Evaluating the program's success goes further than a program or publisher audit; it also means assessing the affiliate platform provider and whether it suits the needs of the business now and into the future.
Evaluating the program's success goes further than a program or publisher audit; it also means assessing the affiliate platform provider and whether it suits the needs of the business now and into the future.
Are you an advertiser with an active affiliate program? Similarly, to the regular affiliate programme reviews, you would undertake over time to suit your changing business needs, we recommend carrying out a provider audit on a regular basis.
A simple affiliate platform checklist
To help businesses assess the health of their affiliate program, we’ve put together a list of questions. Depending on service level, this checklist should give the business an indication of whether the platform suits the business needs.
To use this checklist, simply rank the following questions based on the criteria below:
5 = My current provider has this area covered 3 = My current provider somewhat has this area covered 1 = My provider does not have this area coveredOnce you have completed the checklist and added up your score, you should be able to quantify your affiliate platform’s health. A score that’s higher than 63 points means that your platform is on track. However, if your platform has scored below this mark, it may be time to explore your options.
| Checklist Questions |
Rating (1-5) |
| Opportunities |
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| Does your provider facilitate new opportunities for you to engage with? |
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| Does the provider give you the ability to recruit publishers from their whole directory? |
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| Are you able to communicate with your affiliate partners? |
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| Is your network provider introducing new publishers to the platform on a regular basis? |
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| Does your platform allow you to plan for seasonality and for peak seasons? |
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| Business Goals |
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| Are you achieving your channel goals? |
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| Do you see consistent growth across sales, revenue, clicks or AOV? |
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| Are you able to track and report on the most important metrics to your business? |
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| Does your platform let you build and export your own customisable reports that meet business needs? |
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| Platform Provider Capabilities |
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| Does your platform provider support the recent tracking updates e.g. ITP? |
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| Does your provider make it easy to validate transactions? |
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| Do you have full access to your affiliate program? |
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| Is the platform easy to use? |
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| Does your provider have a local technical team able to respond quickly in your time zone? |
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| Is your provider responsive to your needs? |
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| Does your provider allow you to provide timely and relevant communication with your publisher base? |
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| Is there appropriate support available when you need it? |
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| TOTAL SCORE |
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Why is it important to do a health check?
Conducting a health check allows an advertiser to assess the current performance, potential, to ensure long-term success with their provider by evaluating the functionality and network capabilities.
Stay ahead of the competition.
Advertisers should look at whether their provider allows them to stay ahead of the competition. For example, they could ask questions such as:
Does my provider offer competitive dynamic commissions? Does my provider bring new and unique partners to the table? Does my provider have the tools to remain competitive?Asking these questions keeps the affiliate provider in check and performing to the best of their capabilities.
Meeting business’ needs.
Regardless if it’s from a service or platform perspective, does the provider help the business achieve its channel goals? If it doesn’t, why? Could it be a platform or business limitation?
Businesses should take their time to explore the platform or alternative options. This is to ensure that the chosen platform has the functionality and usability to accelerate the program's potential.
At Commission Factory, custom reporting and dynamic commissions are only two of our extensive range of powerful tools yet are excellent examples of features that can elevate an advertiser's program. Some businesses may be more interested in Commission Factory for the industry-leading user experience and exceptional customer support.
Whatever the business requirements, advertisers need to know which features and offerings are relevant to their business and choose a provider accordingly.
Smash Channel Goals
Does the platform have everything the business needs to meet the channel goals? Example of channel goals includes:
Hard goals
Customer retention Customer acquisition Increase market shareSoft Goals
Diversified affiliate mix Commissions that suit the company goals Complementary partners and campaigns Having the appropriate reporting metrics to assess the channel goalsOnce advertisers have decided on a few goals that they’d like to achieve, they will be able to rate their affiliate platform against these goals better.
Adapt, Optimise and Grow
In a fast-paced industry, and with continuous changes to third-party cookies and privacy, advertisers need to have their finger on the pulse on the latest changes and have a provider that is ahead of the game. Whether it is tracking development or an adaptable and innovative platform, a provider that offers diversified tracking to suit every business’ needs will be the key to program growth, as tracking is the heart of it all.
For advertisers wanting to discuss more their Platform Health Check, contact us to book an obligation free gap analysis and growth forecast with a member of the Commission Factory.
Commission Factory is not only the Asia-Pacific region’s largest affiliate network, working with more than 700 of the world's biggest brands, but is also a performance marketing platform that allows content creators and influencers to earn money and online businesses to increase sales.
Register as an Advertiser today.
