In this month’s edition of our Employee Spotlight series, we caught up with Director of Global Client Services, Amanda Neuts. Learn about Amanda’s first impression of Acceleration Partners, what she does in her current role, and her tips for successfully managing global partnership programs. What got you interested in affiliate marketing? Early in my career I stumbled into affiliate marketing, rather unknowingly. I began picking up some of the administrative tasks of the day-to-day management of a program in CJ within my role as a Marketing Associate. In those beginning days, I wasn’t actually aware of the bigger picture of what the program was. As I gained an understanding of the channel, I developed a deep appreciation and passion for the win-win benefits of partnership marketing that has fueled my progression in this space since way back then. What was your impression of Acceleration Partners when you first started? I had great respect for Acceleration Partners when I first started. I knew AP was the leading partnership marketing agency in the U.S. and the first to expand to a truly global presence. Since joining AP, my admiration and understanding of our agency reach, capabilities, values and thought leadership has grown exponentially. What do you do as Director of our Global Client Services team? A large part of my current role is mentoring my team to maximize both program results and team growth and engagement. I work closely with my team members to understand and action against each client’s individual goals, priorities and strategies and serve as a leadership escalation point. How do you ensure you stay connected with coworkers, clients, and partners while working remote? Building robust relationships is at the heart of what we do at AP. I stay connected through regular check-ins, typically over video so that we have that face-to-face element. I always incorporate a personal component to foster the connection as well, creating a deeper rapport beyond the business at hand. What are some best practices you’ve learned when it comes to managing and guiding global clients and their affiliate programs? There are many key components to achieving success within a global program, a few critical pieces to the puzzle are as follows:
- Aligning on the client’s business goals and priorities by region and re-visit no less than quarterly (never assume they’re all the same!)
- Ensuring regional teams are communicating their wins/losses/lessons learned and working closely as a cohesive team (sometimes you will have to get creative across time zones)
- Staying close to any changes within the business and vertical in order to respond quicky (find ways to proactively stay on top of business & industry trends before client communications)
- Remember that communication is everything! When you have different regional client contacts and team members working with varying priorities and strategies and across several time zones, timely and effective communication can be challenging (it’s better to over-communicate than under-communicate!)
