This article will share the four strategic pillars travel brands can implement in their affiliate program to grow in 2021 and beyond.
Agile planning
Consumer demands and preferences are rapidly changing; brands need to adapt and shift strategies quickly and efficiently. The affiliate channel is flexible and dynamic and can support brands through these uncertain times. Here are some examples of how we are working with our travel clients to adapt their affiliate marketing strategies:
- Flexible budgeting: Being flexible with your budgets will allow you to spend in the most successful areas. For example, if you cover multiple regions, consider being flexible on regional budgets, according to travel trends and lockdown restrictions, allowing you to monetize the best performing market.
- Tactical commission reviews: Reviewing your commission structure can be a great way to incentivize partners and gain additional exposure.
- Book placements on-demand: Due to market uncertainty, we recommended shifting away from seasonal placement booking to an on-demand placement booking strategy. Affiliates have started to be very receptive to this approach to accommodate advertisers changing needs.
Invest in your existing partners
The affiliate channel is all about relationships. It is crucial to stay connected and close to your partners, even if your affiliate program realises slower growth than expected. With uncertainty still ahead, it's essential to use this time to set your affiliate program up for long-term success. Here are a few strategies to prepare:
- Nurture your partnerships: Take time to nurture your partnerships, so they are ready to hit the ground running when travel bookings start to grow. Spend time engaging with your existing partners, focusing on those who are inactive by scheduling informal catch-up calls, sending out newsletters and discussing collaboration opportunities.
- Share your strategy: Take the time to discuss your 2021 plan with partners and keep them up to date on cancellation policies, new destinations and routes and health and safety procedures.
- Implement virtual events: Planning a virtual affiliate day to re-engage program partners to discuss promotional opportunities and share your 2021 strategy can be a strong tool to substitute real events and in-person meetings.
Grow your affiliate program with new partners
Affiliate recruitment is key to long-term program growth. Your customers have a broad range of tastes and to target them effectively, you should engage with as many different partners as possible. Testing innovative and "out-of-the-box" partners is a great way to increase reach and engage with new audiences. These could include: Podcast platforms, display partners and brand to brand partnership opportunities.
If Acceleration Partners knows your goals, we can tailor a partner mix to achieve them. For example, one of our clients was looking to accelerate program growth through new partners, so our partner development team focused on a targeted recruitment campaign. Focusing on recruiting and optimizing these new partners resulted in a 205% MoM growth in sales and the affiliate channel is now one of their best performing digital channels.
Find out more about the benefits of working with non-traditional partners in our guide to recruiting non-traditional partners.
Think local with your affiliate strategy
The types of holidays consumers are taking is shifting. Research shows that 38% of UK citizens plan to take a domestic vacation in the next 12 months, and 20% will have a staycation. As each markets recovery from the pandemic is unique. Focus growing your program in the markets where the lockdown effects are less detrimental. Recruiting local affiliate partners to your program can be a great way to grow awareness and reach with local audiences. For example, one of Acceleration Partners' travel clients have been working with local sports influencers to grow brand awareness in specific markets, on a pay-on-performance basis.
The COVID-19 pandemic has bought a lot of uncertainty for the travel industry, but there is hope on the horizon. Our advice for 2021 is to think broader and beyond your industry, working with a diverse mix of affiliate partners that can help you to achieve your goals. Successful travel brands will be proactive and adapt to changing consumer's needs, with a flexible and agile marketing strategy.
To find out how we can help grow your affiliate program, get in touch with our team today.
