B2B retargeting: The ads you need for each stage of the sales funnel

If you run a business and sell either products or services online, you know that advertisement plays a key role in driving people to your website and furthering your lead generation strategy. But what if a user is not ready to make a purchase at the time of their visit? Or they get distracted and don’t finish filling in your lead generation form?

This happens fairly frequently; however, you can ensure you stay top of mind and there when a user is ready to commit. How? Using retargeting campaigns to remind users of your brand and associated offerings once they leave your website without purchasing anything.

What is retargeting?

Retargeting is a way of nurturing leads via paid advertising who have had initial contact with your brand. Using multiple tools such as Google Ads, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you can reach out to potential customers across a multitude of websites. It’s like a second attempt at turning a website visitor into a paying customer.

We all know how this works in the B2C sector. Say you’re looking for your next holiday destination. After looking at a few flight options and various hotels, you close those tabs without making a purchase. However, you may continue seeing ads from various providers about deals on holiday packages following you across the internet.

Retargeting in the B2B sector works in a similar manner. But instead of pursuing specific individuals, you’re often retargeting multiple key persons from a company. You will also have to do this for a longer period of time as, traditionally, the B2B sales funnel is much longer.

Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that it’s not worth doing. On the contrary, retargeted visitors are 70% more likely to convert or complete an action than users who weren’t targeted a second time. In fact, B2B retargeting outperforms B2C by almost 150% in terms of click-through rate. So it’s a worthwhile tactic, but where to start?

How to retarget the right people

To run a successful retargeting campaign, you first need to get your segmentation right. A good starting point is to reach out to users who have:

• Visited your website either once or multiple times and browsed through a couple of pages. How can you tell if a user is interested? A feature like lead scores is a nice determinant.
• Clicked on a landing page but didn’t fulfil the desired action.
• Downloaded a piece of gated content.
• Attended an event you hosted.
• Put an item in their cart and did not complete a purchase.

If you’re using Leadinfo, the above information is at your fingertips. Our software enables you to see the name and information of all the companies that visit your website. Export this data as an Excel or .cvs file and upload it to LinkedIn Campaign Manager to quickly retarget your website visitors. Enabling you to stay top of mind, connect with leads and increase your sales and customer loyalty.

Then, take it a step further and use the data from your website visitors to create lookalike audiences in LinkedIn Campaign Manager. This helps you expand your reach while ensuring that you’re connecting with people who fit your ideal customer profile.

Don’t forget to exclude companies that are already customers from your campaigns. For example, suppose you are running a campaign to convert individuals who have visited a specific landing page. In that case, it’s counterproductive to reach out to users who have already completed the desired action. Not only will you be wasting money, but also hurting your brand credibility.

Match your retargeting efforts to your sales funnel

Once you’ve identified users to retarget, it’s time to create different adverts which match each step of your sales funnel. Doing this ensures your messages, with tailored content and a matching CTA, will resonate with a user and guide individuals towards a desired action.

Top of the funnel retargeting strategy

The top of the funnel is also known as the awareness stage. During this stage, users are at the beginning of their research and may have quickly browsed your site or clicked on one of your landing pages but done little else. So the aim of retargeting campaigns should be to get decision-makers acquainted with your offering.

To do this, you could promote an introductory video about your company, guide visitors towards your blog section or podcast page or direct them towards a designated landing page. Capture their attention and start forging a relationship.

Middle of the funnel retargeting strategy

The middle of the funnel is where prospects start to become more serious and show more definitive interest in your product or services. Perhaps a company has read your blog or follows you on social media, but they show little interest in buying. This is when retargeting can really come in handy as it reminds users of their intent to learn more, further builds trust and drives them to convert.

Content to push forward at this stage includes whitepapers or webinars about a topic which the organisation has recently researched, inviting decision-makers to an event you’re hosting or encouraging users to sign up for a free trial. Give value away for free while demonstrating how you can solve the current challenge an organisation is facing.

Bottom of the funnel retargeting strategy

This is the final stage where deals are closed. Leads have transformed into prospects and are well aware of who you are and what you have to offer. You just need to be top of mind when they are making a purchase decision.

Therefore, your retargeting campaign should guide companies towards service pages, gated content, or landing pages which ask for contact information so you can get in touch with prospects. In addition to pushing ads which show bundles that you currently have on offer or limited-time deals. The latter option also pushes users to make a decision and to do so now rather than later.

Elevate your sales funnel via retargeting

Once a deal has been sealed, retargeting can still be used to upsell, nurture loyalty or drive referrals. However, you’ll have passed the biggest hurdle, and your retargeting efforts may diminish dramatically.

Therefore, a well-executed B2B retargeting campaign can boost your brand awareness, further your lead generation efforts and increase your bottom line. By selecting the right individuals to retarget and matching your messaging to their standing in the sales funnel, you have a recipe for success.