In B2B marketing, the path from initial contact to final conversion is rarely a straight line. The sales cycle is longer, the stakes are higher, and multiple decision-makers are often involved.

A prospect might visit your website, download a whitepaper, or engage with your content, only to disappear for weeks. This is where the strategic power of retargeting and remarketing comes into play, ensuring your brand remains top of mind throughout the extended consideration phase.

While often used interchangeably, retargeting and remarketing are distinct strategies with a shared goal: to re-engage individuals who have already shown interest in your brand. Understanding the nuances between them is crucial for executing precise, high-return campaigns that nurture leads effectively.

This guide will break down the differences between these two powerful tactics. We will explore their specific applications in a B2B context, from re-engaging website visitors with targeted ads to nurturing leads through personalized email sequences. By the end, you’ll have a clear framework for integrating both retargeting and remarketing into your strategy to shorten sales cycles and drive measurable growth.

What Is Retargeting?

Retargeting is a paid advertising strategy focused on serving ads to users who have previously interacted with your company’s digital assets, such as your website or social media profiles. It operates on the principle that familiarity breeds trust. By keeping your brand visible, you remind prospects of the value you offer and guide them back into the sales funnel.

The mechanism behind retargeting is relatively simple. It uses a small piece of JavaScript code, often called a pixel or tag, placed on your website. When a new user visits your site, this code drops an anonymous browser cookie. As that user browses other websites within the ad network (like the Google Display Network or Facebook), the cookie triggers your retargeting platform to serve specific ads.

Key Types of Retargeting Campaigns

For B2B marketers, retargeting can be segmented to align with different stages of the buyer’s journey.

Pixel-Based Retargeting

This is the most common form of retargeting. It is quick to implement and targets users almost immediately after they leave your website.

• How it works: A user visits your site, is “cookied,” and then sees your ads on other platforms.
• Best for: Top-of-funnel engagement. It’s ideal for maintaining brand awareness with prospects who have shown initial interest but have not yet provided their contact information. For example, you can retarget visitors who read a blog post with an ad for a related webinar.

List-Based Retargeting

This method uses a list of existing contacts, such as your CRM database or email subscribers. You upload this list to a platform like LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google Ads, which then matches the email addresses to user profiles on their network.

• How it works: You provide a specific list of contacts to target with ads.
• Best for: Mid-to-bottom-funnel nurturing. Since you already have their contact information, you can deliver highly personalized messages. For instance, you could target a list of leads who attended a webinar with an ad for a free product demo or a consultation.

Dynamic Retargeting

This advanced technique displays ads featuring the specific products or services a user viewed on your website.

• How it works: The ads are automatically populated with content based on the user’s on-site behavior.
• Best for: Companies with a diverse range of products or service tiers. For a B2B SaaS company, this could mean showing an ad for an “Enterprise Plan” to a user who spent time on that specific pricing page.

What Is Remarketing?

Remarketing, in its strictest sense, refers to re-engaging past customers or existing leads primarily through email. While retargeting casts a wider net with ads across the web, remarketing uses direct communication to nurture relationships with an audience you already know.

The goal of remarketing is to re-engage, upsell, cross-sell, or retain customers. Because it leverages the direct channel of email, it allows for highly personalized and targeted messaging based on a user’s past purchase history or specific interactions with your brand.

Examples of B2B Remarketing Campaigns

Email provides a direct line to your prospects and customers, making it a powerful tool for tailored communication.

• • Abandoned Cart Emails: A classic example. If a prospect starts a sign-up process for a free trial but doesn’t complete it, a remarketing email can remind them to finish, highlighting a key feature they might have missed.
  • Upsell/Cross-sell Campaigns: Target existing customers with emails showcasing premium features or complementary services. For example, a customer using your basic analytics tool could receive an email detailing the benefits of upgrading to a plan with advanced predictive modeling.
  • Re-engagement Campaigns: If a user hasn’t engaged with your platform in a while, a friendly email showcasing new features or offering help can bring them back. This is crucial for reducing churn in SaaS models.
  • Content Nurturing: Send targeted content to leads based on their initial interaction. If someone downloaded an ebook on “Risk Management Strategies,” you can send them a follow-up email with a case study on how your platform helped a similar company mitigate risk.

Retargeting vs. Remarketing: Key Differences

While both aim to re-engage users, their methods and primary channels differ significantly.

Feature

Retargeting

Remarketing

Primary Tactic: Paid advertising (display, social, search), Email marketing

Audience: Anonymous website visitors, existing leads, known contacts (email subscribers, customers)

Goal: Brand awareness, lead generation, top-of-funnel engagement, Lead nurturing, upselling, cross-selling, customer retention

Communication General, based on browsing behavior. Highly personalized, based on user data and history

Platform Ad networks (Google, LinkedIn, Facebook), Email service providers (ESPs), marketing automation tools

In essence, you retarget to bring prospects back to your brand, and you remarket to nurture the relationship you’ve already started.

Creating a Cohesive B2B Strategy

The most effective B2B marketing strategies don’t choose between retargeting and remarketing; they integrate them. These two tactics work in tandem to create a comprehensive nurturing system that addresses prospects at every stage of their journey.

Step 1: Map the Buyer’s Journey

First, identify the key touchpoints in your B2B sales cycle.

• Awareness: The prospect identifies a problem. They might find your blog via a Google search.
• Consideration: The prospect researches solutions. They download a whitepaper or watch a webinar.
• Decision: The prospect evaluates vendors. They visit your pricing page or request a demo.
• Post-Purchase: The customer is onboarded and uses your product.

Step 2: Align Tactics with Each Stage

Now, assign retargeting and remarketing campaigns to each stage.

• Awareness Stage → Retargeting: A user reads a blog post and leaves. Retarget them on LinkedIn with an ad promoting a related ebook. The goal is to capture their email address and move them to the next stage.
• Consideration Stage → Retargeting & Remarketing: The prospect downloads the ebook. Now they are on your email list.
• Retargeting: Target them with list-based ads showcasing customer testimonials or case studies.
• Remarketing: Enter them into an email nurture sequence that provides more value, such as an invitation to an exclusive webinar or a free tool.
• Decision Stage → Retargeting & Remarketing: The prospect visits the pricing page but doesn’t sign up.
• Retargeting: Serve them dynamic ads highlighting a limited-time offer for a demo or an extended free trial.
• Remarketing: Send an “abandoned cart” style email from a sales representative offering to answer any questions.
• Post-Purchase Stage → Remarketing: Once they become a customer, use email remarketing to onboard them, share best practices, and introduce them to premium features (upsell opportunity).

By combining these tactics, you create a seamless experience. The prospect sees your ads, reinforcing brand recall, while also receiving valuable, personalized content directly in their inbox. This dual approach keeps your brand consistently in front of them without being intrusive.

Your Path to Smarter Engagement

For B2B organizations, the journey to conversion is a marathon, not a sprint. Both retargeting and remarketing are essential tools for pacing yourself, ensuring you stay connected with prospects through long and complex decision-making processes.

Retargeting excels at maintaining brand visibility and driving top-of-funnel traffic back into your ecosystem. Remarketing takes over from there, using the direct and personal channel of email to nurture leads, build trust, and drive action. When used together, they form a powerful engine for lead generation and customer retention.

Start by evaluating your current funnel. Identify where prospects are dropping off and design a simple retargeting campaign to re-engage them. Simultaneously, review your email list and segment it for a targeted remarketing campaign. By taking these precise, strategic steps, you can begin to capture lost opportunities and accelerate your sales cycle.