What is a customer match list?
A Customer Match List is a list of your customers' contact information, such as e-mail addresses or phone numbers, that you can upload to advertising platforms such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads. With this list, you can show targeted ads to people who have shown interest in your products or services before. The idea is that you recognize these customers and then show them relevant ads based on what you know about them. This is a powerful way to re-engage people who are already familiar with your brand and convince them to buy from you again or use your service again.
When you use a Customer Match List, you can not only target existing customers, but also find similar audiences. This is often called lookalike targeting. Here, the advertising platform looks for new people who exhibit similar characteristics or behaviors to those on your list. This can help expand your target audience to include people who are also likely to be interested in what you offer, but are not yet customers. The big advantage of this is that you can target your ads very precisely, which often leads to better results and less wasted ad budget.
In practice, a Customer Match List is often used in SEA (Search Engine Advertising) campaigns for targeting and retargeting. With targeting you target your ads to the people on your list, while with retargeting you retarget people who, for example, have visited your website before, but have not yet made a purchase. A best practice when using Customer Match Lists is to regularly update and segment your list. This means splitting your customers into different groups, such as loyal customers or people who have abandoned their shopping cart, and then sending them specific messages that match their needs or behaviors. This targeted approach allows you to use your ad budget more efficiently and increase the likelihood that your customers will come back and buy from you again.
