The ROI of Retargeting: Why Following Up Pays Off in B2B Advertising

Discover how retargeting boosts ROI in B2B advertising

Let’s talk about all those potential customers who just don’t convert. They’ve clicked your ads. They’ve opened your emails. Hey, they’ve even visited your website. Where’s the missing link in your marketing strategy? As the digital advertising landscape becomes increasingly cluttered and chaotic, many B2B marketers find themselves wondering the same thing. The truth is that your marketing strategy is likely well planned, well tracked, and well executed. You just need to find a way to get departing traffic to return – and make a purchase.

This is the part where we recommend a solid retargeting campaign. Research suggests that only 2% of website visitors will take action on their first pass, making 98% of visitors viable candidates for retargeting. So, if you’re going to put your ad spend anywhere, it makes sense to set your sights on retargeting (not to be confused with remarketing).

Before your team starts throwing money towards generic ads, Liger has some valuable lessons to impart. We’ll explore the ROI of retargeting campaigns and give you a play-by-play on how to make retargeting work alongside your already successful marketing tactics.

Big Picture: Retargeting Advertisement ROI

What is retargeting, anyway? This paid advertising technique is designed to increase brand awareness, recapture lost leads, and fast-track sales via tailored ad opportunities that follow interested prospects from one end of the internet to the other.

In fact, these ads serve as persistent reminders of why your product or service is worth purchasing, driving new customers back to your website and persuading them to make a decision. We like to imagine them as billboards, only they float from platform to platform, ever present and oh so convincing.

Now, think about all the revenue you’re missing out on when you don’t do any retargeting. This alone suggests that retargeting is a cost-effective strategy. Plus, unlike standard display ads, retargeting ads tend to have a lower cost per-action. Pair that with higher engagement, click-through rates, conversions, and awareness and the move to incorporate retargeting becomes a no-brainer.

Conversion rates are crucial to your B2B sales pipeline, and retargeting is arguably one of the most effective conversion tools available. In fact, brands report up to a 161% increase in conversions after successfully implementing retargeting.

DID YOU KNOW: Website visitors who view retargeting ads are 70% more likely to convert.

Zooming In: Retargeting Campaign Strategies

Practice makes perfect, and when it comes to B2B advertising, the practices you put into place around retargeting will create perfect opportunities for lead nurturing and conversions.

For instance, you can send ads to those who downloaded your latest white paper with related content or offers, complementing your overall content marketing strategy. Meanwhile, if you have potential customers who partially filled out a contact form, you can design ads that incentivize them to return and complete the form. So, how do you get started?

Define and Segment Your Target Audience

There are two ways to identify your target audience. List-based retargeting relies on email addresses you’ve gathered via gated content, previous sales, and other sign up opportunities to create highly personalized ads. Pixel-based retargeting is another great option. When prospects visit your website, a snippet of code known as a retargeting pixel is embedded in their browser. This allows you to track website visitors and deliver retargeting ads at just the right time.

Your target audience will inform all the key elements of your campaign, including messaging, creative, and CTAs. Once you’ve determined who you want to retarget, you also need to segment that audience based on where they are in their purchase journey. Are they searching for answers and resources, or are they actively engaging with your sales team? Understanding the mindset and behavior of different audience members gives you the power to strategically recapture their attention no matter how far they’ve wandered.

Develop Landing Pages and Ads

The more relevant your content, the better. Building off of your audience’s position in the purchase journey, consider additional factors such as age and industry to develop killer advertisements and landing pages that contain content and offers that align with consumer desires. Whether it’s a blog or an educational video, these efforts in B2B advertising promise to deliver better results while giving you the ability to capitalize on high-performing content pieces.

Don’t forget that ads and their corresponding landing pages should have cohesive visuals and messaging across your retargeting campaign. A disconnect could be discouraging to returning website visitors, creating a rift in your brand’s reliability. You can also consider how these ads correspond with your efforts in email marketing specifically and digital marketing more broadly, boosting engagement and visibility across the board.

Retarget Across Channels

Your target customers aren’t just typing questions into Google. They’re surfing social media, watching YouTube videos, and reading articles, and a successful retargeting campaign can place you right there with them. Paid search, programmatic display, and social media ads work together to increase your chances of reaching your ideal audience and prompting them to take meaningful action. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to rethink the digital ads you’re funneling onto social media and other online destinations. Solid retargeting ads should make a seamless addition to your advertising arsenal and help keep your brand relevant.

Personalize

Dig into the data! The interests, backgrounds, and behaviors of your target audience members are just waiting to be analyzed and implemented in personalized ads. Not only are you retargeting and reengaging, you’re also communicating that you care about your customers’ unique needs, going a step further than typical ads and attempting to forge a lasting connection.

Test

With so many audience segments to contend with, it’s always a smart move to test which version of your content resonates with each specific audience. A/B testing may be preferred here as it allows you to hone in on specific details, such as a headline or CTA, or consider two different content models entirely. In the end, your attention to detail will yield greater potential for positive advertising ROI.

Optimize

So, your retargeting campaign has been plotted, tested, and launched. Still, you’re far from the finish line. Consumer behavior can shift and change at a moment’s notice, and you need to be prepared. Monitor key metrics and be open to making adjustments. As one campaign ends and another begins, you can optimize your strategy for higher and higher conversion rates.

Paid Advertising Has Never Looked Better

Your team puts valuable time, effort, and resources into your marketing campaigns. Liger sees you striving, and we want to be your source for next-level paid advertising strategies. We combine data-driven targeting, compelling creative, and advanced optimization techniques so you can cut through the noise and reach the right audience at the right time, ensuring your message resonates and drives meaningful results. Contact us today to revamp your approach to B2B advertising.