Traditionally, affiliate marketing has supported marketers' acquisition efforts. However, this channel has evolved further and now supports marketers with access to new technologies that enhance their marketing capabilities.
If you asked a senior marketer what value affiliate marketing could bring to them five years ago, the answer would probably have been simply “helps increase sales” or “supports customer acquisition efforts.” ” would have been.
That's all well and good, but for those who are familiar with the channel, we've always known it could offer so much more.
Thankfully, that perception is changing. A recent Forrester survey of senior marketers in the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany, commissioned by Awin, found that affiliates' primary role is to support access to emerging technologies that enhance their marketing capabilities. It became clear that I thought it was something I should do.
How and why did this change in perception occur?
Well, I would argue that the introduction of a relatively new affiliate partner type is the main culprit.
What is an Affiliate Tech Partner?
Historically, affiliate channels have been primarily arbitrage channels. Affiliates build their own audience, send and trade traffic to their websites of related advertisers, and receive commissions from that audience. This is an effective marketing model that continues to thrive today.
But the introduction of what we call “technology partners” has changed that model and the perceived value of affiliate channels to marketers. These partners do not build or own their own audiences. Instead, we offer cutting-edge e-commerce technology that advertisers can deploy on their websites to improve the customer experience there.
Consider technology that can help you optimize conversions or increase order value through intelligent product bundling. Or you can use AI to personalize discounts or resolve customer questions with a branded chatbot. Alternatively, you can automate upsell opportunities or host livestream shopping videos on your own e-commerce platform.
None of these are new technologies per se, but the speed of adoption is rapid. These partners are available through platforms like Awin, allowing advertisers to enable such technology at the push of a button. Integration via his Awin proprietary tags on advertiser sites means there is a ready-made 'app store' of technology partners that can instantly add new marketing features to any e-commerce site.
This is revolutionary for several reasons.
Speed of innovation
Innovation takes time, but with this strategy, you can simply select the technology you need and activate it within hours. If it works, scale it. If not, turn it off and try another partner.
Cost and resource efficiency
The usual way to add new technology to a website usually involves a “build vs. buy” approach. Either way, it requires a lot of capital and resources. However, by using an affiliate technology partner, you can implement technology without the initial costs and development concerns. Most of them operate on an outcome-based commercial model, where you only pay if you help drive sales.
Safe and secure deployment
All partners are pre-vetted and information security assessed by Awin's in-house team to ensure full compliance, eliminating the need for that aspect of the integration.
Lower barriers to entry
New e-commerce technology should not be the exclusive preserve of the largest e-commerce brands who can afford to develop or acquire it. Affiliate platforms are democratizing these technology solutions to a wider range of businesses, including many MSMEs.
Galloway watch models and evolving affiliate channels
With over 80 of these technology partners currently available through Awin, and over 60 of them embedded within Awin's own tags, this type of partnership is quickly becoming popular with advertisers. I am.
Last year, more than $500 million in sales revenue was generated solely by these partners on Awin's platform.
But beyond those impressive numbers, these partners are reshaping the meaning of affiliate marketing and how it contributes to the traditional sales funnel.
At Awin, we adopted (and adapted) Scott Galloway's “Clock Model” to represent this change. A New York University marketing professor uses a dial divided into three phases to explain how marketing interacts with consumers. “Pre-purchasing” consists of traditional advertising efforts that make consumers aware of the product and generate interest. The “purchase” phase represents the first direct contact with a consumer on a website or in a store. And “post-purchase” is everything that happens after the sale has taken place: a loyalty program, CRM, or other retention strategy.
This concept aligns surprisingly well with the changing role of affiliates with the introduction of technology partners. Traditionally, the role of affiliates was to send traffic to advertiser sites (“pre-purchase”), but now they can leverage these new partners to optimize traffic and significantly increase the likelihood of conversion. (“Purchase”)).
And now we have technology partners who are supporting the “post-purchase” experience for advertisers. Social referral solutions like Soreto can encourage your customers to promote your brand to their friends and colleagues online. Brand partnership solutions such as Tyviso, BrandSwap, and Propello are opening up opportunities in retail media, where complementary brands (think online travel agencies and swimwear retailers) work together to serve the customers of one and the other. We will be able to offer you relevant promotions.
If you pause for a moment, you'll see that brands can now build affiliate programs with diverse partners that can meet customer needs across the dial. Whether you're looking for inspiration or advice when browsing online. Or maybe you're looking for help navigating the product catalog on a retailer's site. And even after the trade is over, you may still be looking for missing items to complete your shop. We support our affiliate partners every step of the way.
Explore our various technology partners and see what they can do for you
To take a closer look at the different technology partners available through Awin, browse our directory and explore the wide range of innovations they can bring to your own marketing strategy.
Martyna Zygaj, Awin Technology Partner Consultant
