Affiliate partner management
Partner management is one of the mainstays for successful Affiliate Marketing, because an affiliate program can be only as good as its partner management.
Partner management includes the complete supporting of publishers from starting with the program activation and the supply of information about the company and special offers right through to individual commission arrangements. At the beginning of a partnership, the publisher should not only be activated, but also be delivered with information about the further cooperation: what steps will come next, how the integration of advertisements into his page works and with whom he can address when hitting on problems. The partner management shouldn’t be an anonymous communication – all contact details of a permanent contact person should be at the disposal of publishers. Of course, a good affiliate manager not only waits until interested publishers come by themselves, but he also searches actively for motivated partners and addresses them directly.
Partner management for existing affiliate partnerships
A partner management for already existing affiliate partnerships means, for example, informing the publishers about program news in the form of regular newsletters and answering their questions quickly and correctly. But the direct contact with the partners is also important. The most successful publishers should be addressed individually – for example, special terms can be granted to them. Such methods strengthen the bond to the affiliate program and motivate the publishers. On the other hand, those publishers who currently generate less leads or sales than in the past should be mentored individually – the partnership manager can ask them if there are problems.
In sum, the affiliate partner management requires knowledge in the areas of sales and marketing, as well as a basic technical knowledge and, above all, willingness to communicate and sufficient experience in partner- and customer retention.
