Brands in the pre-covid times focused on both online and offline advertising, whereas the approach now has shifted towards digital space consisting of various channels such as display advertising, performance & affiliate marketing, and many more. Digital transformation is now considered as one of the top priorities (approximately 56%) of marketers. This shift was reflected in freeform answers around how KPI measurement has changed, with respondents indicating a ‘shift to purely digital tactics’ and a ‘shift to online businesses’. Indeed, as online sales from changing consumer preferences continue to grow, the focus on digital transformation is expected to continue. Typically, the festive season brings in more than 40% of annual sales. Hence, many brands have started to split their budget among online channels and set aside a sizable chunk of their annual budget for this particular season.

Build a Recognizable Brand

Everybody has heard that first impressions last a lifetime, and the simple fact is that in the modern age, a brand digital sphere. a brand needs to promote their product/services on every possible and suitable medium to get maximum traction and brand recognition. Keeping in mind every marketing channel has its traits and behaves differently from each other, the brand has to try out all the channels to analyze the potential and result-driven attributes of the channels. Improved brand recognition can help in increased sales, enhanced trust, and credibility and boosted loyalty. Among innumerable channels available online, performance-based marketing offers many options under its umbrella and lets the marketers keep a count of every penny spent on advertising. By splitting the budget into CPA Model, brands can not only get better recognition but also allows them to analyze the channel's potential & leads the brand to achieve its ultimate goal.

Boost Loyalty with Existing Customers

You’ve heard it time and time again. It's more economical to get current customers to make a repeat purchase than it is to find new customers. Customer Retention is equally important to new customer acquisition especially in the crowded e-commerce arena where clicks and conversions always seem to be increasing in cost. It is more important to keep hold of your existing customers in the long run than to forget about them after a one-time engagement. There is a huge role of repeat purchases in the success of any online business. Brands need to apply lucrative approaches to keep engaging their existing customers to push them towards the end of their sales funnel. Choosing diverse channels, mediums that would do wonders for a brand, by offering regular coupon codes, referral codes/programs, cashback, rewards points, etc to help in consumer retention and acquisition. To utilize these channels at full pace, brands have always an option open to set their affiliate program and make the most out of the pool of traffic sources that affiliate networks possess.

Effective ROI

ROI is a key element and it is essential for brands to analyze marketing activities alongside, to attribute certain rises or pitfalls in customer acquisition or sales activity. Most businesses want the maximum return on investment to bring out better results. Brands do spend on different channels for different purposes but not all the channels run ROI-driven campaigns. Whereas some channels offer a better

opportunity to display your brand and other channels like affiliate marketing allows brands to only pay when there is an outcome. It not only saves a lot of money on the brand side but also at the same time defines the success of each campaign and empowers brands with data to help them steer with marketing campaigns in a forward direction.

Optimizing Conversions

During every festive season brands need to keep a track of their consumer's behaviour, alongside keep working on activities to lead the consumer's interest and thus lead it towards the end of the sales funnel. Brands need to split the budget according to their goals and targeted audience. Since all marketing channels behave differently and are aligned for different purposes starting from brand awareness to consumer interest which will ultimately lead to the product purchase. Building this type of loyalty takes time, strategic marketing, and a clear understanding of resources and platforms that can lead to achieving the desired goal.

Determining your marketing budget doesn’t just involve deciding how much you can afford to spend, but it will also involve dividing up that budget and allocating it in the right places. It’s a fact, it’s time to start allocating a portion of your budget for affiliate marketing! The Internet is expanding at a rapid pace and it is opening up new doors with hidden gems for brands to leverage and maximize their profits.

The Author is Neha Kulwal, Country Manager, Admitad Affiliate India