Considering a 12 month programme for merchants

The success of any affiliate campaign is largely down to the merchant having a good understanding of how affiliate marketing works and creating an effective long term strategy.

A successful affiliate programme requires comprehensive planning to deliver a robust and scalable structure. With the appropriate consideration, an affiliate marketing programme can develop into a core sales channel.

Below is a list of the key elements you need to consider when establishing a strategy based around an initial 12 month plan…

Will affiliate marketing work for you?

In theory a performance based marketing programme will work for any advertiser. It should not, however, be taken for granted that having an ecommerce enabled website guarantees a successful affiliate programme. The affiliate community is remunerated based on sales generated so it’s in its own interests to assess the suitability of your business prior to agreeing to work on your behalf.

Key considerations will include a view on the sector that the merchant’s business operates in; a niche sector has a lower income potential than a mass market sector. The affiliate community will also assess the merchant’s position within their sector, checking product, price, promotion and place.

The quality of the website is a major concern for affiliates who will review usability, functionality and aesthetics when making their decision.

What do you want to achieve?

Setting clear KPI’s at the start is a must and always brings up a host of questions:

• What do you really want to achieve in the long term?
• Is the programme devised to grow sales or to recruit new customers?
• How important is sales value?
• Do you ultimately want to outsource all online marketing to affiliates?

How will this fit in with your annual media and marketing plans?

Affiliates rely heavily on consumer demand for products and will be reliant on you creating demand through other media activities. Providing your affiliates with a calendar of intended media activity and giving them advance insight in to creative and messaging will significantly benefit the affiliates, and therefore you.

Search traffic is fundamental to most affiliates, so it is critical that you consider how best to complement your existing search marketing strategy through affiliate marketing and do not allow the two channels to compete with each other.

How should you structure your commissions?

Ultimately this is the most critical element of the programme. All affiliates look at their return on investment and an easy way to assess the value of your campaign is to look at the earnings per click available. You must plan in advance to set maximum acceptable cost parameters and at all times review the market to understand whether or not your structure is competitive.

Commissions must be used tactically to encourage programme ‘take-up’, and then to manage programme growth (think longterm). You may also want to structure your commissions to reward separately for volume and for quality.

How do you recruit affiliates to your programme?

Online discussion forums, message boards and regular affiliate events are the best way to raise awareness of your programme and to build relationships with potential affiliate partners.

How do you support your programme once it is live?

Communication will make or break your programme. Affiliates want to feel involved in your business, from decisions on website development through to insights into advertising campaigns.

You must consider how you will validate sales, review affiliate performance, provide creative updates and ensure prompt payment. The affiliate community is very vocal so any slips could cost you dearly, especially if you are not on relevant discussion forums to respond.

Where do you begin?

Find an experienced affiliate resource with a strong reputation amongst merchants and within the affiliate community. This is a sophisticated and mature market where getting it right from the start could make the difference between a distribution channel the size of Tesco, or one the size of your local corner shop!