In the middle of the current inflation, 80% of small business owners anticipate a recession later this year. Additionally, 38% of small business owners state that their main concern is inflation, and 75% are experiencing increased supply costs. However, as much as they want to raise their prices to offset the increased supply costs, they're also hesitant as inflation has hit consumers badly.
There's no one solution to combatting inflation and preventing recession. However, one of the ways businesses can stay afloat in this time of economic uncertainty is through affiliate marketing. Let's look at how this marketing style can help businesses in these uncertain times.
Limited Costs
Affiliate programs aren't free, but the time and resources are relatively low. For example, if you're a lending business, you can partake in a personal loan affiliate program or start one yourself. Affiliate networks provide the affiliate links that affiliate marketers use for product placement. They also help sellers monitor the affiliate marketing program results.
Once you've established your affiliate program, it only requires minimal resources for maintenance, and your employees can better concentrate on the core tasks for your business.
Less Risk
With affiliate marketing, you only pay your partners when a buyer purchases your products and services or any other result outlined in the agreement. This marketing model gives businesses the flexibility and space they need to manage risk in their marketing efforts. In addition, affiliate marketing can use A/B testing to guarantee marketing promotions support revenue growth, maintain profits, and align with brand image.
Extended Reach
Affiliate marketing programs provide an easy way to raise brand awareness and reach more people without spending too much money on marketing. For example, if you have 10 affiliate marketers in your program and each one can promote your products to their audiences, you can get your products and services in front of many people. These are called brand impressions that you'd have to pay for in traditional marketing.
Additionally, impressions that you pay for in traditional marketing don't always generate positive results. On the other hand, with affiliate marketing, you can create more click-throughs without significant investments in paid ads. You only pay affiliate marketers when tangible actions, such as purchasing an item, are made by the consumers.
Targeted Audience
Increasing your business website's traffic is never easy. You can attain more organic traffic through best SEO practices. However, you won't want random traffic to your site, consisting of people who surf your site and then bounce away.
One advantage to working with affiliate marketers is that their audience is people who'll most likely purchase your product or service. They understand the industry and market you're in, so they're trusted by the people who follow them, which benefits your business by providing a stronger connection with your potential consumers.
Maintain Good Relationships with Existing Customers
According to MuseFind, an influencer marketing platform, 92% of consumers trust influencers' endorsements more than celebrities. Customer relationship becomes more meaningful when you have trusted people recommending your products and services to their audience. Affiliate marketers offer valuable and credible recommendations because they mostly review and research products thoroughly.
Increased Revenue
As a result of the items stated above, the main benefit of affiliate marketing to help your business during economic uncertainty is an increase in revenue and sales. If you have a trusted platform as a seller, which you most likely do, you can join affiliate programs to create another revenue stream for your business. You can then use this revenue to sustain your business while trying to start and grow your affiliate program.
How to Use Affiliate Marketing To Keep Your Business Afloat
If you just started your affiliate marketing program, here are some best practices to help keep your business afloat during these turbulent times.
Choose affiliate marketers with a relevant target audience.
When choosing affiliate marketers to promote your products and services, ensure that they're in the same industry and considered a trusted source of information. Otherwise, their recommendation is unlikely to be taken seriously. For example, if you're a seller of pet care products, you may want to partner with platforms that talk about pets and pet care.
Contact trusted review sites.
Nowadays, reviews are popular among consumers. Before anyone purchases anything, they first search for trusted online reviews. It only makes sense for you to partner with trusted review sites and offer commissions on purchases made through affiliate links placed on their site.
Ensure your systems are running smoothly.
Before you even think about partnering with other companies or marketers to join your affiliate program, ensure that your platform is running well so that they will remain confident in establishing a partnership with you.
Final Words
It's easy to get disheartened in these challenging times when inflation is rising and recession is looming. However, all hope is not lost, and affiliate marketing can help your business get back up or stay afloat. This marketing strategy can be a powerful tool, especially when you employ best practices and understand the value that affiliate marketing brings to your business.