Targeting “Now” Customers

Targeting ‘Now’ Customers Who Are Ready to Buy

Online marketing often focuses on one area of attraction, and that is new visitors. While that’s an obvious and essential approach, and one that you should never lose focus on, there is one market segment that is passing many marketers by: the in-market buyers segment.

In-market buyers are those prospects who are visiting a website frequently because they are actively considering the purchase of a product or service. These are among the hottest leads you can hope to attract, and it’s important that you hit them with the right marketing before they go to a competitor, or change their mind.

Every good marketing plan should include a section dedicated to “in-market” or “now” customers. But how do you know that you have an in-market audience to play to, and what can you do to convert these visitors into customers?

Retarget With Google

Tools like Google’s in-market audiences feature can help you get closer to your goals. This feature allows you to create display campaigns so that you can reach prospects further up the sales funnel. By tailoring your ads for this specific subset of visitors, you have a better chance of optimizing your conversions. Retargeting, or remarketing in this way, helps to remind interested consumers about your brand by connecting them to your ads.

Let’s say a potential car buyer visits the same car website over a matter of a few hours, or a couple of days. The same prospect has also been looking at car reviews and car comparison sites. That’s a hot lead right there. Google collects this data, making it easier for marketers to tailor their ads and display frequency for this subset of in-market buyers.

The Direct Approach

In-market data can also help you to define precise direct marketing campaigns that make growing or building a brand that much easier. For example, when you know who your in-market buyers are, whether through data collection or sign-ups to your website, you can target them with marketing that is designed for prospects further up the sales funnel. If we use the car buyer analogy above, examples might include an exclusive discount on the exact model they are looking for, technical information about the model, or an email inviting them for a free test drive. When you know who to play to and when, the remarketing possibilities are endless.

Final Thoughts

Improving your reach to potential customers who are actively researching and browsing the products or services you sell is one of the most powerful search marketing strategies you can use. By identifying and targeting those visitors who have demonstrated their intent to purchase, you raise your chances of conversion exponentially.