Lead Retargeting – How to Revitalize Your B2B Contact List

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I write a lot about how to generate B2B leads. Usually, the context is to target new prospects, individuals or companies who have not previously responded to a lead gen offer. While marketing to fresh prospects is certainly important, there may be a gold mine available right beneath your feet – your existing contact list.

There are many good reasons to focus on lead retargeting, including:

  1. Assuming you have good contact information, remarketing usually costs a lot less than marketing to fresh prospects.
  2. On both a cost and effort basis, retargeting your contact list should be much more effective than first-time marketing. By this, I mean you will get a lower cost per inquiry and lower cost per customer acquisition. We often see remarketing results that are 5X to 10X that of marketing to fresh lists.
  3. Retargeting is a good way to protect your potential customer base. Remember, your competition wants to sell to these people just as much as you do, so making sure that you stay front-of-mind is worth the effort.
  4. Retargeting can invigorate a prospect list. Our clients are often surprised by how much value we find in their dormant contact list.

In future posts I will discuss some of the specific techniques you can use for lead retargeting. But for now, let’s talk about who you should consider as part of your remarketing efforts. While some companies like to be targeted and exclude entire segments, my preference is to go as broad as possible. Here are some of the categories to include:

  • Past customers
  • Lapsed customers
  • Inquiries to any offer
  • Blog subscribers
  • Past qualified leads
  • Other opt-in contacts

Whether you are reaching out by email, physical mail, telephone, or some other way, make sure to eliminate duplicates before reaching out to the contact list. People get annoyed when you send them multiple copies of the same offer. Your biggest challenge may be compiling the different lists. It’s not unusual to have contact lists stored in multiple locations like CRM systems, personal databases, Microsoft Outlook, marketing automation applications and so forth. And if you expect a backlash because of the age or poor condition of your contact list, break it down into smaller chunks.

One of the keys to going broad is to have an easy opt-out process. Some of the people on our contact list may have forgotten that they once opted in, so to prevent the spam label, make sure to give them a quick and convenient way to unsubscribe.

The most effective lead retargeting program for your environment depends on a number of unique factors. As I mentioned, we will talk in future posts about the best offers and methods to reactivate a tired contact list. But I encourage you to get started. Your contact list is not getting any fresher and the best time to begin is right now.

I am going to be speaking on the topic of retargeting leads at the B2B Leads Conference in New York City, August 14-15. Please look me up if you attend this event.

Republished with author's permission from original post.

Christopher Ryan
Christopher Ryan is CEO of Fusion Marketing Partners, a B2B marketing consulting firm and interim/fractional CMO. He blogs at Great B2B Marketing and you can follow him at Google+. Chris has 25 years of marketing, technology, and senior management experience. As a marketing executive and services provider, Chris has created and executed numerous programs that build market awareness, drive lead generation and increase revenue.

1 COMMENT

  1. Chris, this blog is loaded with excellent points for retargeting your contact list! And, thank you for the reminder to dedup and offer an easy opt out. Great stuff!! Looking forward to future posts!

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