Yesterday’s partner and affiliate marketing research post reviewed the key findings of our groundbreaking global research study called The State and Future of Partnerships. This study, which solicited the opinions of 1,200 senior marketers and leading brands, was developed to give the industry a better sense of marketer attitudes toward the channel and its role in company revenue.
In today’s post, we’ll review the specific data on partner channel growth, importance, and contribution to company revenue.
Everybody’s Doin’ It: Partnership and Affiliate, We Mean
Partner marketing is nearly ubiquitous across leading retail brands globally, with more than 9 out of 10 brands already active in the space. 95% of respondents reported that their companies already had partner and/or affiliate programs in place.
Of those very few leading brands that currently do not have a partner marketing plan in place, 80% plan to implement one in the next year.
Affiliate and Partner Marketing Programs are Big Sales and Revenue Drivers
For today’s brands, partner marketing programs are usually driving a strong proportion of total sales. Over half of respondents (54%) say their brands derive more than 20% of sales from partnerships. Almost a quarter say that partnerships drive more than 30% of total company sales. When partnerships are driving such a large share of total company sales, it’s clear that they are important to the overall marketing strategies of those companies.
Partnership and Affiliate Marketing are Important Business Drivers
The data show that organizations are placing a great deal of importance on the partnerships channel as part of their overall business planning. Almost 3/4 (74%) of respondents view partner marketing as a high or very high priority. Just 4% of respondents said partner marketing was a low priority for the business.
There’s Definitely More Potential
Brand leaders are bullish about the partnerships channel, which is often described as including affiliate, influencer marketing, and strategic brand-to-brand alliances. 69% of respondents say that the business potential for partner marketing is greater than what their companies have achieved so far. Almost a quarter (24%) of respondents believe the business potential for partnerships is far greater than what they had already achieved. Less than a third say that partnerships have reached their full revenue potential at their companies.
Growing Conversions and Revenue
The majority of brands are investing more because partnership and affiliate revenues are growing. 98% of brands say their partner marketing programs are driving the same revenue or more versus a year ago. 56% of respondents said they are seeing more sales and revenue from their partner programs. Just 1% report a decline in revenue.
Tomorrow’s post will provide data and insights on the priorities for partnership and marketer assessments of the future potential for partner and affiliate sales growth.
To download a free copy of our partner and affiliate marketing research in PDF, click here.
Note: Partnerize is the new trading name for Performance Horizon. Partnerize makes it easy for brands to form, manage, and make payments to their partners, whether they be affiliates, influencers or other major brands. Visit our homepage for more information about our services, case studies from customers, and our company. Contact us for information on the survey and our services.
