Earlier this year, we made some predictions about how retail will change in a post-COVID 19 world. While we have to wait to see what 2021 has in-store for us, you can be certain the retail landscape will look very different.
Despite all of this change, more retailers are recognizing the resilience of the partner channel and are looking to invest more for the coming year.
If you are a retailer looking to upgrade their partnership efforts, here are some ways to drive additional partner channel sales in 2021.
Make the Most of Mobile
According to a recent Appsflyer report, by 2021 75% of all digital commerce transactions will happen on mobile. Maximizing mobile partnership sales requires prioritizing strong and fast mobile site experiences. With so much retail competition these days, consumers will have little patience for slow or clunky mobile experiences, which could result in lost revenue for your brand.
If mobile represents a valuable partnership sales driver for your business or you would like it to, there are ways you can optimize towards it. Device-specific commissioning enables you to incentivize partners to drive more mobile conversions. A simple way to execute this is to offer different commission rates for mobile versus PC or tablet conversions.
The industry is already seeing the importance of advanced mobile tracking and measurement grow as marketers look to make more data-driven decisions. Working with a tech provider like Partnerize, there is the possibility to integrate with leading mobile measurement platforms. This provides the transparency and ability to properly attribute in-app and mobile transactions.
Haven’t quite perfected your mobile strategy? Use the remaining months of 2020 to plan how your business can be more mobile-minded for the coming year. In the meantime, look to leverage partners with a strong app/mobile presence to drive sales for your business.
Make Your Influencers More Accountable
Influencer marketing investment is set to exceed $15B by 2022, In 2019, retailers indicated that influencers were responsible for driving 17% of partner program revenue. Given the changes we have seen in 2020, that figure is surely higher in 2020, and will increase in 2021. This is down to substantial growth in platform users, increased investment and more brands making influencer partners revenue accountable.
If you want to make your influencer programs a stronger driver of direct sales, consider moving your partners onto a performance-based or hybrid-compensation model. This will allow you to tie activity directly to specific online transactions. With more pressure on marketers to prove ROI, taking a performance approach to your program is a low-risk way of testing how influencer marketing can drive sales and align with your wider marketing strategy.
Explore Brand Partnerships
One of the most important learnings from 2020 has been that when brands work together they can have greater impact with less total risk. A way to apply this learning to your partner program for the coming year is by exploring brand-to-brand partnerships.
Historically, brand partnerships have been hard to measure for direct sales impact. Through access to better data and implementation of performance-based measurement, the effectiveness of this type of partnership can be better assessed and proven.
With the right planning, brand partnerships can be a powerful way to achieve specific objectives for both parties in a mutually beneficial way. More brands are realizing the value of brand partnerships as a way of acquiring new customers, growing your customer base and achieving desired revenue targets.
Whether it’s pairing a wine company with a makeup brand or an airline with a leisurewear company, value can be found in surprising places. You can read more about getting started with brand partnerships in this helpful eGuide.
Get Creative with Commissioning
More consumers are realizing the convenience of online shopping, so brick-and-click retailers can get creative with commissioning to incentivize consumers towards click-and-collect purchases.
This is one of the many ways retailers can leverage the Partnerzie commissioning capabilities to align offers with their pressing business objectives and sales targets.
Further, if customer acquisition is one of your core KPIs, this can be achieved through the Partnerize platform through various commissioning strategies. An example of this would be by commissioning on new customers only or offering a higher reward versus existing buyers. This is a simple and effective way to encourage partners to drive incremental sales for your retail business.
Consider New Affiliate Partners
Another way to drive sales through partnership is by adding new partners to your mix. Use Q4 to evaluate the partners you are already working with and understand what’s worked and what hasn’t. Take the time to access what you hope to achieve in the channel for the coming year and how a certain partner type will align.
If driving new sales at an enormous scale is a priority, consider adding cashback or coupon partners to the mix. They have large audiences, can cost-effectively drive scale on a pay for performance basis and allow you to easily acquire new customers.
This is one example of a partnership type that can help drive new business. However, we always encourage you to reach out to your tech providers’ Customer Success or Partnerships team to understand the different types of partners you could be working with.
As part of our Unlocking Growth campaign, we interviewed emerging partners who are driving growth for retailers. If you are interested in adding some unique partners to the mix, you can check out their videos here.
Conclusion
While the past year has been a time of challenge and change for retailers, there is real opportunity for brands to drive growth, particularly through the partnerships channel. If you would like to understand more about how other retailers drive sales through partnership, please reach out to us at info@partnerize.com.
