Search budgets are limited, attention is fragmented, and B2B buyers move across multiple platforms before making a decision. Programmatic targeting solves this challenge by enabling marketers to reach precise audiences at scale using real-time data. While programmatic buying automates the delivery, the real performance gains come from how well the targeting is designed, layered, and optimized.
This guide outlines the fundamentals of programmatic targeting, the methods available, and how to combine them to match business objectives.
Why programmatic targeting matters
Programmatic targeting helps campaigns reach people who can influence a buying decision, instead of distributing ads broadly and hoping for relevance. Effective targeting reduces waste, improves lead quality, increases account penetration, and strengthens the connection between ad spend and measurable outcomes like webinar attendance, demo requests, or sales pipeline.
Strong targeting gives marketers control: who sees the message, where they see it, when they see it, and how often.
For B2B small to mid-sized businesses, programmatic advertising helps build awareness when your audience is unfamiliar with your brand. By reaching your target audience throughout the marketing funnel, programmatic ensures that when buyers are ready to make a purchasing decision, your brand is top of mind—rather than your competitors’.
The core targeting methods every marketer should understand
Programmatic targeting works best when multiple approaches work together. Below are the essential targeting types and what role each one plays.
Persona targeting
Reaches audiences based on defined attributes:
- Department or role (IT, operations, finance, etc.)
Persona targeting is most effective when buying decisions involve multiple stakeholders and approval layers across an organization. In B2B campaigns, it ensures messaging reaches the people who influence or authorize purchases, not just those who casually engage with content.
For the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector, healthcare professionals (HCPs) can be targeted using their NPI numbers, allowing ads to be delivered directly to a specific HCP audience. Detailed reporting is also available, showing which HCPs viewed and clicked on the ads, enabling sales teams to follow up with greater precision and confidence.
Additionally, HCPs can be targeted directly on EHR platforms, with ads delivered within the systems they use daily. Targeting can be based on NPI numbers, ICD codes, CPT codes, prescription data, and other relevant identifiers.
Behavioral and intent targeting
Targets people who show active interest through:
- Page visits on relevant topics
- Content consumption patterns
- Third-party B2B intent signals
This targeting type is most effective when buyers are actively researching, comparing solutions, or evaluating vendors, making it particularly useful for mid-funnel and early decision-stage campaigns.
In B2B environments with long buying cycles, behavioral and intent targeting helps prioritize timing, not just audience fit, and becomes significantly more powerful when layered with persona or account-based targeting.
Geotargeting
Places ads specifically in:
- Regions or sales territories
- Event locations or conference centers
- Localized markets where your sales team is prioritizing outreach
Geotargeting works best for time-sensitive or location-driven initiatives such as events, regional launches, or territory-based sales efforts. In B2B marketing, it allows marketers to reach attendees during and after an event, extending visibility beyond the show floor and making more efficient use of event budgets by reinforcing messaging where real-world sales conversations are already happening.
Geo-targeted DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home) advertising—such as digital billboards, urban panels, bus shelters, and screens in rideshare—can also be used to reach audiences within a specific geofence. For example, ads can be served within a X-mile radius of a tradeshow that the target audience is attending. Ads can appear on digital billboards both outdoors and indoors, including locations such as hotels and airports.
Retargeting
Reaches audiences already familiar with your brand, including:
- Engaged content consumers
Retargeting is most effective when the goal is to reinforce messaging, nurture interest, or move engaged prospects closer to conversion. For B2B buyers with long consideration cycles, it maintains visibility and continuity across extended periods of evaluation.
Prospecting (lookalike and modeled audiences)
Expands reach by identifying new people who resemble your best customers or most engaged prospects. Useful for top-of-funnel scale without sacrificing relevance.
Prospecting performs best when campaigns need to grow awareness or introduce the brand to net-new audiences aligned with proven customer profiles. In B2B environments, modeled audiences help balance scale and relevance while avoiding overly broad awareness tactics.
Device targeting
Optimizes delivery based on:
Device targeting is most effective when creative, format, or messaging needs to align with how and where buyers consume content. In B2B campaigns, it improves performance by matching message complexity and engagement expectations to the device being used.
Cross-device targeting
Ensures consistent messaging as buyers move from laptop to mobile to tablet throughout their day. It prevents message fragmentation and improves attribution accuracy.
Cross-device targeting works best when campaigns aim to maintain continuity across extended buying journeys. In B2B marketing, it supports more accurate measurement and reinforces brand presence as stakeholders engage across multiple touchpoints and environments.
How to build the right targeting mix
The targeting strategy should match the campaign goal. Use the following guidance to align methods with objectives.
Brand awareness
Persona targeting + behavioral targeting: Creates exposure among the right audience while capturing active researchers.
Event or regional initiatives
Geotargeting + retargeting: Drives attendance and reinforces presence before, during, and after the event.
Account-based marketing (ABM)
Persona targeting + cross-device targeting + CRM or account-list data: Ensures comprehensive reach across stakeholders and devices.
Lead generation or pipeline creation
Behavioral targeting + retargeting: Engages active researchers and nudges previously engaged prospects toward conversion.
Balance is critical. Overly broad targeting wastes budget. Overly narrow targeting restricts scale. The right mix evolves as data reveals which combinations generate impact.
Let data drive targeting decisions
Programmatic targeting becomes significantly stronger when fueled by high-quality data. Prioritize:
- First-party data: CRM insights, form fills, site behavior
- Contextual data: Topics and content environments your buyers engage with
- Third-party data: Intent providers, industry-specific data sets, and verified B2B networks
Data should continuously refine your audience definitions, targeting layers, and bid strategies.
Measure targeting impact using the right metrics
Clicks alone don’t reflect targeting accuracy. More meaningful indicators include:
- Persona accuracy: Are job titles and industries aligning with your buyer?
- Engagement signals: Time on site, resource downloads, event registrations
- Conversion strength: Demo requests, sales meetings, pipeline sourced
- Account coverage: Are multiple stakeholders within target accounts being reached?
These metrics connect targeting choices directly to business impact.
Turning precision into performance
Programmatic targeting is not about finding as many people as possible. It is about reaching the right people with consistency, relevance, and scale. When demographic, behavioral, geographic, and device-based data come together, programmatic evolves from an ad placement tool into a precision growth system.
At Multiview, we help organizations activate this precision through data-driven targeting strategies and association-based placements that connect campaigns directly to opportunity. Contact us today to strengthen your programmatic performance.
