No tags yet.
Sorry Santa, The Milk and Cookies are for our Affiliates
For retailers who have affiliate programs, Google announced a major decision in April to shut down the Google Affiliate Network (GAN) to focus resources on other product areas, namely Product Listing Ad's (PLA's) / Google Shopping. In addition to normal Q4 preparation, this adds urgency to prepare as early as possible for Q4 success.
How to Prepare Your Affiliate Partners Heading Into Holiday Q4:
If Transitioning, Communicate with Your Affiliates: Affiliate marketing is largely about relationship building. Acknowledge the news with your affiliate base and be transparent with plans to transition and migrate to a new platform.
If Transitioning, Negotiate: It’s not every day a major affiliate network decides to shut down, and Google’s competitors know it. From Commission Junction to Share-a-Sale, competing platforms are taking advantage of this unique opportunity to on-board new advertisers and publishers. Use this chance to negotiate advantageous pricing and setup fees of your new platform provider.
Plan Now for Q4 Success: Pay for performance channels such as affiliate and loyalty marketing require close communication with your affiliate partners. July is an ideal time to have conversations with the partners most likely to drive incremental Q4 revenue: credit card loyalty and reward programs, corporate/employee discount shopping platforms, large membership programs such as AARP, etc. Discuss advertising options and attempt to lock-in exclusive offers for your brand wherever possible before competing retailers earn the space.
*This article originally appeared in the September 2013 issue of Prime Visibility's "Prime Insights" thought leadership newsletter.
Comments