A healthy bottom line is about more than having a great product or service to sell to a target demographic willing to buy it.
It’s about identifying exactly the right market for your product and convincing them that what your company has to offer is indeed the solution they’ve been searching for.
Behavioral marketing has changed so much about how businesses spread the word about their products.
By leveraging crucial data about how customers really behave when browsing a company’s website or e-commerce shop, marketing campaigns have become a lot more accurate.
Here’s a closer look at what behavioral marketing is all about and how it can help your business stay ahead of the curve.
It encourages better engagement with your website
Someone who visits your website may decide to abandon that visit at any time for any reason.
Sometimes people simply lose interest in whatever they were doing there and leave on a whim. Other times they’re simply distracted by something else vying for their time.
However, savvy marketers know that a dropped visit doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of interest in the products the visitor viewed.
Behavioral marketing gives companies the tools they need to retarget potential customers that showed interest in specific products (or even placed them in a shopping cart) before leaving a website.
This can be done by directly reminding them of the items they considered or otherwise re-engaging them and encouraging them to complete their purchase.
It helps augment average order size
Every time an existing or potential customer drops by your website for a look around, they generate a unique navigation trail.
They leave lots of valuable little clues behind that can easily be used to customize their experience better and increase the chances of them not only buying something but buying more than they might have otherwise.
Behavioral marketing can help you redirect interested consumers who’ve likely already decided to buy toward more terrific products that might strike their fancy.
These could be similar items or different items that perfectly complement something they’ve purchased before or may have in their cart to buy this time around.
One thing you can’t ignore here is how subtle some of these nudges have become. Almost amusing, sometimes—the way a shopping site will suggest a water bottle “since you bought running shoes,” as if everyone needs hydration the moment they lace up. Yet, customers seem surprisingly receptive to these suggestions, and it’s not just coincidence. The science behind the recommendation engines, built on a giant pile of browsing and purchase data, makes the experience oddly tailored and, well, a little uncanny at times.
The funny part is, even people who consider themselves immune to advertising will end up adding that “one more thing” if enough dots are connected for them. You see it on checkout pages, email follow-ups, even push notifications when you haven’t visited for a while—an entire ecosystem quietly collaborating to pump up the average order size. Marketers might debate just how aggressive to get here, but the data keeps pointing toward personalization as the silent heavyweight in getting carts from “almost there” to “can’t close the lid.”
How Does Behavioral Marketing Work?
As with other types of marketing, there’s a method and science to behavioral marketing. Here’s a look at how a typical campaign will play out from start to finish.
Data Collection
The data involved in behavioral marketing typically comes from multiple sources.
Yes, these sources include the company’s website and e-commerce platforms. However, they also include mobile apps, CRM systems, and many other automated systems that may be in place.
Types of data gathered could consist of (but aren’t necessarily limited to):
- Which demographics visitors belong to.
- How long they stay on-site and what pages they visit.
- Any log-in information they may have created.
- What they’ve purchased and when.
- Typical depth of content engagement.
Segmentation
Once the data collection phase is completed, it’s time to combine similar visitors into segments and sub-segments.
Again, many criteria might be used to differentiate one group of people from another, but they will almost always be based on behavior.
Many segment systems will contain groups separated by gender, age, or whether someone has purchased in the past.
But some groups may be for customers who love buying sweaters vs. sundresses or baked goods vs. cleaning supplies.
Data Application
Once each lead is successfully organized into one or more groups, it’s time to start crafting campaigns targeted to appeal to each unique segment.
The more specific the segment, the more detailed and relevant any resulting advertising is likely to be.
Not only does stellar accuracy help you make sales, but it helps personalize the experience for the user, making them feel valued and catered to.
Follow-up and assessment of each campaign result is an integral part of this stage, as well. After all, even a great strategy can be made better next time.
The greater the depth of your analysis, the more accurate you’ll be able to make your future campaigns.
Types of Behavioral Marketing
These days, behavioral marketing is everywhere you go online, from your favorite social media platforms to news outlets and Google search results.
In fact, you probably see it in action so often, you hardly notice it anymore. Here are some examples of common types to know.
Email Marketing
Suppose you’ve received an email from a business about an abandoned shopping cart you left at their web store or a couple of items you may have been checking out.
In that case, you’re already very familiar with this type of behavioral marketing. Specific customer behaviors trigger relevant emails in a similar manner.
For example, let’s say a customer leaves a full shopping cart behind. They may receive an initial email about an hour afterward, encouraging them to complete their purchase.
If that fails to get results, they might receive others a day or two later, perhaps with a discount code included to help sweeten the pot.
Social Media Ads
Any time you browse social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram these days, the ads that fly through your newsfeed are likely eerily relevant.
If they’re not directly relevant to you, they likely are to someone else in your family or household.
Social media targeting is modern behavioral marketing at its best.
It can be used to drum up local business, encourage return visits to favorite websites, or interest potential leads in services similar to others they’ve already shown interest in.
Google Ads
Google is one of the undisputed kings of data collection, and their search and display ads are proof positive these days.
For example, let’s say a customer in the market for a new laptop decides to start the shopping process with a good, old-fashioned Google search.
They’ll get a nice page full of relevant search results with a bank of shopping ads for laptops right at the top.
If the person decides to interact with those ads without also making a purchase, they’ll likely see more of the same hanging out on other sites they visit for a while.
The idea is to remind them that they were checking out laptops a little bit ago and potentially prompt another shopping session, preferably one that ends in a purchase.
Wrap Up: Data-Driven Marketing and the Future of Your Company
Although the world of digital marketing is ever-changing, one thing’s for sure: data is king, and it’s here to stay.
Data-driven marketing practices (like behavioral marketing) are also the key to making lasting connections with your customers, boosting sales margins, and turning your brand into a true force to be reckoned with.
Now it’s time to learn the building blocks of a solid data-driven marketing campaign.
Check out our issue of Rock Content Magazine for a look at everything you need to know to get started. You’ll learn about the emerging role of AI in marketing, how storytelling fits into an outstanding campaign, all about data visualization, and more!
}}
