Jim Nichols, founder of Exclamation Marketing Solutions, outlines why you need to think beyond traffic when it comes to affiliate marketing. Jim is an experienced SaaS CMO based in the US with extensive international experience.
Words: Jim Nichols, Founder, Exclamation Marketing Solutions
lane switching
We often lament that many marketing organizations don't understand affiliate marketing and view affiliate marketing as a tactical channel rather than a strategy. While that is certainly true, I would argue that part of the reason for that is that many affiliate marketers have a one-track mindset.
traffic jam. We need traffic. How much traffic can you drive in? Did I mention traffic?
Yes, driving large numbers of potential customers and repeat customers to your site or app has always been an important part of affiliate marketing. It always will be. However, focusing all of your attention on traffic reduces affiliate marketing and forces companies to view affiliate marketing as a tactic rather than a strategy to drive efficient sales. As an expert in performance-based marketing and perfect measurement, you can strengthen your authority, your budget, and chart a path to career advancement by working to redefine your role within your organization.
We need to think beyond traffic and advocate the value of improving what happens after a shopper is brought to our site. As affiliate experts, we are uniquely qualified to provide on-site strategies and techniques that can improve the results of all your traffic. Here are four great ways to do that.
1. Grow your company's mobile game
Many retailers expect half of their holiday affiliate sales to come through mobile in 2023. Still, many sites still offer a worse experience on small screens than on PC. For years, most brands have claimed to put mobile first, but many still continue to neglect the user experience of mobile phones. I asked 10 people from various large retailers whether they thought their mobile experience was on par with their PC experience. Six people answered “no.”
Advertiser and publisher leaders told me they know they are missing out on a lot of credited sales due to poor mobile experience and measurement. The mobile app adds additional tracking and experiential challenges. Additionally, as brands increasingly turn to affiliates to drive offline sales, poor mobile experience is a major stumbling block.
If your company is ignoring the mobile experience, it probably means no one is paying attention to it. It's your chance to advocate for next-level mobile experiences and measurement. Tell your boss about your passion for mobile and how improving the mobile experience can help increase sales across all channels. Do your research and become an expert in mobile design and measurement. Now go to your boss with an example of a bad experience on your site and ask for permission to fix mobile.
2. Advocate of performance-based transformation optimization technology
There is no magic number other than a higher conversion rate than you currently have.Average conversion rate for online stores It remains at around 3%., according to Shopify. This means that the company's entire business is based on the actions of only 3% of its visitors. What if he could make it 4%? Or 6%?
Many technology providers now offer conversion optimization technologies that can dramatically improve conversion rates, average order value, and more. Companies like RevLifter; earnestlyand Upsell It We offer a variety of approaches to drive more and more profitable purchases from your site visitors. Some of their solutions increase traffic, but the secret sauce allows more visitors to transact.
Ironically, convincing traffic-obsessed affiliate leaders to invest can be difficult. But creating a logjam with people you don't do business with is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. On-site tools can be programmed with work rules to offer stretch-and-save deals, cross-sells, upsells, discourage cart abandoners, and more. Additionally, these tools will help you convert more of all your traffic, not just your affiliates. Best of all, much of the technology can be purchased on a performance basis, allowing you to control profitability and help your company avoid large upfront costs.
3. Become a master of enterprise tracking and measurement
Many online stores routinely mistakenly implement digital technologies that help brands understand the impact of their marketing channels. In some cases, the problem may be at the macro level, such as the notification bar or selection bar not being implemented correctly. Also, in his rush to update his online store multiple times a day, tags are sometimes misplaced or accidentally omitted on the page.
Affiliate tracking platforms provide real-time data access and granularity that many other channels lack. We can repair holes in the transactional plumbing by working with our technical team to audit on-site implementations and escalate issues when publishers report much higher activity than we're reporting. It's not the sexiest job, but working in this area is extremely valuable to your organization and has an impact far beyond your affiliate “channel.” This is a great way to increase your responsibility and visibility within your organization. Your affiliate platform may have the technology and team to assist your in-house team. Currently, the following platforms are available: moon pull It helps automate this process. It is not uncommon for affiliate sales to increase by his 10%.
4. Integrate affiliate data into your company's attribution model
Many companies are implementing cross-channel attribution modeling to determine the incremental value of marketing touches. However, too many companies omit affiliates from this modeling due to an outdated understanding that affiliates are not tracking all the data needed for this analysis. That is no longer the case, and most affiliate tools now offer APIS that make data integration relatively easy. Explain to your analytics team that affiliates need to be a part of this type of analysis. You'll see that the measurable impact is much greater than the sales currently “credited” to the “channel.”
The conclusion is…
We are all working to improve our capabilities and increase our visibility within the organization. If you are only concerned about transportation, you will be at a disadvantage in this effort. By taking on one or more of these opportunities, you can increase your visibility and gain the recognition and authority you desire.
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