Welcome back to the Affiliate Marketing Podcast! We are kicking off season 13 with a two-parter, as we welcome Todd Crawford to the show. Todd is Co-Founder and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at impact.com. Join him as he discusses the future of the affiliate marketing industry with Lee-Ann in Part 1 of their conversation. There were simply too many insights to keep this to just one episode!
Listen in on the podcast here for all the insights:
Feedback is good
Todd points out a big gap in the affiliate partnership that needs to be filled, for the sake of feedback but also its knock-on effects on business in the future of affiliate marketing.
Todd says: “My new advice that I’ve been on my soapbox about, is that brands are very focused on how they measure the success of a partner, right? I have a return on ad spend, I have a conversion rate, or just so you know, revenue, volume, and things like that.
“But where I think we miss the mark is we don’t ask publishers; how do you measure me? How are you benchmarking me? I think I’m paying you a fair commission, but I might be under benchmarking. So, I need to understand that because you’re not going to lean in as hard. The demand for your content is so high that I’ve got to be on top of my game and I’ve got to understand how you’re measuring me, not so much how I’m measuring you, in order to get the best placements, to get you to lean in and work with me more.”
CMO’s: Get your performance marketing experience
We are always talking about how valuable performance marketing is to a brand or to an affiliate, but it’s rarely mentioned just how valuable performance marketing is to a future in affiliate marketing.
Luckily, Todd explains: “You’ll see that some of these teams have been renamed as partnership teams. A partnership channel versus affiliate. Titles as well. The individuals are partnership managers. There are people in the C-suite that see this channel as far more valuable than they used to, and there are people who still don’t get it. The more people who get it, the more it gets socialised; those people move to other roles. I read in the Wall Street Journal in January of this year, someone wrote that CMOs with performance marketing experience are in most demand.”
Hunters and farmers in affiliate marketing
Todd came up with an interesting way of describing the different approaches to affiliate marketing. Could the industry be moving away from the more hand-holding, nurturing nature it’s known for, i.e. farmers, and move more towards a “biz dev” approach, or hunters?
Todd explains: “I think, historically, affiliate is a very nurturing kind of business model. You’re my affiliate, I want to check in with you, find out how we can do more together, wash, rinse, repeat. But now we’re seeing more of a sales or biz dev focus in those roles.
“So, you have the hunters and the farmers, right? ‘I need to go out, I need to talk to this guy, first I gotta get through the door. Will you talk to me? I got the right person. And then I gotta convince them of the opportunity test, you know, optimize, test again, and develop that partnership’. And I think different companies are at different stages there.”
To be continued… Don’t miss Part 2 of the conversation with Todd – same time, same place on Thursday 10th August.
If you are interested in discovering more about affiliate marketing insights, and tips – sign up to our newsletter or search our blog for all the latest news and advice. Or for a more personalised approach, book a free call with a member of our agency team. If you’re looking to launch an affiliate program for your business, we can help you navigate and fast-track your program to success.
Looking to learn more about ELEVATING your affiliate performance?
Access our ELEVATE Summit ON DEMAND now – to discover the latest affiliate, performance, and partner marketing insights from across the globe. It’s all available to stream directly to your desk, no matter where you are, for a limited time only!
Listen to find out more about:
- What makes a brand stand out with affiliate marketing?
- The launch of the Partnership Experience Academy
Key segments of this podcast and where you can tune into go direct
[05:00] – The creation of impact.com
[15:00] – Emerging markets around the world
[25:00] – The rewards of affiliate marketing
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