The See-Think-Do-Care Model for a Successful Online Campaign

You’re probably familiar with this scenario: you’re online looking for new shoes. You’re browsing on that big webshop and add a pair of sneakers to your digital shopping cart. But you decide to compare a bit more. Later, you see an ad on Facebook for, guess what, a pair of sneakers. These ads are an example of retargeting; re-approaching your target audience. Retargeting is an important tactic that is widely used. And for a good reason, because it works! At least, if you apply it correctly.

But how do you ensure that you show your ads to the right target audience at the right time? For this, we use Google’s See-Think-Do-Care model. Our ‘secret’ to a successful campaign.

Buying shoes isn’t just about the moment you add them to your cart. This decision is part of the customer journey. Google’s See-Think-Do-Care model helps online marketers to map out this customer journey and respond to the customer’s needs.

SEE – In the See phase, it’s about creating brand awareness. Your target audience are people who may be interested but have no intention to buy yet. This is the broadest/largest audience in the funnel. You want to ensure that you are top-of-mind with this audience, that they think of you when considering a purchase. In this phase, social advertising or display advertising is very suitable.

THINK – In the Think phase, your target audience is in an orientation phase. So, there is already a need to purchase. The people you reach in this phase have shown interest before, may have already visited your website, and are comparing you to competitors. In this phase, the audience is actively looking for information. Campaigns that we can deploy here include Google Ads, Google Shopping, social advertising, and SEO optimization.

DO – In the Do phase, it’s time to take action. This phase focuses on conversions. With a convincing landing page with a clear call-to-action, you want to persuade your audience to choose you in this phase. The campaigns we use in this phase contain an activating message and can be deployed on social channels, Google Ads, display ads (with retargeting), or through email marketing.

CARE – The Care phase is also important not to forget. How do you ensure that customers stay with you after purchase? In this phase, you can increase customer value. Satisfied customers not only lead to potential repeat purchases, but they are also important for your business reviews and engagement. Channels that can be deployed for this phase include social advertising or email marketing.