With the golden years of a booming economy a thing of the past, advertisers are rapidly changing their online strategies in order to retain customer interest. As an online marketer, it is important to ensure that budgets are spent wisely in areas that guarantee the most effective return on investment. The latest technology from the Microsoft Media Network (if you're in the US you can find relevant information here: MMN) can help you with this, re-capturing potential customers that do not convert the first time they see your message.
Understanding Your Customer’s Journey:
Customers encounter multiple touch points along their online journey; from Email and Video Sharing to Search and Social Networking. The most effective online advertising campaigns encompass a range of different formats and present customers with relevant and streamlined messaging throughout their journey. Understanding how the different platforms work towards the success of these campaigns and the audience they attract is one of the first steps to managing a successful online campaign in a tough economic climate.
Re-engage with Non-converting Customers:
The main objective of any Search campaign is to drive traffic to a website. Once on the site, the customer will either explore and leave or explore and convert. Of course it’s great when a customer converts, however, what does an advertiser do when a potential customer decides not to make or complete a purchase/registration? In most cases the answer is nothing and the customer is left to return to the Search engine to refine their search or try alternative advertisers. This can be a costly exercise with little return, especially if high CPCs were paid to get that potential client to the landing page in the first place.
What does the MMN offer Search Advertisers?
The Microsoft Media Network (MMN) has developed the technology to track customers that failed to convert and follow them along their online journey; it’s called Re-messaging.
Re-messaging is a key example of how Search and Display can work better together to drive conversions and is ideal for search advertisers who are also interested in buying display advertising. This technology gives Search advertisers the opportunity to capture lost conversions by identifying customers who have engaged with their website but failed to convert during their visit.
Once identified, advertisers can re-message these individuals with relevant display advertising in a bid to encourage them to return and complete their purchase or sign-up. This is carried out across the sites contained within the MMN such as Microsoft owned and operated sites including MSN and WL Hotmail, which reach 67.1% UK online population [NNR, Dec 08], as well as third-party sites such as Facebook and other comScore top-100 ranked UK sites that make-up the MMN.
When a searcher visits any of the sites contained within the network they are recognised as someone who visited the advertiser’s site but did not convert. As a result, they are then re-messaged with a Display ad. This process helps to significantly improve conversion rates by enticing searchers to return and complete their purchase. Using MMN has already proved highly effective for Display advertisers, Direct Line who saw a 180% increase in quotation requests in 6 months and Relatie Plane (dating website) had an additional 65,000 users sign up to their site.
“Better Together” Research so far:
Microsoft conducted a study with a leading high street bank, which explored the added value gained from combining Search and Display elements in an integrated online campaign. The results showed that Display advertising promoted a slight but noticeable increase in converting traffic to the advertiser’s website; the Search advertising on its own had a slightly larger impact, however combining the two proved to be the most effective way to increase conversions (see chart below).
The research also indicated that while Search may be a powerful tool for attracting existing customers to make a purchase, Display is a key means of widening the scope of a campaign to those customers who had not yet thought explicitly about making that purchase.
Additional Opportunities:
The opportunities re-messaging presents for Search advertisers are huge. Not only can Re-messaging assist in driving searchers back to purchase a product, it can also be used to cross-sell other products. For example, a searcher who recently booked flights to New York can also be re-messaged to book a hotel with the same advertiser. Working better together with Re-messaging will increase sales and drive a consistent message to your customers by reinforcing brand awareness and streamlining your campaigns.
The most effective campaigns switch seamlessly from Display to Search (and back again) with consistent messages and hooks between the different formats.
If you haven’t already done so, keep up with notifications of new posts and other announcements by becoming a fan on our Facebook Page or by following us on Twitter.
And remember, you can provide your adCenter feedback and feature ideas to us at any time by visiting our Feedback Forum
Thanks for reading!
Liz & Kirsty in London