customer watched sports footwear in a given shop, they will be shown a display ad on other websites with a link redirecting to the product page. In other words, retargeting encourages the user to return to the site and complete the transaction.
See also: Behavioural segmentation or how to take advantage of user behaviour?
Behavioural retargeting, i.e. tracking web-browsing user habits, gives tangible results, especially if we provide a potential customer with some extra benefits, e.g. a discount or free delivery. However, it is worth knowing that behavioural retargeting may also turn out to be profitable when the user stops looking for a given product (e.g. due to lack of time to continue shopping). In addition to persuading the recipient to finalise the transaction, behavioural retargeting also aims at strengthening the brand awareness in recipients’ minds.
Remarketing and retargeting in advertising
In the case of remarketing, one of the most popular systems enabling advertising activities is Google Ads. Owing to cookies, Google registers user behaviour on the website and after leaving it they are displayed ads in the Google Display Network on web pages, Gmail, or YouTube. There are two types of remarketing in Google Ads – static and dynamic. In the former case, static banners with no product ads are displayed, while in the latter case, dynamic ads are shown in the form of miniatures of products viewed or recommended based on the product feed. It is worth emphasising that marketing reorientation brings tangible results, if the advertising message is adjusted to the target group.
Retargeting also covers social media, especially Facebook and Instagram, as well as e.g. LinkedIn. In this case, it is necessary to create a Facebook Pixel and implement it in the website code. On the basis of the information gathered by Pixel, it is possible to precisely determine the target group and display Facebook ads to specific users that were most interested in the offer.
Push notifications represent a great alternative to the aforementioned activities. Owing to them, it is possible to achieve the effect similar to dynamic retargeting – an advertising message will reach only people potentially attracted to a given product. In order to increase user retention on the website, it is worth sending notifications reminding of availability of a given product or offering free delivery.
