Honey, I Hyper-personalized RTB Ads

In fact, I could start this post just like breaking news in the paper:

SALESmanago & Google DoubleClick integration allows for better-than-ever understanding the client and more effective communication!

Just to continue, then, with the vivid functionality description:

Google’s DoubleClick AdRemarketing is a module that enables for display ads 1-1 targeting, matched to the needs of each single user of the RTB network. In practice, it means that every user will be shown just one, individually created communicate.

And later, I could list the pros of such solution:

AdRemarketing allows for simple display ads targeting with last-viewed products, items in the abandoned shopping cart, similar products or based on other client’s data (current sales funnel stage, etc.)

And sum it all up at the end:

Dynamic remarketing allows for increasing sales results, develop win-back strategies, encouraging website visitors to come back and make a purchase.

Instead, my dear reader, I have decided to take you for a little trip to the online store. Let’s imagine a situation like this one:
A random person, named – let’s say – John Stone, visits your online shop. John skims through various sites dedicated for runners – looking at shoes, outfits, tracking wristbands – Fitbit-type, shoes, and loads of other gadgets. He jumps over different categories – t-shirts, pants, socks and shoes. And after doing all that – contrary to what logics would say – instead of putting all the needed and wanted items into the cart and making a purchase – he exits the shop…
What kind of information does this behavior give? You definitely know that John is somehow interested in running. You know that he already went through the stage of getting to know the story and is beginning to slowly move towards the purchase decision – attempts to buy the gear. You also know, that now – in the near future – purchase decision are going to be made in John’s mind. A simple situation – John has a need and funds to cover it and you have items that would fulfill this need. The only thing that’s missing is the common ground you can meet up at. Until the contact is online you can try various tricks to encourage one to buy. You may show recommendation frames, display a pop-up with the longest-viewed item or provide a discount code for future shopping. Hey, but what if John suddenly disappeared?

Find out how you can generate more leads. Download the ebook.

First option is to: Sit down, idle away and wait until he comes back and finally makes that purchase. This option is highly not-recommended, as it is proven to be totally ineffective and makes all previous marketing efforts useless.

The next, quite logical, step is to send John an email, in which you remind him that he paid you a visit and also you show him all the nice items he viewed. The decision to grant him a discount code or not can be made based on John’s scoring in the system and his history of relations with the company (you don’t need to do it manually – you only need to prepare a certain template and set a rule that will send it to John and everyone else who will perform the same kind of actions).

Moreover, you can display an advertisement to John. If you have John in the database, you can add him to Custom Audience and prepare a Facebook ad. There, while looking at the newsfeed, he will find items’ pictures, an invitation to shopping or even a contest or lottery news. There is high possibility that your message will make its way to John’s consciousness so firmly that he will come back to the store in order to finish once started shopping.

You also have an option that is perfect for people not fully-engaged in the purchase. I’m talking about display campaigns in RTB networks. We’ve recently mentioned it in the context of common ecommerce problems (if you haven’t read the ebook yet, you can download it here). Such campaign is based on a simple rule: you show ads, using the RTB networks (e.g. Google DoubleClick) to people who visited your website when they’re surfing the internet elsewhere. One may call it a common practice, but thanks to the latest integration you can really bring it to a whole new level.
Thus, John, after 2 days from the visit, when browsing another website, saw another website in DoubleClick ad frame which advertised the sports shoes he was interested in buying at your store. By personalizing your message you may start using such variables in SALESmanago as e.g.:

LTV (client’s long-term value)
frequency of purchases made
product lifecycle
stage in purchasing process

Also, for ecommerce companies and those who have product and service information in XML file, we have prepared a module of dynamic remarketing which allows for automatic products recommendation or abandoned cart recovery. The recommendation system is based on collected information, interests and client’s preferences. In order to send a totally personalized ad in the best-possible moment, to encourage one to make a purchase.

What possibilities does using this new method bring?

displaying product recommendations based on behavioral and transactional data
displaying products already recommended in the email message and other channels
showing products related to the ones last-purchased
showing products in accordance to client’s life cycle (LTV)
automatic campaign stop for people who made a purchase
online ads matched to offline behavior
reminders about products left in the abandoned cart

It results both in optimizing ad campaign costs, increasing traffic and website conversion rate, as well as levelling-up on personalization of the message towards all contacts and, therefore, empowering company’s image as a brand that comes upfront to clients and their real needs.

What do you think about the way of personalization the marketing message? Share your thoughts in comments!