What Is Customer Match All About?
Customer Match is an advertising tool now offered by both Google and Microsoft Ads that allows you to leverage your own first-party data to create more personalized and effective marketing campaigns. After uploading customer lists, you can then reach specific segments of your existing customers and also support the discovery of new audiences who share similar characteristics. These audiences can be used to both increase brand awareness and deliver additional conversions through customized messaging.
How Does Customer Match Work?
Here are three ways Customer Match enhances your online advertising strategy:
1. Utilizing Customer Insights: When people interact directly with your business either online or offline, you gain valuable insights about them. Customer Match allows you to use this type of additional unique data beyond what Google and Microsoft already know.
2. Privacy-Safe Matching: Google and Microsoft Ads match your customer data against their user base without compromising privacy. This is increasingly important as privacy regulations evolve and third-party cookie-based remarketing becomes less effective.
3. Driving Multi-Channel Reach Across Platforms: Once your data is uploaded, you can then target custom segments across various Google and Microsoft properties as in these examples:
- Keyword Search: Deliver custom-tailored ads to specific audience groups when they search for your highly-relevant targeted keywords.
- Product Shopping: Reach potential customers through Google and Microsoft Shopping Product Listing Ads.
- Gmail Ads: Show personalized messages directly to consumers through their Gmail inbox.
- YouTube: Utilize video ads designed specifically for your custom audiences.
- Display Network: Extend your reach across Google and Microsoft Display/Native Networks.
How Does Customer Match Bring Value?
Here are three reasons why Customer Match is a valuable advertising tool to include in your marketing strategy:
1. Strengthen Customer Relationships: Customer Match can be used to re-engage with existing customers. This could include things like offering a special discount and promoting new products while including personalized messaging that can strengthen your customer bond.
2. Broaden Your Reach: The ability to find new customers who resemble your existing customers carries tremendous value. The Google and Microsoft algorithms can help identify similar audiences based on shared characteristics of your existing customers, thereby allowing you to expand into previously untapped audiences. (Google Ads only allows for similar audiences to be used in Demand Gen campaigns, while Microsoft Advertising allows for similar audiences in any campaign).
3. Privacy-Safe Approach: Unlike third-party data, which can be less reliable and more invasive, Customer Match relies on your own data first-party to connect with audiences.
Getting Started With Customer Match
Now that you know what Customer Match is, follow these three steps to get started:
1. Build Customer Lists: Organize your customer data (email address, phone number, physical mailing address) into specific lists while making sure it complies with Google and Microsoft policies and follows their formatting. Creating multiple lists based on criteria like purchasers within specific product categories or purchasers of high-value products will allow for more granular applications within your campaigns with a higher level of relevance. Save this data as a .csv file.
2. Upload Customer Lists:
- In Google Ads, you would navigate to the Audience Manager under Tools & Settings. Click the blue circle + button to create a new list, and select Customer List.
- In Microsoft Ads, select Tools > Audiences. Then, click the Create button, and select Customer Match List.
3. Audience Segments: Utilize your custom audiences to implement campaigns geared toward individual segments. As an example, if you’re running a sale on a certain product or category and you have a corresponding list of past purchasers within these segments, then you’re able to leverage this opportunity with highly targeted campaigns showing ads for products to individuals who have shown a past interest.
4. Custom Tailored Ads: Develop your ad content to resonate specifically with each segment by focusing on what would be most relevant to every unique audience.
Customer Match empowers advertisers to utilize first-party data in a strategic manner. As the digital landscape constantly evolves, this valuable advertising tool can help ensure that you’re able to continue delivering highly relevant customized messaging. Always remember that your customers are more than just data points – they’re the foundational core of your business!
