Creeping from a retailer’s perspective
Who you are, what you like, what you buy and how you shop is being tracked by digital marketers whether you like it or not
If you’ve been active on social media this holiday season, or used a search engine to browse gift ideas and entertaining options, don’t be surprised to find tailor-made Boxing Day deal offers waiting for you next time you check your mobile device.
The holidays abound with shopping, eating and travel. Everywhere we go, everything we do, our phones — thanks to location tagging on GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth networks — record analytics that marketers use to target us with offers that suit our tastes to a T. “There’s so much data available to us,” says Kathryn Howell, managing partner of marketing firm H2O Digital. “When people update Facebook, they’re feeding advertisers tons of information.”
Boxing Day is fertile ground for geofencing technology. Advertisers can see from our digital trails which online shoppers have been eyeing HD TVs at Best Buy, or leather bags at Nordstrom. As these shoppers stroll through malls, retailers can detect their presence with geo-tagging, and in real-time serve ads and offers to their mobile devices.
Say you’re in the market for a barbecue. You’ve Googled different options, and gone on Facebook or Twitter to solicit recommendations. One day you drive by Home Depot and see an ad on your mobile device for a barbecue sale at that location. “Some think, ‘How did they know I was looking for a barbecue?’ ” Howell says. “But generally most just go, ‘Oh perfect, Home Depot has a barbecue and I need one.’ ”
If the consumer declines to pursue an offer, advertisers will retarget them. “We keep serving them with that ad, putting it in their feed until they take an action.” They can then deploy “lookalike ads” to your network. “Maybe you have neighbours and friends the same age with similar interests. If you’re interested in that product, they might be, too,” she adds
In some cases consumers proactively consent to being contacted, signing up for newsletters and emails, or to receive deals via text. It means being targeted even more precisely. Marketers can see which content or offers you click on, and how often you return to the website, which shapes subsequent targeting. Consumers who consent to being contacted often provide other demographic info, like the kind of work you do, or if you have kids. “Marketers want to ensure they’re sending the most relevant offers and ads possible,” Howell says.
Targeting methods vary based on type of operation: local shops or ecommerce.
Local businesses cater to a surrounding community, so look to ser- vices like Yelp, Google Maps and local directories to spread the word online. They might also do search engine marketing. “When people look for a product or service, your ads show up in the search results,” explains Vimal Siva, CEO of Outreach Media, a digital ad agency. Services like Google AdWords push sponsored listings to the top of search results. “Search engine marketing is popular with local guys because you can say ‘I want to target10 kilometres around my area’ and only show ads to those people.”
Another way retailers rank higher in results is with content marketing, filling websites with keyword-rich content to generate search engine attention.
For e-commerce retailers, given they’re 100 per cent digital, social media is the paramount platform for reaching customers. “Facebook is the giant,” Siva says. “Everybody’s on it.” Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest are other preferred destinations for targeted ads. Ideally, existing fans and followers will share it with their networks. “And then it’s a viral web effect, like word-of-mouth advertising.”
New shoppers are dealt with differently than repeat customers. To ignite their interest, marketers may send out an offer based on profile information gleaned from social media and search activity. If you don’t show interest, advertisers may retarget you, showing you the same or modified ads for weeks. “It’s all about reminders,” says Siva. “You’re trying to get in front of the audience.”
Existing customers are easier to target, as advertisers have more data about patterns and preferences. “It’s cheaper to market to an audience already connected to you.”
Our distinct digital footprint helps businesses to target us more effectively, notes Seung Hwan (Mark) Lee, associate professor at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Retail Management. “We’re no longer going into stores and having sales people ask us 100 questions. Now all behaviour is tracked for you. And it’s crazy how specific retailers can get.”
But caveat emptor. The more data customers give out — inadvertently or not — the more about our identities we reveal, which carries risks. He advises setting up separate email accounts for retailer communications. Regularly clear cookies on browsers, so online activity can’t be tracked easily. Search in “incognito” mode. And if you’re uncomfortable buying online, do it in-store, Lee advises. “Just use online as a research tool.”