Unlocking the Power of Customer List Audiences for B2B Marketers on Facebook and Google

Introduction

One area where this difference is starkly evident is in audience matching. With the rise of cookie blockers and the decline of pixel tracking, B2C marketers are increasingly turning to customer list audiences on platforms like Meta (formerly Facebook) and Google. They upload a list of emails, and in no time, they achieve an impressive 80% match rate, enabling them to target a significant portion of their audience effortlessly.

For B2B marketers, the story is quite different. Uploading a list to Google might yield a mere 2% match rate, while Meta might offer a slightly better but still modest 10-20% match rate. This disparity can be frustrating, but understanding the intricacies of audience matching and leveraging the right tools can help bridge this gap.

How Audience Matching Works

To understand the challenges and opportunities in audience matching, it's essential to grasp how the process works. Let's take a step back to 2006, when many of us were creating our Facebook accounts. For example, I signed up with my personal email address, keith@gmail.com. Fast forward to 2023, and I place a pair of Nike shoes in an online shopping cart while logged in with the same Gmail address. The next day, I see Nike ads on Instagram. This happens because Nike provided Facebook with my email address, which Facebook recognized and linked to my user ID, allowing them to serve me targeted ads across their platforms.

In the B2C world, this seamless integration is a game-changer. But what if B2B marketers had access to the same level of consumer email data? This could revolutionize their ability to use tools like Meta and Google for targeted advertising.

Enter Primer: Enhancing B2B Audience Matching

This is where Primer comes into play. Primer maintains an extensive database of LinkedIn profiles, along with associated attributes such as job title, industry, and company headcount. B2B marketers can leverage Primer to create audiences based on their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) criteria. Under the hood, Primer links professional emails (e.g., keith@sayprimer.com) to personal emails (e.g., keith@gmail.com), drawing from various databases that contain these personal email addresses.

By bundling this data and pushing it to Meta and Google as custom audiences, Primer enables B2B marketers to achieve match rates of 30-60%, a significant improvement over the typical 2-10% with work emails. This enhanced targeting allows B2B ads to appear on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook News Feed, Google Display, and Google Search, ensuring that ads reach the intended audience within the ICP while minimizing unqualified clicks.

The Evolution of Performance Marketing in B2B

Are we witnessing a return to the golden days of performance marketing? Probably not, given that privacy concerns are here to stay and cookie blockers are not going anywhere. However, the key to success lies in understanding how these ad platforms operate and feeding them the right data. B2B marketers need to build their own targeting algorithms tailored to B2C channels, as the existing B2C algorithms are not designed to meet their specific needs.

Read on for everything you need to know about custom audiences, specifically Customer List Audiences, in B2B marketing

The Role of Customer List Audiences in B2B Marketing

Customer list audiences, also known as customer match on Google and matched audiences on LinkedIn, allow marketers to upload a list of email addresses, phone numbers, or other customer data to advertising platforms. These platforms then attempt to match the uploaded data with their user base to create a custom audience. This approach is particularly effective for retargeting existing customers or targeting potential customers who have already shown interest in a company's products or services.

Facebook Customer List Audience Statistics

1. Facebook prefers an overabundance of data. It provides an advantage for their algorithm, which identifies those users most likely to act in accordance with your campaign objective. Their minimum audience size requirement is meant to protect the privacy of the audience members, reducing the likelihood of identifying individuals via Facebook pixels or their actions on ads. Based on extensive testing, we recommend the following audience sizes:

2. Facebook allows uploading customer lists containing email addresses, phone numbers, or Facebook user IDs to create custom audiences for ad targeting. The full list of identifiers for matching can be found here.

Google Customer Match Audiences

1. To use Customer Match, your Google Ads account must have: 1) At least 90 days of history in Google Ads, 2) more than USD $50,000 total lifetime spent, and 3) a good history of policy compliance and payment history
2. Upload at least 5,000 members to the list to ensure that ads start serving. We recommend >30,000 members
3. It takes 6 to 48 hours for a list to be populated with members, so you'll most likely see an "In Progress" status (on the Google Ads UI) if you upload to an audience list more frequently than once every 12 hours.
4. A list may appear to be smaller than expected when viewed in the Audience Manager in the Google Ads UI. This view shows the number of active users in the list. A user is considered active if they have recently logged into their Google account. For more information on active users, see this discussion on how to troubleshoot low traffic with Customer Match lists.

For B2B marketers, customer list audiences can be a powerful tool for several reasons:

1. Enhanced Precision: By leveraging customer list audiences, B2B marketers can ensure their ads are shown to a more precise audience, reducing wasted ad spend and increasing the likelihood of conversions.
2. Retargeting Opportunities: Customer list audiences enable B2B marketers to retarget individuals who have previously interacted with their brand, keeping their products or services top-of-mind.
3. Lookalike Audiences: Meta offers the ability to create lookalike audiences based on customer lists. This means that B2B marketers can expand their reach to new potential customers who share characteristics with their existing audience.

Best Practices for Using Customer List Audiences in B2B Marketing

To maximize the effectiveness of customer list audiences, B2B marketers should follow these best practices:

1. Clean and Accurate Data: Ensure that the customer data being uploaded is clean, accurate, and up-to-date. This will increase the match rate and improve the overall effectiveness of the campaigns.
2. Segment Your Lists: Segment your customer lists based on different criteria such as job title, industry, or engagement level. This allows for more targeted and personalized advertising.
3. Use Personal Emails: Personal emails are the single biggest driver of match rate on platforms like Meta and Google.
4. Utilize CRM Data: Leverage data from your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to create detailed customer lists. This can include information on past purchases, interactions, and other relevant data points.
5. Compliance with Privacy Regulations: Ensure that your use of customer data complies with relevant privacy regulations such as GDPR or CCPA. This includes obtaining the necessary consents and providing opt-out options for users. (Note: All data in Primer audiences is compliant)

Leveraging Third-Party Data Providers

In addition to using first-party data from your CRM, leveraging third-party data providers can significantly enhance your customer list audiences. These providers can supply additional data points that help improve match rates and targeting precision. However, it's crucial to work with reputable providers to ensure data accuracy and compliance with privacy regulations.

Overcoming Common Challenges

Despite the potential benefits, B2B marketers may face several challenges when using customer list audiences. Here are some common challenges and how to overcome them:

1. Low Match Rates: As discussed, B2B match rates are typically lower than B2C. Using tools like Primer and leveraging third-party data can help improve match rates.
2. Inability to See Match Rates: Due to an old scandal, Meta frequently obfuscates and does not show Match Rates for customer list audiences in ad accounts spending less than $100K/month.
3. Data Privacy Concerns: Ensure compliance with all relevant privacy regulations and be transparent with customers about how their data is being used.
4. Data Quality: Poor quality data can lead to low match rates and ineffective campaigns. Regularly clean and update your customer data to ensure accuracy.
5. Complex Sales Cycles: B2B sales cycles are often longer and more complex than B2C. Develop campaigns that nurture leads over time rather than expecting immediate conversions.

The Future of B2B Customer List Audiences

As privacy regulations continue to evolve and cookie-based tracking becomes less reliable, the importance of customer list audiences in B2B marketing will only grow. By understanding how these platforms work and leveraging tools like Primer, B2B marketers can create highly targeted and effective campaigns that drive results.

In the future, we can expect advancements in data matching technologies and increased integration between CRM systems and advertising platforms. These developments will further enhance the ability of B2B marketers to reach their ideal customers with precision and efficiency.

Conclusion

While B2B marketers face unique challenges in audience matching compared to their B2C counterparts, understanding the underlying mechanics and leveraging the right tools can significantly improve match rates and campaign effectiveness. Customer list audiences on platforms like Meta and Google offer a powerful way to reach and engage your ideal customers, provided you follow best practices and continuously optimize your efforts.

By staying informed about the latest developments in data privacy and audience targeting, B2B marketers can navigate the evolving digital landscape and unlock the full potential of customer list audiences. With the right approach, B2B marketers can achieve targeted, efficient, and high-impact advertising campaigns that drive business growth.