By using the right tools and strategy, you can find consumers when and where they need you most

The key to a successful marketing campaign boils down to meeting consumers where they’re at – in both the purchasing process and in life. E-commerce and the widespread adoption of mobile devices have revolutionized the way information is collected, stored, referenced, and employed, with the end result being an abundance of data that defines users more clearly than ever before. Although this surplus of information is a boon to advertisers, it can become overwhelming and costly if its use isn’t approached thoughtfully.

The BDEX DXP allows advertisers to identify and refine a potential audience at every stage along a spectrum of behavior and when the data was collected. The combination of the robust BDEX ID Graph and cross-device matching authenticates customer information across devices, allowing advertisers to reach individuals at every point of their progress through the sales funnel. Using data strategically means more opportunity to target your message to reach – and appeal to – the most qualified consumers, resulting in a higher conversion rate and increased return on investment.

Find your target

Ironically, one of the greatest challenges in digital marketing in recent years is related to the proliferation of devices. According to information from Cisco, there will be an average of 13 devices per person in North America by 2021. This increase has actually made it more difficult to chart a consumer’s path to purchase as they switch between smartphones, tablets, laptops, and smart TVs to do their research and shopping.

The BDEX ID graph uses authenticated customer information such as log-in data, email addresses, and credit card purchases to recognize consumers by assigning each user a customer ID for accurate matching. This enables marketers to seamlessly reach individuals across their many devices.

Perfect timing

Timing is everything in advertising. Finding the right segment of the population to deliver your message to is only half the battle – true success involves finding the right people at the right time. For instance, say your product is a family-friendly minivan with features such as a built-in hand vacuum, ample storage, and ease of installation for car seats; something clearly designed to appeal to parents.

Sure, you could perform a broad search to find people who are car shopping and in the age range to be parents, casting a wide net; however, customizing your audience to include parents (of multiple young children) who have explicitly researched safety features and/or recently purchased a car seat would vastly help you narrow your targeting and increase conversion rates.

The BDEX Explore Data tool allows you to mine through various data sets to reach customers throughout their purchasing process:

1. Build a custom audience

In the above example of marketing a family-friendly minivan, you’d want to direct your messages to people with children who are shopping for a new vehicle. The BDEX Explore Data tool offers many creative ways to do that. The various industries and taxonomies allow you to define your audience by their actions, preferences, interests, or behavior in an easily searchable database.

For instance, start by selecting the audience class under “Recreation/Autos,” where available options include visits to autotrader.com in the last 30 days, or people searching for safety ratings. Combine that with other criteria such as age, sex, income, marital status, and number and age of children to narrow your audience for relevancy and specificity.

2. Early sales funnel

Defining an audience profile gives you the ability to create relevant content that is tailored to their specific interests. With your customer persona in mind, brainstorm keywords and topics to inspire your blog and social media content for inbound marketing.

Designing content around information that is useful to your audience – versus outright advertising – improves search engine optimization, increases brand recognition, and can help position your brand as a trusted source.

The BDEX Explore data tool can help you find people interested in purchasing a vehicle. Choose the “Shopping/Vehicles” industry tab and the “In Market for” taxonomy to provide results of 346,600,348 unique devices. From there, the “Audience class” taxonomy offers an option for Van/minivan which returns 64,689,710 results and the “Before buying a car, I will find the safety rating” taxonomy narrows your audience to 5,478,601.

Content around tips for keeping your car clean and organized, automobile safety features every parent should know, and car seat installation tips would all be good examples of organic content ideas that would appeal to parents in the market to purchase a family-friendly minivan.

3. Real-time targeting

So, you know your audience and have content that is relevant to their interests … how do you make sure they see it? The data tool uses programmatic advertising to help direct your efforts. It ensures that your display ads appear for your targeted audience on digital content they are consuming in real time.

Your parameters could include people visiting a particular blog, content tagged with specific keywords, or people watching a certain television show. The “Persona/Family” industry includes a “Has Children” taxonomy with a count of 130,154,415 devices.

Under the “Audience Class” taxonomy for the “Shopping/Children” industry, options include households which have bought children’s clothing within the past 12 months, as well as people who buy diapers or have shopped at Babies R Us within the last three months.

4. Post-purchase

Continue to build brand loyalty and increase the chance of repeat sales by cross-referencing clickstream data, geofencing data, and purchase history to personalize post-transaction messaging.

For instance, the “Persona/Auto” industry tab has a taxonomy for “Auto Class” which leads to an option to target owners of specific car makes and models. You could create a geofencing parameter to target visitors to particular car lots or repair stations and send messages about service reminders or purchase anniversaries under one of many taxonomies in the “Shopping/Vehicles” industry tab.

There is no shortage of data available to interested advertisers, but having a strategy that includes the ability to identify your audience and place yourself in their path at every section of the sales funnel will exponentially increase your chances at winning their attention – and making the most of your marketing budget.

Building your own custom audiences allows for the type of focus and flexibility that gives your agency an edge over competitors. Learn how BDEX data can strengthen your strategy.