New vs. existing customers in the affiliate channel

Affiliate marketing has grown considerably over the past few years. The latest Online Performance Marketing Study from the IAB in conjunction with PWC estimated that advertisers spent £1.1bn on the channel in 2014. With the increase in spend, it is no surprise to see the channel coming under a greater amount of scrutiny with data analysis being at the heart of understanding the value delivered.

As affiliate programmes mature, attention is switched to focus on qualitative measurements rather than just volume in order to determine success. One of the metrics that is becoming more regularly considered within the channel is the split of new versus existing customers. While monitoring this split is nothing new, there have been some recent high-profile cases where advertisers have reduced the commission rates offered for existing customers.

With this in mind, it’s important to examine the issue and how best to reward affiliates based on this measurement. Rather than penalising affiliates for driving sales from existing customers, it could feasibly be argued they are maintained with new customers paid on an increased tier. By reducing (or in extreme cases removing) commission for existing customers, an advertiser is effectively saying an affiliate is providing little to no value in driving existing customers.

What constitutes a new customer will vary for each advertiser and sector. For example, some will classify this as someone who has never purchased before while others will stipulate that anyone who hasn’t purchased for a period of 12 months or more should be classified as a new customer.

In addition to the classification of new customers, the length of time an advertiser has traded online will impact their share of new customers. As time passes there will invariably be a tipping point at which it is no longer possible to maintain such a high share of sales from new customers.

With only a finite amount of customers, is reducing commission for existing customers counter-intuitive? Shouldn’t advertisers also understand the additional value that can be attributed to retaining and nurturing its existing customer base?

There is also the argument of who owns the customer. By not rewarding an affiliate for driving existing customer sales, the advertiser is effectively saying that the customer would have purchased from them anyway, irrespective of the affiliate’s involvement. The counter argument to this point is if the customer was going to purchase from the advertiser anyway, why were they interacting with the brand through an affiliate’s site? That interaction is indicative the affiliate had an element of influence over the transaction, despite them being an existing customer.

This is especially true in sectors where there is a homogenous product offering. Just because a consumer has purchased from you before doesn’t mean they won’t purchase the product from a competitor if they are influenced to do so having visited an affiliate’s site. What value should be placed on customer retention when they could have easily transacted with a competitor instead?

It can also be short sighted to reduce commission for existing customers. While some promotional types such as cashback and voucher code sites have levers in place to target new customers, content sites have very little control over whether they are able to attract new or existing customers, but are able to target particular sectors. By reducing commission for existing customers there is a chance they will stop promoting these advertisers, so they will also lose out on any new customer sales too. With another key focus for advertisers being to recruit relevant content sites, reducing commission for existing customers will have a negative impact upon this.

New versus existing customers is a key metric to be monitored but it is important that advertisers are looking beyond this split. The value of the customers that are being driven as well as their post-conversion behaviour – such as how often they are returning and how much they are spending – should also be considered. Affiliates should be rewarded for driving valuable customers rather than penalised for influencing existing customers to purchase from a retailer again. With the significant volume of data available, advertisers are now in a good position to understand the true value of customers referred through the affiliate channel and reward accordingly.

Matt Swan, Head of Business Intelligence, Affiliate Window

Tel: +44 (0) 844 557 9240
Email: @AffWin

New vs. existing customers in the affiliate channel

Beyond Email: Use Multi-channel Marketing Automation to Generate and Nurture Leads

While marketing automation is a hot topic across industries, many marketers are daunted by the complexities of combining customer journeys, content strategies, and dense technologies. Marketing automation technology allows marketers to generate and nurture leads with sequenced, segmented, and automated campaigns that deliver content at scale, with minimal intervention. Automation can be used to dynamically change content; test messaging; and sequence messages and notifications. As with any marketing initiative, the goal should always be focused on providing content that benefits your customers.

Here are some of the simplest ways to use automation to generate and nurture leads now.

Email

Email is the granddaddy of marketing automation. It’s the best documented and most mature automation channel, and is the gateway to automation for many marketers. There are several types of emails that can be automated:

• Lead nurturing – Lead nurturing is an integral part of a successful marketing strategy, and it builds relationships at scale. Craft content that guides a potential customer through the purchasing process, incorporating third-party reviews, purchase incentives, a sense of urgency, and strong calls to action.


• Existing customer programs – Encouraging repeat purchases increases the lifetime value of your customers. If your product has a typical expiration or consumption rate, you can automate emails reminding customers to make their next purchase. You can also automate product recommendations based on past purchase behavior, broadening the customer’s awareness of your products and services.


• Cart abandonment – If a customer adds an item to their cart, and then abandons their cart before purchasing, you can automate a retargeting workflow that triggers an email to the customer with a discount code or other incentive to buy now.


• Feedback requests – Sending a well-timed message requesting customers leave an online review of a recent purchase is an efficient way to improve product ratings and reviews while gathering important feedback that strengthens your connection with existing customers.

Social Media

While social media is expected to be Always-On, your social media manager doesn’t need to be ever-present. The advantages of social media automation are as much about consistency and optimization as they are about time savings and reduced demand on resources.

• Scheduling – Content schedulers allow you to manage your content by day, week, or month and can be set up to auto publish for specific times and dates. Social media automation tools also use algorithms to optimize posts to increase the likelihood of engagement. These algorithms look beyond general best practices, and consider the engagement behavior of your followers. There are tools to manage auto-paid social advertising, which is key for improving reach and engagement.


• DMs – There are several tools that can automate direct messages to new followers. However, while many marketers want and use this feature, there’s little evidence to suggest that it works.


• Multi-platform publishing – These tools allow marketers to manage their social media content for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more from a single dashboard. However, marketers should still customize the content for each platform and its audience.


• Analytics – You can schedule standard reports for your social media platforms rather than manually running the reports each day, week, or month.

Website

Website automation is the use of special programs and other tools to manage website information. As site visitors increasingly demand precise targeting tools, marketers turn to marketing automation to optimize customer experiences and improve conversion rates.

• Shopping cart – Marketing automation can be used to reengage consumers who have abandoned their purchase after they’ve filled their shopping cart. Using behavior data as an indication of purchase intent, automation software can personalize banner ads, emails, and landing pages to reflect the interest of an individual customer.


• Retargeting ads – By implementing a sequence of JavaScript on each page of a website, retargeting or tracking IDs create a cookie or pixel that follows visitors after they leave a site. Marketers can publish banner ads that reinforce brand awareness, promote content, or encourage a purchase. This technique is among the most highly adopted lead generation tactics in use today.

Mobile

Customers have come to expect a complete experience from brands that spans time, space, and devices. Mobile marketing automation has the added complexity of context such as location and environment, but it also presents an opportunity to deliver value to your customers when they are most captive and interested in hearing from your brand.

• Location-based marketing: With GPS, geo-fencing, and iBeacon technology, marketers can present messages based on a customer’s physical location.


• Event-based triggers: Marketers can send personalized push notifications based on specific in-app behaviors


• SMS: Use SMS or “short messaging service” to market loyalty programs and communicate with your most active and opted in customers. SMS can also be automated to deliver service alerts and to keep customers aware of product status throughout their customer experience.

Despite claims to the contrary, marketing automation doesn’t exist to make marketing easier – the value of marketing automation is that it makes programs better. Use automation software to deliver a more consistent message, better track results, and to be there for your customers when they need you. Automated programs should be kept in balance with a personalized and approachable marketing content strategy that makes it clear people are behind the brand. 

Beyond Email: Use Multi-channel Marketing Automation to Generate and Nurture Leads

Voxx Electronics Selects EGC Group as Marketing and Digital Agency for their Singtrix™ Brand of ...

MELVILLE, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The EGC Group announced today that it has been selected by VOXX Electronics to lead its efforts to develop and activate a comprehensive digital and social media marketing strategy for the Singtrix^® brand of advanced karaoke systems.

Singtrix^® was founded by team who created the original Guitar Hero, and earned national exposure last November when it was featured on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” Singtrix^® is “the most exciting and revolutionary singing experience that’s ever been created. Now everybody can sound like their favorite rock stars with no experience necessary,” claims John Devecka, Singtrix CEO.

Unlike other karaoke machines, Singtrix^® offers the most advanced vocal effects technology available. It has hundreds of presets along with live pitch correction, which makes bad singers sound good, and good singers sound amazing. With the added ability to use music from almost any device (enabling the use of personal music libraries or even YouTube^®), it is set to take your karaoke performance or party to the next level.

About The EGC Group

The EGC Group, a full-service integrated marketing and digital agency with offices in Long Island and Manhattan, NY, provides services in advertising, online marketing, web development, data analytics, integrated communications planning, and strategic consulting. The client roster of EGC includes well-known brands such as Brother International, Canon, Sterling Optical and Red Mango, among others.

Voxx Electronics Selects EGC Group as Marketing and Digital Agency for their Singtrix™ Brand of ...