Marketing Strategies

The Affiliate Funnel: From Prospects to Purchase

Traditionally, affiliate marketing has been used as a lower funnel channel with the purpose of driving sales.

Now, it has evolved well beyond the last click and plays an instrumental role in the entire customer journey, from awareness to advocacy and all the steps in between.

In a world of savvy customers, reaching them in the right place at the right time has never been more important. To help brands maximise their affiliate partnerships throughout the path to purchase, Rakuten Advertising has created an interactive timeline showcasing real examples of publishers across Asia-Pacific, ‘The Affiliate Funnel: From Prospects to Purchase’.

VIEW TIMELINE

In this timeline, brands can uncover how different affiliate models, that traverse traditional and emerging channels, can be used to effectively find, convert and retain customers. Rakuten Advertising experts have identified and hand-picked publishers that support each stage of the customer journey, and recommended products that help brands maximise their performance.

Awareness

Partnering with top-of-funnel affiliate publishers in the content and influencer space gives brands access to targeted, engaged audiences which drive awareness and inspiration as customers browse for solutions to their problems. Publishers such as Daily Vanity (SEA), Linkby (APAC) and more can help drive exposure, create awareness and inspire potential customers to purchase.

Consideration

Affiliate publishers in the comparison, shopping and content space can provide additional information including peer and product reviews, giving brands broader representation and exposure. Assist your customers while they research and build confidence by partnering with publishers such as Afterpay (Australia), ELLE Shop (Korea) and more.

Purchase

Brands can work with affiliate publishers to influence their decision to purchase with unique coupon codes, cashback offers or even logistical support in purchasing across markets. Publishers such as Beyond (Greater China), Little Birdie (Australia) and more can help brands encourage customers to complete the final step of their purchases and fast-track their decision-making process.

Loyalty

Partnering with loyalty and rewards publishers such as Cashrewards (Australia) and ShopBack (APAC) gives brands to access engaged audiences which drives new customers and provides incentives that encourage action. Brands can also work with tech and financial publishers to foster loyalty through meaningful rewards.

Advocacy

Tech partners provide brands with tools to support and reward customer feedback, while shopping and comparison sites allow for product and brand reviews. Advertisers can create brand ambassadors to support new customer acquisition and drive brand advocacy by partnering with Particular Audience (Global), Soreto (Global) and more.

Discover more publishers and learn more about how they can help maximise your affiliate program’s performance in each stage of the customer journey. For more information about partnering with publishers featured in The Affiliate Funnel, visit rakutenadvertising.com or contact us today.

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Rakuten Advertising

Rakuten Advertising leads the industry in delivering performance-driven ad solutions that help the world’s top brands connect with unique, highly engaged audiences – from first impression to final sale.