Keeping Affiliates Happy Pays Off: Here’s How Satisfaction Drives Revenue
Making sure your partners are happy might feel like a fluffy metric to prioritize.
A vanity metric, if you will.
One that looks nice in decks – but doesn’t drive any real impact.
But what if I told you that the latest research found a correlation between local partner satisfaction and the revenue they bring in the door?
Maybe you’d start calling yourself the Chief Happiness Officer?
Here’s what you need to know.
To uncover what drives program satisfaction and what makes affiliates happy, we surveyed 3,192 local affiliates and analyzed 146,832 data points to bring you: The 2023 State of Local Marketing.
You can grab The Local Partner Satisfaction Report to take a deep dive into the latest data or keep reading for a peek into the insights.
Are Your Affiliates Happy?
According to the data, 56% percent of your partners are not fully satisfied with their local marketing programs. And 16% are really disengaged.
That’s a lot of unhappy affiliates out there representing your brand. A lot of meh.
You want fire, passion, and excitement — not shrugs.
Turning up the dial on the happy meter is all about focusing on the affiliates who are in that middle 40% of somewhat-satisfied partners. They want to market better. They just don’t know how. You can convert them to drive more impact.
Spend your time and energy improving local partner satisfaction, and you’ll see more revenue. How do we know?
Satisfied Affiliates Drive More Revenue
Partners who are extremely satisfied with local marketing programs drove 55% more revenue than those who are not satisfied.
This is why partner happiness matters — it impacts the bottom line. Plus, happy partners have a positive ripple effect across your brand, marketing, and organization. Who knew you were in the business of happiness?
So if you want to have a record-breaking year, look no further than your affiliates’ happiness. Taking the time to invest in your partners is not only the right thing to do, but it will also lead to more revenue for you and your brand. Partner satisfaction doesn’t feel like a fluffy metric anymore, does it?
Why Your Partners Are Unhappy
To turn things around and boost partner satisfaction, you first need to understand why your partners are unhappy so you can jump into problem-solving mode. Here are three of the top reasons your affiliates are unsatisfied with local marketing programs:
Affiliate Programs Are Hard to Use
Affiliates who want to market are often held back by overly complicated local marketing programs. Rules can leave affiliates’ heads spinning. You should focus on removing friction and streamlining processes to make things easier for your busy affiliates. Make funds easy to access, make it easy to find the right tactics, and make it easy to measure their impact.
It’s simple: Make programs easy to use, and affiliates will use them more. Prioritize ease of use to boost partner satisfaction.
Your Partners Don’t Feel Supported
You’ve equipped your partners with the funds they need, but many feel like they don’t have the support they need. They know how to run their businesses, but they are not marketing experts.
That’s where you come in: Help them market smarter, more often, and show them that you support their success.
Dive into the latest data to see how affiliates who consider their programs easy to use behave differently. Spoiler alert: Ease of use is one of the best ways to show partners how committed you are.
Funds Are Still an Issue
Show me the money! Your partners care about co-op funds more than you might think.
The report reveals that funds remain a top priority — but there’s a catch. It’s not just about providing more funds to your partners, it’s also about guiding them to spend them in an impactful manner.
When affiliates don’t get the funds or support they need to be successful, it impacts their satisfaction with the program — and ultimately hits the bottom line.
Ready to Boost Local Marketing Results?
Want to boost your affiliates’ happiness and help them grow revenue?
This is just a taste of all there is to learn in this section of The 2023 State of Local Marketing. Read the full report to learn how to improve your marketing programs, activate affiliates, and drive results like never before.
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