• Vladimir Pisanko, Head of PSP at Alpha Affiliates


• 22.03.2024 11:15 am
#payments #advertising #transactions

Trust is essential for affiliate marketing to be successful. Without it, the relationship between affiliate and brand breaks down quickly or, in the worst cases, fails to generate even one sale. However, when trust is built (and maintained) affiliate advertising is an incredibly effective marketing tactic, that drives conversations through carefully cultivated and highly engaged communities for a range of business sectors - from iGaming to homewares.

Both parties are usually motivated to work together to cultivate the best possible environment for that sale, from the affiliate’s tactics which could be generating targeted content with useful link placements through to the brand ensuring a clear and simple path to sale once an affiliate link is activated. However, the steps the consumer doesn’t experience are also incredibly important for those partnerships to thrive as intended.

Inaccurate, inconsistent or missed payments significantly impact the brand x affiliate relationship, meaning it is essential to ensure adequate payment processes are in place.

Building affiliate x brand trust

Once a partnership is formed, affiliate x brand trust can be maintained by addressing various elements in the content development journey. Those include clear communication on target audiences, transparency around community growth and complying with local regulations, as well as strategy generation to diversify partners, building an understanding of products, and, of course, disclosing links. All those enable affiliates to become the go-to for their network in the niche they’ve chosen, benefiting the brands they work with. However, if the necessary payment processes aren’t in place the partner relationship can break down before those elements have a chance to be successful.

In fact, data shows 65% of affiliates have left a network because of repeated payment issues. This insight is sobering, with repeated issues impacting over two-thirds of affiliate x brand relationships. However, sometimes one payment issue is all it takes, as 41% say they’ve stopped working with a network because of a payout-related issue.

Establishing payment processes

When setting up those payment processes there are a few factors to consider:

Honouring the commission agreement. These can be complex because payout dates, commission rates, and pay bonuses can vary significantly from one affiliate x brand agreement to another. Whilst those agreements are usually established before work commences, sometimes other factors can interfere if a brand doesn’t have the necessary processes in place. Those can range from other affiliates securing an increase in conversions to the business needing to process lots of new partnerships and/or add in new services or products.

Offering a variety of payment options. Most reputable brands will already offer all mainstream options, those will include everything from direct deposits through to PayPal and even gift cards. In addition, modern businesses should be offering emerging and local payment options. This covers new currencies like crypto as well as enabling more countries to be services - as not every payment method is convenient or available in all countries.

Enabling cross-border transactions. Currency conversion is another area where inaccuracy can creep in thanks to constantly fluctuating conversion rates. This means any system used must be able to adapt to those changing factors, so no one is short-changed.

Ensuring fraud detection and prevention. This is non-negotiable, especially in high-risk digital business. Security is paramount as fraud appears in many forms from payments through to clicks, so both brands and affiliates must ensure adequate protection is in place from day one.

Ultimately, affiliates should prioritise partners who have comprehensive systems in place that will scale with that partnership as it grows. Those systems must include a broad range of payment methods that account for payment types, currencies, and geographical locations. They should feel confident that fraud detection and prevention are prioritised, alongside access to 24/7/365 support functionalities and other useful benefits such as chargeback protection. Having these processes in place from day one of the partnership will build the foundations for a fruitful and trusted affiliate x brand relationship that leads to strong conversion rates and sustainable network expansion for both parties.