Estimate vary. But today most marketers will tell you it takes anywhere from 7 to 20 touches to convert a lead into a sale. For most businesses, the idea of the one call close is a rarity.
Sales pros have always known that persistence is a vital quality. The determined salesperson who keeps smiling and dialing always ends up with better numbers.
Persistence is the idea behind retargeting software. Retargeting creates an automated tactic for touching leads, with the touch creating a psychological reminder that keeps your brand in a person’s mind.
It’s easy to underestimate the power of the touch. Ads windmill about us, the blinking provocateurs and neon smiles we become oblivious to even as they grab more aggressively at our attention.
But we can’t fully resist the impression. There’s that pair of shoes again, those skis I’d really love but shouldn’t splurge on, the unplanned vacation being subliminally planned.
Repetition alone has impact. That’s the secret top sales people know: they wear people down, winning them over with a combination of persistence, ingratiation, and persuasion.
Retargeting ads work on the same level. They are, simply put, there. They follow people around as they surf the net in a way the most persistent cold caller could only dream of. They follow-up because the software cookie learns the shopper’s preferences and delivers ads based on them. They follow-through with increasingly persuasive offers that break people down, bringing them back to your website to convert.
Today, it’s all but impossible to get the necessary touches you need with a sales lead directly. You’re not going to meet with them or talk on the phone 7 plus times.
You have to get into their routine. Social media likes. Email. And of course retargeting ads.