Affiliate marketing can be intimidating. Especially in the travel industry where large coupon and loyalty publishers make it appear as though there is little room for brands with less penchant for promotions.
Here’s how to compete with the “big dogs.”
Coupon Affiliates without Discounts
I want to tell you a story of how JEBCommerce, affiliate opm, solved this problem by helping a travel brand develop and execute coupon strategies – without offering any new discounts.
This story revolves around one digital retailer that provides deep price cuts on travel passes in key U.S. markets, which essentially means that the product itself is the discount.
Because the business has various vendors, it would be problematic to beat out their price point online. Any further promotions would devalue their offering.
Best of web – was not the best of strategies. By “best of web” we are talking about coupon sites that curate the best deals on the web for many categories. Read this article to become further acquainted with the 4 types of coupon affiliate programs.
How do you craft an affiliate program that drives revenue without providing further product discounts?
State the Value of the Coupon
Rather than providing an additional discount, our messaging team simply stated the value of the coupon.
“Save 40% by purchasing this product” sounds like a coupon, but it doesn’t require a company to give out any additional discounts.
Through our analytics, we determined that the majority of prospects responded to this strategic messaging the same way as they would an alternative line that directly promoted an added discount.
By using affiliate marketing as an opportunity to communicate the brand’s inherent value proposition, we were able to overcome the client’s initial hesitations and dive into the affiliate space with a strong, compelling campaign.
And as positive results poured in, we helped change the client’s mindset on affiliate programs from intimidation to trust.
This travel brand achieved a significant boost in affiliate growth the first year we managed the program.
Years later, the brand has seen consistent YOY growth— without having to offer further price cuts to its already discounted product.
The Bottom Line
When clients come to JEBCommerce, they’re often put off by coupon affiliate marketing, or express concern about being able to compete with the large coupon and loyalty publishers.
Affiliate marketing can be intimidating, especially when you’re up against major players in the industry or facing economic uncertainty.
What is the biggest challenge you face using coupon affiliates?