Website Retargeting Spurs Business
Most RV dealers have seen the power of digital advertising at play. It's no secret that bringing people to your website and online inventory is a great way to generate leads and sales, but there is only so much you can do to keep that interest going. Other local dealerships may have great websites too, possibly with newer units or better prices. At the end of an online research session for a new RV, your potential customer may have visited a dozen different sites and forgotten about yours.
Website retargeting is an online advertising strategy that allows dealers to keep your brand in front of the online users who would have otherwise became members of your “bounced traffic” – those who visited then decided to leave your site. Because those online users had enough interest to visit your site in the first place, you can then serve them ads that encourage them to return and visit again. Website retargeting displays ads for your dealership on a variety of other websites to keep your brand in the forefront of the potential customer's mind. Staying relevant throughout your prospect’s online buying process is key to earning their business.
Pixel-based retargeting uses unobtrusive code (sometimes referred to as a "cookie") to anonymously track leads online. This code won't be noticeable to your visitors and it won’t affect your website's performance. When an online user visits your site, this code lets the retargeting provider know to then serve ads. This ensures that your ads are only appearing for people who have previously visited your site.
The reason this strategy is so effective is because it focuses on people who are already familiar with your brand and have expressed interest. Because of this pre-requisite to advertise, website retargeting generally brings in a higher ROI than many other digital marketing strategies. However, the strategy isn’t a holistic solution to digital advertising. While it boosts lead conversion along the buyer's journey, you still need to draw prospects in to your website in the first place — in other words, an online customer must first become a target in order to retarget them. There is still a need for strategies like search engine optimization and marketing (SEO and SEM).
One of the greatest advantages of website retargeting is that it enhances your existing marketing efforts. Maybe your brand is very well-established, and you already see tons of traffic to your site, but those leads aren't converting to sales. Retargeting is the most effective way to encourage those leads to reconsider your brand, while also increasing the chance that the lead will convert to a sale. Potential RV customers typically do a lot of research and comparison when considering a new purchase, so it's likely they'll jump from site to site, looking for the best fit. The RV customer journey is usually a long one, but website retargeting helps to retain customer interest by continuing to pull them back to your site. The strategy is also great for simply promoting brand awareness. It is a similar idea to having billboards along the freeway past your dealership — even if prospects leave, they will keep seeing your brand.