“MICHAEL!!! Do You Realize What We Will Be Able to Do Now?” Those are the very words I shouted with excitement at 3am on February 13th, 2007! We had discovered we were able to do “Targeted Online Advertising” by the use of HTML identifier tags, IP addresses, and cookies. I am talking about Remarketing, which is also known as Retargeting, Behavioral Marketing, Interest Based Marketing or Targeted Online Advertising.

By harnessing this new technology, Michael and I felt we could change the way our dealers and dealer groups were advertising online in a very positive way. On February 14th, 2007, we named our enhanced version of this new-found technology “Webratz” as a play off of Potratz. This new technology would allow us to improve conversions even more on PPC campaigns and also conversions in general since we could now target individual consumers that visited our dealers websites with an ad featuring the specific vehicle they had expressed interest in.

Four days later, I was on my way to present our new Webratz technology to a large dealer group several hours away from our offices, and I knew what I was about to share with this progressive group would earn us our biggest dealer to date. Imagine the potential, reach, one-to-one advertising strength, and cost savings from serving the exact vehicle offer a car shopper had expressed interest in on the website. Not to mention we could also use this technology for service, collision, parts, accessories, secondary financing, and extended warranties, which were all the profit centers they were very dialed in on. To say I was excited would have been an understatement.

The meeting lasted for 37 minutes, and when I left that conference room, I was second-guessing my decision to keep Potratz solely focused on the Automotive industry. I was confused and amazed why they were not able to understand the competitive advantage and cost savings that remarketing would offer. I even had a non-compete agreement I was prepared to sign. I felt like our project was never going to get off the ground before it even started, since we needed significant funding to purchase enough ad placement on the top sites we had picked.

It Was A Fight Worth Fighting

Well, I picked myself up and dug in as I started calling more dealers and dealer groups that I felt would be willing to be our beta dealer. The result… Dealer 2: NO It sounds like spyware; Dealer 3: You Can Do What? When? How? Well, Get Back To Me Later; Dealer 4: That sounds like big brother, no thanks. And then after the 17th door being shut due to the dealer’s website provider refusing to place our remarketing code in “Their Website” I knew I had to try a different approach.

Then, I contacted the Business Review in Albany, NY, and Barbara Pinckney was happy to do an article about us and remarketing on June 25, 2007, opening two doors. But neither was automotive. In fact, these were a law school and a large furniture store wanting to give it that old college try. I was ecstatic since we finally had the funding to really start and test this new technology of remarketing. I am a gadget, software, and API fanatic so when I have new things like this to play with it is like Christmas, Easter, and my birthday all wrapped into one.

What We Learned Was Fascinating

We created a few hundred text ads and several hundred skyscraper, button, and leader board ads for our new clients as we tested and retested the results. It was fascinating as we watched the analytics and tried to sort why people clicked what they clicked and how the returning visits were being affected. We tested the website traffic by creating various campaigns ranging from “All Visitors,” “Subscribers,” and “Abandoned Shopping Carts.”

Then the light bulb went off that we could also “Cross Sell.” Working with a college and a large furniture store was actually the best thing that happened to our firm since we learned so much by being able to move outside of the automotive industry and expand our minds seeing how other industries operate so we could apply these strategies to our automotive clients. Yes, we finally had auto dealers give it that college try.

The Auto Industry is an e-commerce industry today, and to become truly successful as automotive marketers in the 21st Century we must think, act, and operate like an online retailer…just like Amazon.com and eBay! Refusing to change and learn like the Brick and Mortar Blockbuster Videos will result in a “STORE CLOSED” sign, while companies like Netflix that learned to restructure, embrace, and change the way they market results in four digit growth.

Choosing a Remarketing Partner That’s Right For You

Today, remarketing is being offered by a number of companies, but I must warn you remarketing is not created equal, just like PPC is not. I encourage you to do your homework and ask how a company develops the strategy. Remarketing is an extremely time consuming marketing tool when you first begin, but once you get the foundation in place with the correct text ads, banner ads, video pre-rolls, and landing pages, it will be well worth the time and expense. Remarketing is not a “set it and forget it” strategy if it is to work and not burn through cash. When choosing a company for your remarketing or digital marketing, do they work with other dealers in your market or do they offer a non-compete agreement? If not, I would have second thoughts, since this practice drives up cost and will not allow separation of messages in addition to the concern of sharing of code on competing dealers sites to drive up click cost. Transparency in the true actual cost for each campaign is a must.

Traditional Marketing or Digital Marketing or Combination

We also learned that we did not fit the Automotive Advertising Agency profile since that meant traditional advertising in our minds. We had many dealers shut the door on us since they felt we focused too much on digital marketing and did not talk enough about traditional marketing. Our reasoning? Yes, sure, we definitely do traditional marketing and have done so for years just as the dealers we spoke to, but what was missing is integrating digital marketing with traditional marketing to have a complete puzzle, which results in reaching more car shoppers more affordably.

Do You Really Need Remarketing?

It’s now 2011 and remarketing is gaining in popularity, which is perfect timing since it is a great marketing tool that no dealer’s marketing strategy should go without any longer. There are more vehicle makes and models than ever before and if a dealership is to continue growing in the 21st century they must reach a wider audience and do it for less! This fascinating old technology called Remarketing has left the Digital Technortti stage and should be part of every progressive dealer’s advertising strategy. When Remarketing is done correctly we have seen return visits as high as 47% and conversions of leads increase by 13-19%.

What Is Remarketing?

As an example, let’s assume Mary Car Shopper visits Potratz Audi of Albany via Google Search, PPC ad, Facebook Ad, Email Blast, or any means, and is researching a new Audi A6 Premium Plus. As she is completing the contact form, her work phone rings, so she closes the browser down and returns to her job. Ten to 15 days later, she decides she has time to shop for that Audi A6 again, but she can’t remember on which Audi dealer’s website she found the perfect A6. So, she begins the search again. The Potratz Audi dealer website she visited earlier has a 50/50 chance at best that she will return. However, if Potratz Audi used Remarketing… Mary would have been exposed to Potratz Audi as she surfed websites for the weather, news, recipes, hairstyles, etc. So Mary, now very familiar with this Audi dealer, could go directly to their site, stop in after work, or have clicked on one of the remarketing ads days earlier.

Just think of all the sites you visit that have ads on them…those are the very sites remarketing ads could be served on!

Remarketing is not a pop up ad…In fact, it is an ad embedded within websites like ESPN, ABC, Fox, Weather Channel and thousands of other top rated sites. This is a commonplace technology that is now being used by American Express, Bose, University of Phoenix and some car manufacturers. Are you using it?