What Is Remarketing? Definition, Examples, and How It Works

Francesco Gatti
August 21, 2024

The pursuit of innovative strategies to enhance brand visibility and conversion rates has led to businesses across the globe adopting remarketing and retargeting techniques. These methods have revolutionized how brands reconnect with their audience and redefined customer engagement and loyalty parameters. 

In this transformative movement, Opensend's unique approach leverages a multi-channel strategy that changes the game. It combines email, programmatic ads, and postcards, aiming for higher reach, engagement, and, ultimately, a higher net conversion. 

The significance of remarketing in the digital marketing and e-commerce landscape cannot be overstated — let’s see how it works and how Opensend can make a difference.

What Is Remarketing?

Remarketing is a sophisticated digital marketing tactic designed to target individuals who have previously interacted with a website or mobile app but did not make a purchase or complete a desired action. 

This strategy allows businesses to display targeted ads or send direct messages to these past visitors as they browse other parts of the internet or use social media, effectively reminding them of the products or services they viewed but left behind. 

The objective of remarketing is multifaceted: it seeks to increase brand awareness, keep the brand at the top of mind for potential customers, and drive conversion rates by coaxing website visitors back to complete a transaction. 

This is achieved through remarketing ads, including display ads on the Google Display Network, personalized email campaigns, social media ads, and even direct mail, like postcards. Remarketing taps into a highly valuable segment of the audience — those who have already expressed interest in a brand's offerings, making it a key component of a comprehensive marketing strategy. 

How Does Remarketing Differ From Acquisition Marketing?

Acquisition marketing is the process of attracting new visitors and potential customers to a brand through a variety of channels, including search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, social media campaigns, and more. This approach casts a wide net, aiming to increase brand visibility and attract a broad audience to a website or product page for the first time.

Remarketing, on the other hand, adopts a more targeted approach. It focuses on re-engaging individuals who have already visited a website or interacted with a brand but left without making a purchase or completing a desired action. 

The fundamental difference lies in the focus: acquisition marketing seeks to expand the customer base by acquiring new leads, whereas remarketing aims to capitalize on existing interest, nurturing potential customers already familiar with the brand into making a decision.

How Is Remarketing Implemented?

Implementing a remarketing strategy requires a thoughtful approach that begins with the collection and analysis of data from website visitors. 

The first step in this process often involves setting up a pixel, a small piece of code, on the website or landing page. This pixel tracks visitors' interactions on the site, such as the pages they visit, the products they view, time on site, scroll depth, size/color selection, buttons clicked, number of devices, or the point at which they abandon their shopping cart. 

This information is then used to create remarketing lists, which are segments of audiences based on their behavior or specific actions taken on the site. Once these lists are created, businesses can start crafting their remarketing campaigns. For example, a campaign might target users who added items to their cart but did not complete the purchase.

Different channels can be employed in a remarketing strategy, including display ads on the Google Display Network, targeted search ads, social media ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, and direct email messaging. Each channel offers unique advantages and can be used in tandem to optimize the reach and effectiveness of the campaign.

Opensend plays a pivotal role in this stage by assisting businesses in leveraging these insights and implementing a cohesive remarketing strategy. It simplifies the process, enabling businesses to effectively target their remarketing lists across multiple channels, from email campaigns to programmatic ads and beyond, ensuring a seamless and integrated customer re-engagement experience. 

By using Opensend, businesses can streamline their remarketing efforts, ensuring they stay aligned with their overall marketing strategy for maximum impact.

What Channels Are Involved in Remarketing?

Remarketing is a versatile strategy that spans multiple channels, enabling brands to reach past visitors wherever they spend their time, whether that be online or off. The choice of channels is critical, as it can significantly affect the engagement and success rates of remarketing campaigns. 

Here are some of the primary channels involved in remarketing and how they contribute to a cohesive strategy:

1. Email Remarketing: 

This is one of the most direct and personalized ways to reconnect with website visitors. Emails can be tailored to reflect the specific interests or actions of the recipient, such as viewing a particular product or abandoning a shopping cart. Opensend enhances email remarketing by ensuring messages are timely, relevant, and designed to drive higher engagement and conversion.

2. Programmatic Advertising

This allows for the automated buying of ads and placement across a vast network of websites. It ensures that your ads reach individuals as they browse other sites on the internet. Through programmatic ads, Opensend helps businesses achieve a broader reach and return on investment (ROI) by ensuring remarketing messages appear on websites frequented by potential customers.

3. Social Media Ads

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer powerful tools for remarketing. These platforms enable advertisers to target users based on their previous interactions with the brand's website or social media content. Opensend leverages these platforms to maintain brand visibility and engagement across users' favorite social networks.

4. Direct Mail (Postcards)

Though digital channels dominate remarketing, traditional methods like postcards can still play a significant role, especially for local businesses or niche markets. Opensend integrates direct mail with digital strategies, providing a tangible reminder of the brand and offering a unique touchpoint in the customer's journey.

5. Google Display Network and Search Ads

Remarketing on the Google Display Network allows businesses to place display ads across an extensive network of websites, targeting users who have previously visited their site. 

Search ads, meanwhile, can be tailored to appear when a past visitor searches for related terms on Google, ensuring the brand remains top of mind. Opensend optimizes these ads to improve visibility and relevance, enhancing the overall effectiveness of the campaign.

By integrating these channels, Opensend crafts a remarketing strategy that ensures consistent and cohesive messaging across all touchpoints. This multi-channel approach increases the chances of re-engaging past visitors and reinforces the brand's presence, making it more likely for these individuals to return to the website and complete a purchase.

Is Remarketing Suitable for All Types of Businesses?

Remarketing has the unique advantage of being highly adaptable, making it suitable for a wide range of business models and industries. 

For direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands, remarketing is particularly beneficial. These businesses often rely on strong online presence and direct engagement with their customer base. 

However, it's important to note that the effectiveness of remarketing largely depends on the amount of traffic a website receives. Remarketing can be a game-changer for businesses with a minimum of 20,000 monthly unique visitors. This threshold ensures a substantial base of past visitors to target, making the campaigns more likely to yield significant returns.

Opensend, with its emphasis on higher reach, engagement, and net conversion, positions itself as an invaluable partner for businesses looking to harness the full potential of remarketing. This targeted approach optimizes marketing spend but also drives meaningful engagement, transforming past visitors into loyal customers.

How Can You Measure the Success of Remarketing Campaigns?

Evaluating the success of remarketing campaigns is crucial to understanding their impact on your marketing objectives and overall business goals. The measurement of success relies on tracking specific metrics that reflect the effectiveness of your strategies in engaging past visitors and converting them into customers. 

Key metrics include:

  • Conversion Rates: The percentage of users who take a desired action after clicking on a remarketing ad, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. This metric is fundamental in assessing the direct impact of your remarketing efforts on sales and conversions.
  • Click-Through Rates (CTR): Measures the effectiveness of your ads in compelling users to click through to your website. A higher CTR indicates that your ads are relevant and engaging to your target audience.
  • Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): The average cost of acquiring a customer through remarketing campaigns. Monitoring CPA helps ensure that your remarketing efforts are cost-effective and provide a good return on investment.
  • Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): This evaluates the revenue generated for every dollar spent on your remarketing campaigns. A positive ROAS indicates that your campaigns are generating more revenue than the cost to run them.

Opensend amplifies these efforts by offering advanced analytics capabilities that provide deeper insights into the performance of your remarketing campaigns. 

Examples of Successful Remarketing Campaigns

The real proof of remarketing’s effectiveness lies in the success stories of businesses that have leveraged this strategy to achieve remarkable results. 

Here are brief overviews of how remarketing has been successfully implemented:

1. E-Commerce Retailer

An e-commerce site specializing in outdoor gear implemented dynamic remarketing ads that showcased products viewers had previously looked at or added to their cart but did not purchase. The campaign led to a 35% increase in conversion rates and a significant boost in ROAS.

2. Service Provider

A SaaS company used email remarketing to re-engage leads that had interacted with their trial but did not convert to paying customers. By sending personalized emails highlighting the product's benefits and offering an exclusive discount, the company saw a 25% uplift in trial-to-customer conversions.

3. DTC Brand 

A direct-to-consumer beauty brand employed social media remarketing to target users who visited their site but did not make a purchase. The ads featured user-generated content and reviews, resulting in a 40% increase in repeat visits and a 20% uplift in sales from the targeted segment.

Opensend has facilitated these and many other successful remarketing efforts for DTC businesses by focusing on net new revenue with a multi-channel approach. 

What Sets Opensend Apart in Remarketing?

Opensend distinguishes itself in the remarketing domain through its transparency, multi-channel approach, and commitment to generating real revenue growth. 

Unlike others, Opensend integrates email, programmatic ads, and direct mail for a comprehensive strategy that targets engaged and interested users. This approach ensures efficient use of resources while enhancing customer interactions with personalized content. 

Additionally, Opensend's analytics provide actionable insights, allowing for continuous campaign refinement. This focus on improvement and clear communication positions Opensend as a top choice for businesses seeking effective remarketing solutions.

Quality-Focused Email Retargeting With Opensend

Opensend's email retargeting strategy prioritizes quality over quantity, sending targeted emails to highly engaged website visitors. 

This selective approach prevents email fatigue, increases engagement rates, and boosts conversions. By analyzing user behavior, Opensend identifies potential customers likely to respond to personalized messages, excluding existing leads to focus on acquiring new customers. 

Each campaign is tailored to specific interests, ensuring relevancy and value in every communication. This method emphasizes Opensend's commitment to delivering impactful email campaigns that resonate with recipients and drive tangible results.

Reimagining Customer Connections: The Final Word on Remarketing

Remarketing remains a winning strategy in the digital marketing landscape, offering an unparalleled opportunity to reconnect with potential customers who have shown interest in your brand. 

Through the strategic use of personalized ads, targeted emails, and dynamic content across multiple channels, businesses can significantly enhance brand recall, foster customer loyalty, and drive conversions. 

Now, Opensend, with its innovative approach to remarketing, underscores the importance of quality, transparency, and strategic engagement in transforming customer connections. Ready to transform your remarketing strategy and drive real results? 

Explore how Opensend can revolutionize your customer engagement efforts today.

Sources:

What Is Remarketing: 8 Types Of Remarketing To Consider | Search Engine Journal

What’s the difference between remarketing and retargeting? | The Drum

What is Remarketing? (+6 Tips for Becoming a Remarketing Master) | WebFX

Google Ads Benchmarks for YOUR Industry [Updated!] | WordStream

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