One of the most common myths about the Internet is that this new-fangled technology makes business mysterious, complex or risky. The truth is that the basic laws of doing business still apply. Sure, there are some new technical concepts to grasp, but business is still business. That has not changed. Case in point: affiliate marketing and the Internet.
During the dot-com boom-bust cycle, thousands of businesses failed, primarily due to bad business models, not bad technology. The silver lining is that online merchants became more conservative, resulting in a shakeout of most of the idiotic ideas. Darwin would be proud: The fittest companies survived. Business on the Internet is here to stay. Online spending has grown quarter after quarter. Most American homes now have Internet connections. The number of high-speed connections is skyrocketing. Even stodgy old brick-and-mortar companies with online sales channels are experiencing solid growth.
A large and growing chunk of those online sales are coming through affiliate marketing. Why? Because affiliate marketing is based on a very well-established sales strategy – the outside sales force. Affiliates are very much like the troops of lipstick-wielding Mary Kay consultants or the ubiquitous Tupperware party animals.
Technology may be what makes it cool. But a powerful sales force is what makes it work. If you have a good product, an outstanding compensation plan, a well-thought-out incentive system, personal relationships and excellent sales materials, your business will explode behind zealous salespeople who are eager to evangelize the greatness of your company and its products.
Technology may be great for checking on the number of ads served through your Web site, but it ain’t going to sell your stuff. That’d be like asking the sweaty guys at the Mary Kay fulfillment center to go door-to-door hawking skin softener. No sale.
What works in affiliate marketing is the same set of strategies that works in direct sales. Focus on recruitment. Offer reasonable compensation. Add incentives. Build loyalty. Provide great service.
What won’t work is relying on technology to run your affiliate program.
If an offline company wanted to expand its outside sales force, it wouldn’t think of hiring people without interviewing them and assessing their capabilities. The company also wouldn’t think of sending that person off to sell the product without great sales collateral and constant motivational support. Conversely, a good salesperson wouldn’t consider helping a company that didn’t pay good commissions punctually, offer good customer service or market a credible product.
If your online company wants a successful affiliate program, it needs to stop trying to attract every affiliate on the face of the planet. Be selective. Do your homework. Look for the good ones. Find the sites that have something complementary to your product offerings. Make your commission offer exciting, fair and extremely reliable. Think up great motivational offers. Mary Kay saleswomen work their fannies off for a pink Cadillac. This also works wonders in the online gambling world where top affiliates sometimes drive away with Ferraris. That may not be appropriate for every program, but every program could consider an extraordinary reward for top performers.
Money isn’t the only thing that motivates the salesperson in the direct sales model. There are weekly motivational meetings with recognition given for success. This can be done easily and inexpensively with tele-seminars, regular newsletters and bonuses handed out to top producers. Or, by giving your affiliates top-notch custom-made Web pages with your products data-fed onto their site, like an Amway catalog with the salesperson’s name, phone number and affiliate ID dynamically generated on it.
Treat your affiliates like valued salespeople and they will be loyal and productive. But this can’t be done with thousands of faceless ID numbers on a statistics report.
You’re probably thinking: “Oh, I can’t do that! I have 5,000 affiliates and not even one whole staff person focused on it.” Fine. Then, you need to rethink your affiliate marketing strategy. If you don’t assign human resources to this powerful force, you won’t see the results. Period.
If you expect to join a network, get 2,000 affiliates overnight and then watch the sales explode, you are sadly mistaken. It takes constant and creative effort to nurture this kind of sales channel. Try focusing on less than 100 who are really devoted to your program and work with them personally to build their traffic and sales. If you can’t afford a full-time, experienced and well-paid affiliate manager, consider farming out the management tasks to an outsourcing company that specializes.
Technology is not the most important thing here. Human beings are. Yes, you should use the best tracking interface you can afford. But if you really want to have the best affiliate program you can afford, you’d better start with the best affiliates you can find.
LINDA WOODS helps merchants to start and manage affiliate programs. Through her company, AffiliateGoddess.com, she and her team offer strategy consulting, training and outsourced management services.