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How Retargeting Ads Help Prendas Ciclismo Bring Back Shoppers and Find New Ones

Here’s how Google remarketing ads in Mailchimp help one UK‑based cycling company make customers out of the traffic they drive to their website.

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After taking over the UK-based apparel company Prendas Ciclismo in 2017, Andy Storey has been looking for ways to make the most of the traffic he drives to their website through email campaigns, social media, and magazine ads.

Since setting up a Google remarketing ad in Mailchimp, he’s recaptured the attention of these site visitors, who sometimes get distracted and leave, and turned them into customers.

“The stats don’t lie. When I look at the orders Mailchimp generates for us, it’s clear that it outperforms a lot of the other marketing we do,” Andy says.

Their customers are both recreational and hardcore cyclists who do their research and know what they want, but Andy realizes this doesn’t always guarantee they’ll buy something when they visit the site.

When he first set up the retargeting ad, he was looking to get any kind of return. “I was going to leave it for 4 weeks and see how well it performed. Now I don’t see any reason to turn it off.”

“I was going to leave it for 4 weeks and see how well it performed. Now I don’t see any reason to turn it off.”

In its first 3 months, Andy’s retargeting ad has made a total of £6,539 ($8,918), brought in 81 first-time buyers, and earned a 1,006% ROI. Here’s how he did it.  

Automate now, save time later

Prendas Ciclismo started using Mailchimp about 4 years ago to help keep their day-to-day operations running smoothly. At the time, Andy was working as the company’s webmaster, managing a system he created for sending their emails.

“It was kind of put together with virtual tape, so it took forever to send a lot of emails out and just wasn’t reliable. Mailchimp has helped us stay in touch with customers, who we email every 2 weeks to keep the brand top of mind.”

Using automation tools is new for Andy, but he says they make it easier to run his business.

“It sounded like automations would be hard work, but once you sit down and give yourself an hour, it’s actually really straightforward.”

Now that his retargeting ad is up and running, Andy sets aside an hour each week to log into his account and check out his reports to stay on top of how his campaigns are performing.

“Mailchimp makes it clear what your next step is supposed to be, which is why I’m able to automate my campaigns and just jump in when I need to.”

Show you’re the expert

Based out of a small coastal town in Southern England, Prendas Ciclismo sells their retro jerseys and other gear to cycling enthusiasts around the world, who trust the brand because it’s tested by serious riders.

Andy and his team are avid cyclists who bike to work each morning and regularly use their own products. For Andy, showing customers that real cyclists use the products is an important piece of his marketing strategy.

“A lot of our customers come to us through personal recommendations, so we want to maintain their trust by letting them know the people behind the brand are experts,” Andy says.

Each month, they publish a blog post on a topic they think potential customers might search for—like information about a type of product, a well-known cycling exhibition, or the story of how a popular cycling magazine came to be—to attract those people to the site.

Publishing interesting blog content helps them sell their brand to site visitors who aren’t quite ready to buy. And turning on a retargeting ad lets Andy reach these folks after they leave and remind them to come back.

“Because everyone’s inbox is too full or they don’t think to check the site, retargeting and re-engagement help us make sure people see our products,” he says.

Showcase a collection over a single product

For their retargeting ad, Andy likes to use images that have performed well on Instagram and focus his copy on the quality of their products to drive people who aren’t familiar with the brand to their store.

A colorful array of cycling socks. A geometric display of neatly-folded autumn clothing. Each ad promotes a product collection, so customers are more likely to see something they’re looking for.

“People aren’t just buying one type of product; it’s a pretty broad range,” Andy says. “Our average order revenue for the ad and the re-engagement email is in line with our bulk emails, which I was a little surprised about.”

Reconnect with people who know your brand

The success Andy’s had with his retargeting ad has encouraged him to learn more about customer re-engagement automations and set one up himself.

“Since setting up a retargeting ad didn’t take long, I figured a win-back email was worth a try. It just took me an hour to set up, and now we’ve had more than 80 orders.”

"It just took me an hour to set up, and now we’ve had more than 80 orders.”

The 2-email win-back campaign is designed to give lapsed customers options to return to the store and make a purchase. They can:

  • Check out new arrivals
  • Decide if they want to wait for items that are coming soon
  • Stay up to date with the blog and social channels

The second email in the series even includes a promo code for people who didn’t buy anything after receiving the first one.

“Using retargeting and re-engagement were separate ideas, really, but they serve important functions,” Andy says. “Retargeting lets me reach people who were in the middle of something but got distracted or who are new to the store, while re-engagement is about getting back in touch with my lapsed customers.”

Ready to set up your own retargeting ad? Take a few minutes to try it out.

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