In this episode of the Affiliate Marketing Podcast, Lee-Ann interviews Will Fraser, Head of impact.com/Advocate, about the importance of customer advocacy in the partnership economy.
Will was the CEO and co-founder of SaaSquatch, a customer referral platform acquired by impact.com and he has helped companies around the globe build high-performing customer referral programs.
This conversation explores how advocacy is so crucial because there is a low trust in ads, and people trust the recommendations of their friends. Will also emphasizes the blurring of lines between consumers, influencers, and affiliates, and the need for innovative consumer experiences in the affiliate space.
Talking points include:
- The benefits of building an advocacy program
- The blurring of lines between consumers, influencers, and affiliates
- The need for innovative consumer experiences in the affiliate space
Listen in here to this week’s episode of the Affiliate Marketing Podcast…
What should an advocacy program look like?
Lee-Ann asks Will to explain how you can get started with an advocacy program and when the right time is to do it.
Will advises, “The first thing we want to do in our advocacy programs is we want to try to get into the customer journey, where the customer is already, and when they’re happy, right?
“So if you’re a retailer, this is most likely post-checkout. They’ve got the endorphins going and they’ve just got the thing. They’re excited. This is like a peak moment. We know that they’ve received the package. What a great time to ask for advocacy as well. But it’s a lot about prompting them at those moments of happiness. So I think that’s one of the big things to remember is that we’ve got to get them at the happy moments and that they’re going to need really low friction on brand experiences because they’re consumers. They’re not going to go through that hassle.”
The Triple Whammy!
“If your advocacy program isn’t generating at least 10% of your new revenue, then you really are not tapping into this channel”, Will explains. “I think unfortunately, we see a lot of businesses are checkmarking this. Like, yeah, I have it. And it might be generating 1%, maybe less, but really good working programs are in the double digits of your new revenue, right?
“But the other pieces that we’re talking about – ads being more expensive, you know, we find good programs. They’re almost half the acquisition cost of paid ads through an advocacy program. So, you’re saving huge amounts of money, but then the coolest piece is that these referred customers, these customers are advocates brought in, on average, are actually worth about 18% more on a lifetime value, so they’re spending more with you, and they are substantially more likely to advocate or to refer more customers. So they’re the cheapest customers, the most valuable customers, and the most likely to bring you new customers. So it’s just like this amazing triple whammy. It builds this flywheel.”
Blurring the lines
Lee-Ann asks Will, “As you see the partnership economy expanding, what do you think the future of affiliate marketing looks like from your perspective?”
Will replies, “I think we’re seeing lines blurring. So I think that that’s one of the biggest pieces here, is this idea of classifications of type of partner is getting a little bit more messy. But we’re seeing products and solutions trying to meet that blurring line. Whether that’s, I call them amateur affiliates, right? There’s different experiences and different solutions needed for them. So I think we’re going to continue to see the lines blurring between these things.”
Listen to find out more about:
- How B2B SaaS companies can also benefit from advocacy programs.
- Advocacy programs can serve as a farm team for other partnership channels, as advocates can be promoted to influencers or affiliates.
- The importance to have buy-in from the team and commit to the program for at least a year.
Key segments of this podcast and where you can tune in to go direct:
[10:45] Building an Advocacy Program: Benefits and best practices
[23:21] From Advocates to Influencers: The Farm Team of Partnerships
[24:58] The future of Affiliate Marketing?
Coming up on next week’s episode of The Affiliate Marketing Podcast: We take a look back over the highlights from this season
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