The affiliate has gained a lot of momentum in brand marketing portfolios over the past few years.
It’s especially hot in turbulent economies thanks to its low-risk nature that allows brands to spend only on guaranteed results.
With many brand marketers suddenly curious about affiliates, it seems like a good time to raise some critical questions that brands (especially those heavily invested in paid and organic search) should be asking to evaluate the fit of potential affiliate agency partners .
Let’s dig deeper into the questions and how to interpret some common answers.
Question 1: What is your billing structure?
Almost all affiliate agencies work with incentive models, but with partners who not more The revenue share based bill should raise some flags.
On the surface, income sharing seems smart: only paying when you’re sure you’ll get something has appeal in a tough economy.
But agencies that only focus on generating revenue can drive the numbers regardless of whether their tactics are good for the brand.
For example, if you sell high-end clothing, you should think twice before giving an affiliate agency carte blanche to work with multiple coupon sites.
You’ll get a lot of revenue in the short term, but the effects on branding and positioning could be detrimental in the long term.
Meanwhile, agencies working on incentive models only as part of a larger partnership structure will be more concerned with loyalty to the brand’s best interests. Your outreach partnership will reflect this.
If branding is important, look for an agency that operates on long-term performance incentives. This protects the brand and helps you identify safe agencies that can drive long-term success.
Question 2: How long is your minimum contract?
This is closely related to the previous question: long-term success for affiliates depends on relationships and branding.
Interested in upper funnel placements that drive awareness with partners like Conde Nast and Hearst? Then you have to align with the annual editorial calendar of those publications, which short-term affiliate contracts won’t accommodate.
More mature affiliate programs require a lot of planning and partner development to account for the full purchase journey.
When it comes to branding, decisions need to be made based on time, budget and sufficient data – one month won’t provide enough information to help you evaluate an agency’s performance.
If you want to dive into affiliate to measure its potential, consider what success is it should actually it seems
Agencies with short-term contracts will work with coupon sites and deals to produce quick income.
But that’s just cherry-picking at the bottom of the funnel that will eat into your margin without providing any top-funnel benefits.
Question 3: How does affiliate work with other channels?
Agencies focused on affiliate marketing will do the equivalent of qualifying their duties regarding channel attribution. They will almost always over-credit the affiliate.
Multi-channel agencies will be much more mindful of the roles of other channels in the buying process and will generally approach measurement more objectively.
If you’re serious about working with an affiliate-focused agency, ask for case studies and testimonials from multi-channel agency partners.
This ensures that they can play well with other channels. (For example, make sure affiliate teams have a history of establishing trusted partnerships with search teams) before committing.
Ask tons of critical questions to gauge their perspective on attribution and holistic measurement.
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Question 4: How do you measure the value you are generating through the affiliate?
No matter how many channels an agency offers, ask how they measure the value of their affiliate program, especially if you want to quantify the affiliate’s relationship to search.
Linear metrics like revenue don’t have enough nuance to help brands understand affiliate growth.
Look for more specific measurement areas such as:
New customers to introduce. LTV of consumers from affiliates. Middle touchpoints on the path to acquisition. Etc.
An important note here: Be extremely skeptical of agencies that offer predictions about the affiliate’s earning potential during the sales process.
Agencies don’t have the whole picture without knowing factors like inventory, promotional calendars, investment in other marketing channels, and existing attribution models.
In such cases, a forecast may be an overpromise made solely to close the sale.
Question 5: What is your affiliate partner stack?
Most of the brands I talk to these days are looking for upper funnel partnerships.
Collaborations at the level of Conde Nast, Hearst and the New York Times are highly coveted. Many agencies will enthusiastically quote them as part of their bid.
To really evaluate the agency’s partner setup, ask how they optimize those partnerships. For example, get a sample presentation and ask what the management structure is.
The other follow-up question here is based on what categories of emerging partners the agency is happy to offer.
If they don’t offer anything beyond coupon and loyalty partners and awesome publishers, they may not have the agility to take advantage of some of the emerging affiliate niches that are taking shape.
Question 6: What is your setup for working with publishers?
Agencies asking client account managers to handle publication outreach are common, but not ideal for publishers.
This setup leads to a different touch point for each brand in the agency’s affiliate portfolio for the same publisher, with a lot of duplicated work and ad hoc communication and little strategic depth.
A dedicated team of partners is a much better approach to building relationships with publishers. Single touchpoints can use a holistic and strategic approach and enter richer territory such as beta testing and thematic alignment.
Brands don’t usually have direct relationships with publishers, that’s part of the value of an affiliate agency. If they do, it’s worth asking the publisher what kind of agency setup leads to their most mutually effective relationships.
Question 7: What part of the buying journey do you specialize in optimizing?
Most affiliate agencies will claim that they work effectively in all phases of the journey (if they don’t, it should be a non-starter).
The key is to ask for follow-up on how they assess value at each stage, from discovery to consideration to influence to comparison to close to retention.
Agencies need to understand each phase and have a perspective on what is more important (most often discovery or conversion). Still, they should be open to a healthy conversation about what the brand values most and how they currently measure it.
Ask the right questions to find the best agency partner
Regardless of the answers you get to the questions above, do your best to validate your candidates through references and third-party sites like Clutch, G2, and even Glassdoor.
The affiliate is definitely far from the wild west landscape it might have been years ago. Still, a few additional questions and references can help you identify a truly aligned set of option considerations.
The views expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.
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