Quick story. I am "in market" for a new pair of gym shoes. This will be my first time buying a pair of shoes that I will use to do squats (heavy weight lifting) and burpees (push up into a jump). The shoe that I am looking to buy will have a flat heel and stability for the lifts as well as flexibility for active movements. I always buy cheap shoes and since this is the first time for me to buy this type of shoe, I am looking for a bargain.
I missed out on a pair from Asics. They were on sale from the manufacturer last week and this week, when I was ready to pull the trigger, they ran out of my size. I am now on the hunt for another bargain. Instead of me going to all of the sites and continually checking prices I decided that I would let manufacturers and retailers know that I am "in market" and let them find me.
So, I made a list of all the shoe companies that made shoes for this purpose, visited their web site and clicked on the shoe that I was most interested in. Hopefully, I was cookied. I also went to amazon.com and searched for these types of shoes, again with the intent of being cookied and retargeted.
Now, every web site that I go to and all of my facebook feeds are filled with ads for these shoes. They are constantly in my face. The good news is that I will buy a pair. Just let me know when you have a deal for me.
This isn't rocket science. This is not game changing. This is the way that I let advertisers know that I am interested in buying and I am giving them the power to use their tools to continue messaging me. In the end, someone will get a sale and I will get the product that I want at a price that I am comfortable with.
** To update this post, today, 1 day after I did my search, I was targeted with an ad from Amazon with one of the shoes I was interested in, with an offer to buy it $10 less than the price range I was looking for. Add to this a special offer for the Amazon card that took an additional $10 off and free shipping and I am a happy camper. My new shoes should arrive early next week.
See, advertising and ad tech isn't so bad afterall.
