Remarketing or (and?) Retargeting?

I had a really invigorating conversation with a former client, colleague and long-time LinkedIn connection yesterday that got me thinking about all sorts of great marketing nuggets.

All night I tossed around tidbits from the conversation.? SEO, SEM, CPL, CPMs, CTRs, ROAS, and even AIDA. It got me thinking.??

The marketing world is rife with arcane acronyms, seemingly impenetrable jargon, and even seemingly straightforward terms can have nuanced meanings.?

There’s no better example of this than remarketing and retargeting, both terms are often used interchangeably, even by seasoned marketing professionals, but there are subtle differences that can make the difference in the success of your marketing campaigns.?

• So, what is the difference between retargeting and remarketing?
• Did you know that remarketing and retargeting work best when used together?
• How can you leverage the SAME DATA to improve both your remarketing and retargeting strategies?

Remarketing vs. retargeting: two ways to reach users

So many people struggle with the definition of retargeting and remarketing because they’re actually very similar.?

Both approaches are online marketing strategies designed to engage users who have interacted with your website or product or your team in the past. Where they differ is how they deliver your message to those users.

Remarketing is all about connecting with users who are already in your channels.

It applies whether you’re trying to re-engage your customers via emails, social media blasts, or other promotional efforts. It’s all about engaging customers in channels that you own.?

In contrast, retargeting refers almost explicitly to online ad placements on the open web and display ads.?

The primary goal is to engage customers. This can either be customers who have already converted in the past and given you contact details or customers who have previously interacted with your brand but haven’t yet converted. Retargeting is more about meeting users where they live on channels you don’t control via the open web.?

With the initial definitions out of the way, let’s take a look at some specific differences and similarities.

#1 They use different channels of communication

The first big difference is in the channels of communication. Retargeting typically uses online ad placements on third-party sites. Whereas remarketing typically uses direct communication channels like emails, calls, or now push notifications.?

As a good rule of thumb, remarketing helps you re-engage users who have previously converted via a sign-up, app download, inquiry or purchase. Retargeting is a way to reach any user, even those who have engaged with your site but have yet to give you any information that you can use to contact them directly.

#2 They use different kinds of data??

While retargeting and remarketing use data for personalization, they use different data types. Remarketing tends to rely on explicit data, like email addresses or usernames, collected from a company’s marketing efforts or provided directly by customers, for example, when they create an account after making an order. Retargeting instead relies on data gathered via tags on the client’s website and the identification of the user via stored cookies in the Open Web or other anonymized sources, which are then used to display adverts to users, or user groups, as they browse the web. In the future, brands will need to rely more heavily on cookie-less solutions as Google retires third-party cookies.?

#3 They have similar levels of personalization?

Both remarketing and retargeting campaigns can be personalized, and they can even take advantage of the same data types. For example, you might choose to send an email campaign out to registered users with a new product offer based on their previous purchases (interests) while using that same data to create personalized adverts that will be used to connect with existing customers as they browse the web.?

People might wrongly assume that this makes remarketing more personalized, but in reality, with the newer usage of Deep Learning-powered solutions, we can understand consumer preferences and allow for deeper levels of personalization than many remarketing campaigns.?

The main difference is that retargeting can also be used to connect with users who you don’t have very much data on. For example, connecting with visitors who didn’t leave any contact details is possible using personalized ads spread across the Open Web, building connections as they browse.? And remarketing can give you the data needed to more effectively find these users.??

Retargeting vs. remarketing – which should I use??

There is no such thing as a silver bullet in marketing. A successful marketing strategy will always require a holistic approach, and the same is true for retargeting or remarketing. Each user is unique and will respond differently to different kinds of approaches.?

Some might want to engage with a remarketing campaign that pushes promotions to their phones, while others might find this irritating and opt out. Some will be more open to engaging with a well-placed ad while browsing the web; others might simply overlook it. The key is to connect with as many users as possible, using the most appropriate channel with the most compelling messaging, to achieve your final goals.?

This brings us to the next big point.

How to land the secret weapon your company needs?

I always recommend you find a resource that has experience in spearheading marketing campaigns that can build a solid remarketing strategy first.? This strategy can be a game-changer for business.? And be sure to find someone that knows what to do with the data and how to find new data sources, both identifiable and non-identifiable (tip, almost no data is completely non-identifiable nowadays).? Imagine being able to pull zip-codes from your anonymous website traffic and geo-targeting a marketing campaign … but real success comes from finding someone who will …

Prioritize Remarketing

Remarketing is suitable if your product/service encourages repeat purchases, you want to upsell existing customers, or you want to better control your marketing spend to maximize your ROI. Remarketing can re-engage existing customers or prospects through email or paid ads, keeping them loyal to your brand and giving you critical data in the retargeting decision making process.

By doing this, you better identify what brings a customer to you that did convert initially.? This allows you to gather and analyze the data needed to apply to your retargeting ad spend to ensure your money is better spent and yields a much higher ROAS.? It eliminates the “Spray and Pray” model so often used with Retargeting.

Don’t get me wrong, Remarketing and Retargeting MUST be used in conjunction with each other to develop a true Infinity Customer Lifecycle where no “Lead” is over dead.Retargeting helps nurture potential customers down the sales funnel and increases the efficiency of your marketing spend.

But the rollout is critical.? It’s no different than when someone asks me about SEO and SEM.? But that’s a conversation for a different day … maybe my next post!