When I was in Beijing a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting one of the markets that sells a wide range of goods at “too good to be true” prices.
Here’s the script of what generally happens.
I walk past a stall selling questionably-authentic designer handbags.
Seller: [LOUD] Hello Sir, want to buy a designer handbag?
Me: No thank-you.
Seller: [LOUDER] We have all the designer makes, great prices.
Me: No thank-you. I don’t want to buy any handbags.
Most sellers at this point give up and forget you exist. You’re not interested, so why waste time?
Persistent seller: [SHOUT] But come and look. Expensive brands, low prices, I give you the best deal. How much you want to pay?
Me: Stop following me. I don’t want a handbag. Do I look like I buy handbags? Look at what I’m wearing. I will never buy a handbag.
Persistent seller: [SHOUT LOUD] Okay how much you want? Tell me price and I give you best deal in China. [PUSHES CALCULATOR IN MY HAND]
Me: Go away. I don’t want any handbag at all.
[FAST FORWARD 5 MINUTES]Me: …. I don’t want ANY bloody handbag…. why are you still following me? Please go away.
When the visitor to your website walks away without purchasing, downloading the trial or contacting you, they have most likely decided that they don’t want what you sell.
When you sell a solution to a problem, that decision is usually final.
Continuing to push the product they are no longer interested in is pointless.
It may work for choosing a vacation or ordering office supplies, but it won’t work with a solution to a problem.
So what does this have to do with Google?
Google explain their remarketing functionality as follows:
“Remarketing allows you to show ads to users who’ve previously visited your website as they browse the Web…Â Remarketing allows you to communicate with people who’ve previously visited key pages on your website, giving you a powerful new way to match the right people with the right message.“
The idea is that I go looking for software to monitor my websites. I come across your website, look at what you offer, then continue searching elsewhere. Remarketing allows you to reach those people again.
In theory it’s an interesting idea, but I don’t believe that it’s a good fit for software developers.
All software solves problems.
So in the above example my problem is that I don’t know when my website slows down to a crawl or crashes, until someone complains.
I go looking for a software solution, I find your product, then decide that it’s not what I’m looking for. So I move on.
Don’t emulate the crazy woman who followed me trying to sell me something I wasn’t remotely interested in.
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