Spring Cleaning Checklist – Affiliate Program Edition

This month, Lisa Riolo writes for us. In addition to her role as Co-Founder and Executive Advisor at impact.com Lisa offers leadership development services through her consulting business. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or at lisariolo.com

Words: Lisa Riolo, Co-Founder & Executive Advisor, impact.com

Scheduling a thorough “Spring Cleaning” ensures proper annual maintenance. Important (but not necessarily urgent) tasks get their spot on the calendar during a time when you are less likely to be competing with other annual or semi-annual business activities (e.g. holiday planning, budgeting or contract renewals). The spring season spans approx 12-13 weeks – giving you enough time to complete at least 4-6 audits or reviews. 

Below is a basic list to start you building out your checklist. Customise the tasks and schedule based on your needs. Add other items unique to your business. For example if your leadership’s planning cycle falls in springtime vs. end of year, you may want to create a Group 6 with the associated tasks on your checklist.

GROUP 1 

These tasks are critical to the support of your marketing partners. Spring is a great time to schedule one-on-one meetings with select partners, to send questionnaires, to host appreciation meetings or develop training materials.

COMMUNICATION AUDIT

• FAQs and/or Automated Support Capabilities 
• Updates and Schedules  Communications  Audit
• Surveys / Feedback Loop Capabilities Review
• Update Partner Contact Information and Notes

MARKETING MATERIALS REVIEW

• Content Marketing Resources
• Product Data Feeds
• Promotional Campaign Resources
• Expired/ Out-Dated Materials Audit

GROUP 2

Too often, the activities in this grouping are ignored until there is a problem. Reviewing Ts&Cs and verifying your partners are promoting your brand in good faith is an easier process if you’re addressing the topic on a regular basis. It’s also a good practice to re-assess how well you’re spending your budget  allocation compared to goal  achievement. If you find areas where  you’re more (or less) efficient: make smart adjustments and/or shift tactics to close gaps or leverage better opportunities.

• Policies, Terms and Conditions Review
• Compliance Audit
• Mid-Year Budget Review

GROUP 3

A frequent mantra in the affiliate marketing channel is that it’s all about relationships. If cultivating strong ones is a priority, then understanding The What & Why that propels The Who’s Who in your affiliate channel is best achieved with the tasks in this group. Make conducting a deep dive into your partner segments a must-do on your Spring Cleaning checklist. 

Too often people spend most of their time and energy on “known” partners and not enough time discovering the potential of the mid-tier. Analyse other ways to discover high potential partners or to probe into why a historical performer has gone dormant. If you’re highly focused on recruitment – take time to identify additional networking opportunities, or to analyse the ROI of past events. Be critical about the time and money spent on “industry events” – and whether or not your takeaways were as valuable as you expected.

PARTNER PERFORMANCE REVIEW

• YoY Trending
• Reactivation Campaigns

COMPENSATION AUDITS & SPECIAL INCENTIVE PLANNING

• Below Payout Threshold Incentives
• Partner Contribution Analysis –  Adjustments 

NEW PARTNER RECRUITMENT

• Prospecting Tasks -> Scheduling
• Networking Event(s) Planning
• Past Event ROI / Debrief

GROUP 4

This group is often neglected until contract renewal dates force the issue. Don’t let your vendor determine the frequency you review their performance. Even if they’re checking in often, don’t let the solution/service providor lead the discussion or mold your understanding of the value of their partnership.  Make it your goal to be the subject matter expert and set the agenda items for every meeting. Ask for presentations  – request product representatives, leadership participation and invite other vendors throughout the year to make sure you’re a truly satisfied customer. 

 TECHNOLOGY AUDIT

• Program Operations
• Audience Targeting Capabilities
• Tracking  Accuracy
• Reporting Capabilities
• Support Capabilities

SERVICE PROVIDER(S) REVIEW

• Performance
• Value /  Cost
• Renewal Criteria – Report Card / PIPs

RFP CONTENT DEVELOPMENT

• Comparative Analysis
• Identify Innovative & Alternative Solutions to Include

GROUP 5

A key indicator in the overall success of your program is the degree and quality of  organisational support, leadership’s awareness of your contributions and your alignment within the business. If is important to understand how your program influences your company’s customers, internal departments and, even, how your brand is perceived in the marketplace.

Are you contributing a lot of sales but the highest customer returns? Are your affiliate partners asking more of Finance than other marketing teams?  Do more customers referred by affiliates above the average level of support? Make it part of your scheduled activities to collaborate internally at your company.

INTERNAL TEAMS ALIGNMENT

• Survey and Feedback Loop(s)
• Partnership Development
• Internal Roadshow  – Communicating Value, Capabilities, Strategies etc.
• Operational Impact Analysis

REFERRED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE – TOUCHPOINTS AUDIT

• Landing Pages and Navigation
• Application of Offers and Promotions
• Shopping Cart and Post-Purchase Experience
• Help,  FAQs,  Support / Chat

COMPETITOR & PEER BRANDS ANALYSIS

• Evaluate Performance-Based Incentives and Bonuses
• Assess Affiliate Support and Resources
• Analyse Recruitment and Management Strategies
• Evaluate Program Policies and Compliance

Spring officially ends mid-June and so use this time to build your own Affiliate Program checklist.

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