The average conversion rate across various industries hovers between 2 to 3 percent. It is a bitter but interesting fact that most people are less likely to convert the first time they visit your site. It is like converting to a different religion altogether. People will do their research extensively on your brand. Look at the reviews left by old time-ys and when their heart and mind are content, they will finally make a purchase or convert!
So it comes down to you to retarget your audience so that they will convert for sure. There are five retargeting strategies that I have come up, which will definitely suit your needs:
- Retarget those who leave the checkout page with a coupon!
- Retarget readers of amplified earned media platforms
- Retargeting existing customers through emails etc.
- Lead-gen ads based on page engagement
- Retarget the audience who spend more time on your website
Retarget Those Who Leave The Checkout Page With A Coupon!
You have done it, so have I! We are all guilty of making it all the way to the checkout page and then before proceeding to the payment page, we abandon our cart. Several factors could have let us down:
- The price issue. May be the price is too much for the prospective buyer.
- You could have had an emotional reason for leaving the page.
- May be the buyer wants to carry out further research by checking out what your competitor has to offer.
What Should You Do?
A solid way of enticing them back is to send them a coupon or special offer through retargeting. Offer them free shipping, a ten percent discount on the next purchase etc. However, inducing a sense of urgency by putting a time limit can rush them into converting. Make a connection of your page with the current event. Such as relate it with Labor Day, Black Friday, Halloween etc. to not seem suspicious.
Retarget Readers of Amplified Earned Media Platforms
Online selling and buying is not like the physical one. The customer cannot physically feel the object. All they have is a two dimensional image of your product with no idea how it feels in hand, or even smells. I recently read a post where the person bought a few items of clothing from an online brand, and the items smelled like rotten eggs! What was their mistake? The victim of rotten eggs did not go through the social media reviews, even though the page had more than two thousand likes, they decided to turn a blind eye to the reviews and purchase clothes. Not only did they deliver something totally different, the smell played the role of salt on wounds.
What Should You Do?
Positive press coverage, and third party reviews are a sure way of boosting your business’ growth. You can reach people who have visited your page by posting positive reviews on your social media platforms.
Retargeting Existing Customers through Emails Etc.
You might want to ask me, why? Well the answer is simple: resurrection purposes. This would include email subscribers and old purchasers who have not bought from you for a while.
The strategy is great as it will increase your CTR.
When I was in the UK, I used Uber Eats for ordering food once. After three weeks of hiatus from my side, I receive an email where they are offering me a coupon of GBP 10 (13 USD).
Needless to say, the instant I received the email, I made use of the 10 GBP and indulged in my guilty pleasures. Needless to say, they got a customer to make another purchase and I gained a few pounds.
What Should You Do?
Send an email to check up on your customer. Tell them you care about them. If they have forgotten about you, the email will act as a friendly reminder of the item they bought from you. This will let them to your site, and while going through new products, or monthly sales, they might end up buying from you.
Lead-Gen Ads Based On Page Engagement
Facebook comes with a powerful lead generation tool known as: Lead Ads. They are form based ads which offer lead magnets in exchange for customer information such as email id and their job description.
These forms are intuitive and natural looking and do not make the person feel like you are trying to intrude into their private space, or prying into their lives.
What Should You Do?
Forms can provide you additional information about the person filling it. At the end of the form you can offer them a coupon in return for their email id. This way you can send them weekly newsletters and keep them in the loop.
Retarget through Google Paid Ad and Search Results
Retargeting is not the same as targeting. Therefore, it needs to be customized for someone who already knows what your brand is about or even made a purchase before. If someone is redirected to your website through social media, it shows high level of interest.
What should you do?
For retargeting you need to create an ad or piece of content which will appear on Facebook, Google Display Network or Yahoo. The content should be related to the search word they use. It is not as daunting as it sounds. All you need to do is create a list of retargeted users by using the UTM parameter.
Retarget the Audience Who Spend More Time On Your Website
Go through your data and analytics. Understand and assess which visitor has spent the most time before converting. Set a time frame and categorize people accordingly. I usually take 10 minutes before I decide to purchase anything. But that’s just me. You can target people who spend at least five minutes on your website.
What Should You Do?
Target those who spend anywhere between 3 to 5 minutes before conversion. Do not waste your time retargeting people who cannot spare 10 seconds for your digital shop. These people usually clicked by accident, or were not interested in buying anything in the first place.
Conclusion
Retargeting is one of the best strategies for improving sales, and conversions. Assess your audience and plan around their behavior. For luring old customers back you can send them limited time discount offers. Similarly, keep an eye on the amount of time people spend on your website. It will help you understand whether they are serious about buying from you or just “window” shopping, unless they use Macbook or Cellphones (I know it was not a good joke, but I felt like saying it anyway!).
At the end of the day, your goal is to increase traffic on your website, to boost conversions, sales and profits. You can always get that by targeting people you already have a little bit of information about.
