Torque Data investigated the power of Facebook Custom Audience ads for businesses, including Red Cross and Samsung, when used as part of a customer retention and engagement program.

In an environment where competition to acquire new customers is increasing by the day, having the ability to optimise your existing customer communications is a key competitive advantage.

It is a widely held view among marketing experts that it is more cost effective to retain and grow the value of an existing customer than it is to acquire a new customer. Facebook Custom Audience ads allow advertisers to communicate to their existing customers in a segmented and meaningful way.

Torque Data recently studied the success of two campaigns launched by major advertisers. The Study tested the impact of combining Facebook Custom Audience ads with the more traditional direct marketing channels of direct mail and email marketing (eDM), versus using those traditional channels in isolation.  The impact of Facebook Custom Audience ads was then analysed across key marketing metrics.

The Study found there was a nine-fold uplift in sales conversion from existing customers receiving targeted Facebook Custom Audience ads alongside eDM versus those customers who received eDM in isolation.

This integrated channel approach also generated a sales uplift from priority customer segments that was over 35 per cent higher than sales generated from the same priority customers who only received eDM communications.

In a not for profit environment, Facebook Custom Audience ads in combination with direct mail generated a 19 per cent increase in total donation value compared to direct mail only.

General manager of Torque Data, Oliver Rees said: “Facebook Custom Audiences is a very exciting development for digital marketers looking to reach specific existing customer segments. Facebook Custom Audiences is a non-invasive channel which creates cut-through that could drive sustainably better results in customer retention.”

This White Paper from Torque Data highlights that there may be an opportunity for advertisers to embed Facebook Custom Audience ads into customer retention and optimisation activity to help drive higher response and conversion rates.

Equally, Facebook Custom Audiences communication can be deployed in a nurturing and subtle way, to relevantly engage with existing customers based on where they sit in the customer lifecycle.

Head of marketing at Australian Red Cross (a participant in the Study), Gary Bristow added, “This research highlighted the power of using Facebook Custom Audiences to support our donor communication in driving significant results.

“The lift in value from the activity showed we can add significant incremental return by using the channel, and the increased income we saw is supporting our everyday work with vulnerable communities across Australia and overseas.”