Exploiting potential: Five data points for more successful retargeting

Nine out of ten marketing managers use retargeting to persuade existing customers to buy after all (Source). "However, most marketers are so spoiled by the success of this method that they neglect optimization considerably," says Stefan Bernauer Director DACH at Rakuten Marketing. He estimates that the return on investment (ROI) can be increased by up to 10 percent if retargeting campaigns are optimized for the following five data points.

1) Engagement level: The very different needs of existing customers, new prospects and store visitors who have abandoned a purchase must be served with different messages. An existing customer may only need to be reminded of a purchase. A new customer, on the other hand, often needs more product information. Other abandoners may be persuaded to complete a purchase with a different payment method or a discount. The advertising material and messages must be delivered in an appropriately adapted way.

2) Themes and product categories: It is obvious that the success of an ad depends on how precisely it serves the interests and needs of a customer. Those who show through good data analysis that they understand the customer and their current interests are more successful in retargeting.

3) Internal customer data: Linking the customer database (CRM system) with campaign management should now be mandatory. This is because it helps to significantly increase the targeting and therefore the success of retargeting. Information such as "premium customer" or "customer was looking for a hotel room next week" or even simply "customer had logged into their account" helps to calculate how engaged a customer is and how likely a purchase is.

4) Context: Retargeting campaigns can now be analyzed and optimized in real time. To do this, it is important to know as much as possible about the ads that have already been clicked on. Did the user use a desktop browser or a smartphone? Which ad format was displayed and clicked? All of this information determines the value of an ad placement and helps to optimize the campaign for high-performing placements.

5) Display history: Users sometimes have very different perception thresholds. It is therefore important to know how often a user has seen an ad and how they have reacted to the different ads. Do discounts appeal to them more? Do they respond more to ads with a high proportion of images? Do they react to ads after just three contacts or only after five? By recording how users perceive ads and how they interact with them, valuable conclusions can be drawn for future targeting.

Stefan Bernauer explains: "Retargeting works. Marketing managers are delighted with conversion rates that can hardly be achieved with other methods. Nevertheless, they should now review and optimize their campaign set-up. Data points and correspondingly intelligent algorithms are now available that can significantly improve campaign performance. This will also be appreciated by users who don't find tailored offers annoying, but rather valuable information."