Prospecting
Targeting new potential customers who haven't yet interacted with your brand.
Targeting new potential customers who haven't yet interacted with your brand.
Why It Matters
Prospecting is how you grow—it fills the top of your funnel with new potential customers. Without prospecting, you eventually exhaust your warm audiences and growth stalls. It has lower immediate ROAS than retargeting but is essential for sustainable business growth.
Practical Example
Scenario
A brand spending 80% on retargeting sees ROAS decline as retargeting pools shrink. They shift to 50% prospecting / 50% retargeting.
Result
Short-term blended ROAS drops 20%, but retargeting pools refill. Six months later, total conversions are up 40% and ROAS recovered.
Pro Tips
- 1Expect 1/3 to 1/5 the ROAS of retargeting—that's normal. Value prospecting by how it feeds downstream funnel
- 2Use creative that introduces the brand and addresses cold audience objections, not product-focused retargeting creative
- 3Track prospecting success by new customer acquisition rate, not just ROAS
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Frequently asked questions
Put it to work
Related Terms
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7.7x blended return at scale — seven figures attributed, across five straight quarters · Modern Prairie · Apr 2025–Jun 2026 Read the Modern Prairie case study
