Behavioral marketing creates more targeted and personalized offers to customers and prospective customers based on the knowledge of actions they previously performed. Example actions include app installs, in-app activity, website visits and on-page actions. Behavioral data is recorded in cookies, using data such as IP address, browsing history and search history.
Behavioral marketing is the opposite of broad-based marketing, in which the same message and offer is broadcast to a large audience of people (e.g., email blasts, radio ads, TV commercials, billboard ads, etc.). While broad-based marketing is useful for brand awareness, behavioral marketing is effective for generating targeted messages and offers to the people most likely to convert. Behavioral marketing helps brands reach people who previously showed interest in their product, service or brand. By applying customer segmentation based on observed behaviors, marketers can tailor messaging to each group’s interests and intent.
What Are Examples of Behavioral Marketing?
One example of behavioral marketing is the suggested offers provided on e-commerce sites. Amazon is famous for its “People who bought this also bought…” personalization recommendations. It uses your behavior (i.e., products you’re browsing and products you purchased in the past) and combines that with the behavior of other Amazon customers (i.e., what they bought along with the product(s) you’re considering).
Another example of behavioral marketing is retargeting, which enables brands to display banner ads to prospective customers if they leave your website without buying. Retargeting uses cookies to record data about your visit to a website. When users visit other sites across the web, they can be targeted with banner ads promoting your products and services. Based on data captured during their visit to your site, the retargeting ads can display the products they placed in their shopping cart, but didn’t purchase.
While retargeting is an effective behavioral marketing tactic used by marketers today, upcoming changes will require the practice to be adjusted. Google’s decision to deprecate third-party cookies in 2023 will force retargeting platforms to find new solutions.
What Are Common Behaviors Used In Behavioral Marketing?
While behavioral marketing can be based on any type of online behavior, these are the most common behaviors used by marketers:
- Location
A user’s location is inferred by the IP address they’re visiting from. Brands can use this intelligence to customize offers by language (i.e., based on country of origin), weather (i.e., based on warm weather or cold weather climates) or special offers (e.g., discounted tickets to a sporting event happening in the user’s local city).
- Purchase history
Offers can be made to a customer based on the quantity and types of products purchased in the past.
- New vs. returning visitor
The copy on your page or the wording of your offer can be customized based on whether they’re first-time or returning visitors.
- Arrival context
How users arrive on your site tells you a lot about where they are in the customer journey. If they came from a search engine, then they’re actively researching or shopping. On the other hand, if they came from a referral link, they may be earlier in the purchase process. Adjust the narrative on your page accordingly.
FAQ
How does behavioral marketing respect user privacy?
Behavioral marketing can respect privacy by focusing on first-party data collected with explicit user consent, providing clear opt-out options, and adhering to regulations like GDPR and CCPA. Transparency about data collection practices and giving customers control over their data builds trust. Modern approaches use consent management platforms to ensure behavioral tracking aligns with user preferences.
What is the ROI of behavioral marketing compared to traditional marketing?
Behavioral marketing typically delivers higher ROI than traditional broad-based marketing because it targets users who have already shown interest in your products or services. Studies show behavioral campaigns can achieve 2-5x higher conversion rates and significantly lower cost-per-acquisition. The personalized nature of behavioral marketing also improves customer engagement and lifetime value.
What platforms are best for implementing behavioral marketing?
Customer data platforms (CDPs) are the foundation for behavioral marketing, collecting and unifying customer behavior across channels. Marketing automation platforms execute behavioral campaigns through triggered emails and personalized messages. Retargeting platforms, web personalization tools, and analytics software complete the stack by enabling real-time behavioral targeting and measurement.
Related Terms
- Audience Segmentation — Groups users by behavior patterns for targeted campaigns
- Predictive Analytics — Forecasts future behaviors to trigger proactive marketing
- Omnichannel Marketing — Delivers consistent behavioral messaging across all channels
- Customer Experience (CX) — The overall experience shaped by behavioral personalization