In the world of e-commerce, new and innovative tools to increase online sales or grow your business are being developed and refined constantly. 'Big data' is the term used to describe the colossal volume and speed of data that constantly floods the internet. This data, because of its size, is difficult to process. However, with today's technology and tools in place, it can be captured, harnessed, analysed and used to increase revenue, as well as track and retain customers, providing a much improved outcome for businesses.

Many visitors to a website will spend time browsing, and possibly even deposit items into a shopping cart, only to abandon the cart at checkout. There are many reasons for cart abandonment, including: comparison shopping, no funds to buy at the time of browsing, security concerns, high shipping costs and confusion at the checkout. This amounts to billions of dollars in lost e-commerce sales every year.

Whether you're looking for sales, sign-ups, subscriptions or any other form of transaction, a staggering 98% of visitors will leave before taking your desired action.

How can I get them back?

Retargeting, also referred to as remarketing, is the process of tracking a visitor after they have left your website. It's a highly effective but relatively simple technology which helps businesses to track and potentially recapture those visitors. Retargeting can lead to an increase in return visits to your website, and higher prospects of positive engagement.

Why does retargeting work so well?

The World Wide Web is an astronomically large marketplace. While there are potentially billions of customers and clients, the challenge is to get your products, services and offers to the relevant audience. Retargeting works because you market only to those visitors who have already shown interest in what you have to offer. Retargeting keeps your brand at the top of mind and increases possibilities of conversion, by leveraging existing visitors.

How does retargeting actually achieve results?

Retargeting uses a hidden JavaScript code embedded into your website called a 'pixel'. Your visitors won't see it, but this pixel acts like a cookie and follows them wherever they may be browsing, anywhere on the internet. The result is that you can then supply your ads and market directly to those visitors.

Retargeting has been shown to produce a higher ROI than many other display advertising methods, because your ads will only be shown to those visitors who have previously engaged with your brand.

Can I use retargeting in my email marketing campaigns?

Retargeting is particularly effective because it can be directed at people who search for anything related to your brand, including those who open your emails.

The use of email marketing has more than tripled in the last four years, on average providing businesses with almost 7% total customer acquisition. By embedding a simple retargeting pixel in the signature or body of your email, you can reach your email subscribers anywhere on the web. This method of marketing is becoming increasingly popular because it means you can make multiple contacts with your customers without the need to send volumes of emails as often.

While retargeting obviously isn't going to work on its own, it's a highly effective strategy to use in your marketing arsenal for engaging with a user at a given time, with a specific message.

LeadMedia Group SA published this content on 18 May 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 18 May 2016 09:27:10 UTC.

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