When you're in the market for a new car, do you buy the first car you see? Do you conduct research on a make or model? Perhaps weigh the options and evaluate your finances? Prospective clients carry out this same process prior to signing a managed services contract. Maybe your business is in the running, maybe even a final contender- how do you stay with your prospects through the buying process to ensure your business lands the contract? Using swift spy tactics and cunning online recon! Well, sort of...
Remarketing, also known as retargeting, is a method of advertising only to your previous website visitors. Yes, you read that correctly- you can set marketing campaigns SPECIFIC to your warm website traffic. Retargeting ads strongly utilize visuals via display advertising. The most important aspect of launching a remarketing campaign is website traffic- if you have low web traffic, you don't have an audience to remarket to. As your web traffic grows and you begin remarketing the options available to segment your audience are brilliant.
How does remarketing work?
Prior to growing your website traffic, a mandatory first step is installing tracking pixels on your company website. Even if your business has no immediate plans to remarket, these pixelated audiences are invaluable to any future online marketing endeavors and we HIGHLY recommend installing tracking pixels. Today.
By installing a tracking pixel, code snippet, or website tag on your company's site, you compile and store data based on visitors to your website. This data does not provide names or email addresses, but it does allow your campaigns to reach these users again through paid campaigns.
There are several main tags to install:
- Google Analytics: this is the most common web tag, as many webmasters use the tools GA provides. This grants you access to remarketing on the Google Display Network (ahem, 90% of sites on the internet today), search remarketing, and YouTube retargeting.
- Facebook Pixel: Your company isn't really active on Facebook? No problem, we still recommend installing and building audiences! This allows you to reach users on both Facebook & Instagram when you're ready.
- LinkedIn Insight Tag: Is LinkedIn the social platform for B2B? With increasing numbers of CEO's and owners using the app, it's the professional networking site to reach decision-makers. LinkedIn has the most advanced retargeting capabilities by far- but with steep audience requirements.
- Secondary tags, if you're so inclined: Twitter website tag and Bing Universal Event Tracking are also available options.
Depending on your company's monthly web traffic and required audience size of the platform you intend to use, it can take anywhere from 30-120 days to become eligible to initiate a remarketing campaign.
What are the benefits of retargeting?
With all the time it takes to set up and monitor these efforts, what's the payoff? Let's be fully transparent- remarketing is NOT a form of lead generation, this is full-fledged lead NURTURING. Remarketing campaigns keep your business top of mind throughout the buying cycle, in between prospect calls and first-time site visits, and solidify your brand as an authority to your current clients. #worthit
Here's a scenario.
Perhaps your business actively conducts SEO, spending time each month creating and optimizing new web pages for search engines. Maybe you send out quarterly email marketing campaigns. Or perhaps you run Google Ads for several key search terms. You've piqued some interest and seen an increase in web traffic, but no new leads- what gives? Consider this: with retargeting in place, your company will STAY in front of web traffic after they leave your website.
We've found many web users conducting research for IT services reach out to multiple companies. Maybe a prospect tried to call you after hours or submitted a 'contact us' form and never heard back. It's also possible that companies begin researching IT services several months prior to executing a new project.
Growing website traffic, promoting your business, and performing consistent digital marketing efforts is time-consuming and difficult, sometimes disheartening- we know! Your marketing team works diligently to deliver leads and increase your web traffic. Remarketing is a proven method to engage with your soft leads. If you invest time, money and energy into helping prospects find your website wouldn't it be great to continue to nurture those prospects? You can!
Remarketing in action
One MSP we work with decided to launch a remarketing campaign for the first time. The team didn't really know what to expect, or if it would be of any benefit to their business. We get it, marketing ventures that don't yield ROI are unfortunately the norm. This particular provider is like many MSPs we've worked with, they are up for trying anything once to reach new leads.
We installed their tracking tags, created the display ads, and pressed 'GO.' A month later they called us, BEAMING as remarketing had substantially helped establish brand authority and familiarity. They had several new client site meetings that month, and when they walked in the door they were familiar faces. Real-life: 'You guys are everywhere, on the radio, on billboards, I've seen you all over!'
Was this MSP running radio and billboard ads? No, but the result of consistent, subconscious brand impressions created that feeling.
After clicking on the site and an initial phone call, this prospect gained awareness of the MSP until the first site visit via remarketing ads- and had the MSP feeling famous when they walked in the door. Marketing status: Bond, James Bond.
Needless to say, this MSP has continued and expanded their remarketing efforts.
Once again, this isn't lead generation, it's lead nurturing. Remarketing supports your brand authority and awareness with current and potential clients.
Bonus: Remarketing is INEXPENSIVE
Our highest CPC on record for Google search ads is, drumroll please..... $120! One click, over a hundred buckaroos. Ouch. And no, that click didn't land a managed services deal. The costs associated with paid media online, inbound or outbound, are excruciating. On average we see costs-per-click of $35-$75. Although these prices can still provide ROI, the pocketbook pain is real.
Remarketing CPC's are substantially lower! We earn clicks as low as .77 on a regular basis, ranging up to $8.
We'll repeat that: we earn clicks from warm website traffic as low as .77 per click. Ninja.
This is truly one aspect of digital marketing we encourage businesses to embrace, even for IT companies! We can't wait to see your business all over the web after you implement your first remarketing campaign!