Just because a customer leaves your website, that doesn't necessarily mean it has anything to do with your company. Maybe the customer got interrupted by their children, or their boss walked passed their desk, or their table was ready, or the movie was starting, etc. Keeping this in mind, following up with a customer at another time can prove to be a crafty marketing tool. AdRoll's State of the Industry report declared that 90% of marketers said that retargeted ads perform as well or better than search, email, or display advertising.

So, what is retargeting? Customer retargeting is a marketing strategy for online businesses geared toward those who have bounced off their websites. Companies load a tracking pixel on their websites that follows customers when they leave and then places an ad for their business on another unrelated website that they land on. If you've had this happen to you, that's how. It's sneaky, but it works. Haven't you ever had second thoughts about buying an item on Amazon, leaving it in your cart, then seeing it when you pop over to target.com for a different product and you take it as a sign to buy it? No? Just me? OK, then.

Be that as it may, some may look at retargeting as stalking and it can have an adverse effect. But it can also be very effective, as it is a way to keep your company's product or service top-of-mind to bring customers back for a purchase. It's definitely straddling a fine line, but learning how to retarget the proper way will ensure you're engaging your customers with the right product at the right time.