I will confess that I’ve tended to use ‘remarketing’ and ‘retargeting’ interchangeably, but this interesting article sets out to define the differences between the two. It says that retargeting is about moving not-yet customers down the purchase path, while remarketing is about re-engaging existing customers (through media platforms like email or even paid ads). So tactics like using online ad placement or display ads, to target users who have interacted with our site without engaging to a certain level …that would be retargeting. Emailing a customer to renew a service or upsell an accessory would be traditional examples of remarketing.
Both are important strategies that we should be investing in. But with many advertising services referring to remarketing when they mean retargeting (using the definitions above), it’s easy to overlook one of them.