• by Chad Little , July 13, 2010

I think the term CRM is highly overused today -- it means a lot of different things to different people, and it's lost a lot of the spirit of what's behind it. Most of the focus right now is on customer management systems rather than relationship management techniques. Expediently managing a large database of contacts now overshadows the more important application of CRM: improving customer attitudes through creative application of technology.

I've noticed several ways companies have been using retargeting to build relationships. Retargeting, as you probably know, is a method of putting relevant display ads in front of the prospects who left your Web site without converting.

Point of disclosure here -- I work for a company that focuses on retargeting, but this is not a shameless plug for our services. Any number of companies can deliver retargeting. In fact, Google now offers retargeting (its term is "remarketing"), and we think it's a solid choice for advertisers looking to test the waters with simple self-service solutions. But I want to focus on the actual creative techniques, not the delivery method.

Retargeting is one of a direct marketer's most valuable tools, but it's not limited to posting ads. A company looking to build its brand and market awareness can use retargeting to increase its visibility across a wide variety of Web sites. I call this the "Puffer-Fish Effect" because you can be small but appear to have a massive ad budget and a hugely successful business when your retargeted ads show up repeatedly in many different places. Your budget might be a fraction of your competitors' -- even a Fortune 500 company might have a tiny budget for a specific product or service -- but with retargeting, you can seem like the big fish in a huge pond.

Another "off-label" use for retargeting is to establish more and deeper relationships with new and existing customers through creative use of the ad space you're buying. Because of the profiling data behind your retargeting campaign, you know quite a lot about your visitors and can be laser-focused with the information you present to them. Think of retargeting as the chance to put an individualized window on many other sites: what can you put there to influence your visitors?

• PR Agency in a Banner. What about using your banner space for public relations? Think about who's visited your site before: reporters, industry-related companies, board members, clients, and yes, even competitors. If you have news to release or something to crow about, what better group to see it? Retargeted ad space is a very cost-effective way to announce PR.

• Custom Blog Feed. Think about your blog: it's an excellent way to invite people into your company and culture. But if your visitors haven't subscribed to your RSS feed, they may never hear your news. Try using retargeting as an extension of your blog and reach more of the folks who've read about you before.

• Mini Floating Job Board. Where do you recruit new staff? Are you deluged with résumés when you advertise on one of the biggies like Monster? Try using your retargeted space to post your job openings. You can send notices for specific positions to applicants who have visited certain jobs on your job boards, or a more general announcement to anyone who has engaged with your site before.

• Operators Are Standing By. With dynamic ad technology you can let prospects enter their phone numbers to get an instant callback (or an email for click-to-chat) -- a great way to reconnect after a prospect has left your site without converting. This technique can also be useful as part of a loyalty program, reminding your customers that you're still out there. Any time you can start a live conversation, you're getting close to a sale.

I bet you've already thought of several other ways to use retargeting that I haven't mentioned -- please share them in the comments below.

Analytics give us so much data that we can get tunnel vision and forget the importance of building and protecting our brands. It's more important than ever to stay top-of-mind with customers, and traditional methods alone don't cut it. Only by thinking outside the box will you find the relationship-building techniques that will set you apart from the competition.