If we are cohesive enough the credit crunch / current recession is an opportunity not to be missed to firmly place affiliate marketing on the map.
Affiliate marketing is probably the Holy Grail of an opportunity for merchants to commence their activity or increase their involvement, by allocating resources & budgets by rewarding appropriately, affordably & improving the terms & conditions for affiliates.
It is a holy grail for merchants, yet we read nothing … nada … zilch … zero … in the broad sheets or business sections of reputable newspapers & publications about how affiliate marketing can assist merchants in a difficult financial climate. Why, because the industry doesn’t act as a united collective nor assertive enough, affiliate marketing is unfortunately often too fragmented & apathetic (though there is obvious passion), the credit crunch has given us (affiliate marketing) an opportunity to get noticed. It’s been presented on a platter so why not cease it?!
Where networks have been guilty of pandering to their bigger clients / brands.
“yes true, but networks are in a very different place these days. losing clients is bad for business and I think the general attitude of networks is that they are scared to stand up to clients as we know another network is knocking at the door … dog eat dog … and we have lost certain big name clients as we didn’t do this” – A network representative.
What it needs is a collective action for the industry to announce to the press (broadsheets, tabloids & even TV) the key advantages of affiliate marketing which could be the difference between make or break for a merchant i.e. performance marketing / CPA etc etc … you know the score … & encourage them to start diverting more of their offline budget & superfluous banner advertising costs towards the affiliate channel by rewarding appropriately & affordably.
“offline advertising is really going down the pan so as an industry we should be shouting about what we can do” – Helen Southgate DGM
I don’t think the IAB are the right voice for this as they don’t represent me as an affiliate, and it would probably take them too long / a little lethargic to get anything into motion.
Don’t get me wrong, now affiliates may not quite exactly be the saviours, but with their tremendous skill sets they can certainly make some difference.
So perhaps networks should start blowing the dust of all those harvested testimonials from clients & get some more whilst they are at it, then get onto the national press.
As … it would be a shame if we let the credit crunch become “A Missed Opportunity For Affiliate Marketing To Put Itself Firmly On The Map”.
The intention of the post is not to be an all bugle calling rallying cry, but highlight that an opportunity has possibly presented itself to be grasped.
Additional Crib Note:
There is practically no difference between seo & paid search for a brand. Either paid search on brand or hybrids shouldn’t be restricted if seo is permitted … or .. seo should be restricted if paid search is … also merchants with display url restrictions, especially relatively unknown brands are really quite foolish, preventing growth potential of any program. Networks or the industry needs to start educating merchants about relaxing display url restrictions. Having a big brand means nothing in the current climate (they are probably just bigger targets for the press to aim at) paid search affiliates can fill the void as no single person or party can cover all bases, ad copy can easily be approved if need be. Since affiliates work on less a ROI, they are not really going to increase the ad spend of any merchant who may already conduct varying degrees of paid search activity.
