From The Advertiser: You get what you pay for, so give me orders!
by Joe Tedd
ContextWeb Advertiser Advisor
CPA networks are notorious for commanding exorbitant fees to run offers. During the negotiation process, networks will often tell affiliate managers their offer is too low and that the network is getting twice as much from another merchant.
The good news - as an advertiser - is that there are many up-and-coming CPA networks that desire a good product or service to offer Publishers. In that I’m looking for a good rate as an advertiser, I can bring my reputable product and have it well-received and promoted by Publishers .
When I Use Cost Per Click (CPC)
The CPC model in my particular vertical seems to be played out. The major engines (Google, Yahoo, Ask) are nothing but cash registers for the armature players in the market. My company is in a position that we could easily bid for the highest position on many of the popular search engines, but that won’t guarantee us a conversion (sale) and that is our ultimate goal.
What’s the point of being #1 on a Pay Per Click (PPC) engine if we don’t wind up with a sale? Some may argue that by exposing one’s brand, you are reinforcing it, but in the diamond jewelry business and with the customers we are seeking, brand loyalty isn’t so much a factor as is attracting a savvy customer who is bottom line (value) oriented.
We seek to attract first time buyers who not only desire a very unique piece of jewelry, but a great value on their desired jewelry, and with that in mind, we recognize that an informed consumer is likely going to be our prime customer.
Just because we are number one on Google, or Yahoo, or MSN doesn’t mean that consumer is likely to convert. The customer we seek to attract is heavily involved in their lifestyle and often a busy professional, darting around their community in their SUV or working all hours of the day or night to achieve the pinnacle of their career goals, so we recognize they probably are just as busy on line as they are offline.
Marketing Message and the Objectives
What we do at Diamond Harmony is to clearly outline a marketing message that is consistent with our company objectives. We choose not to let the networks determine how to market our offer, that’s our marketing departments responsibility, so we seek to find a network that is committed to delivering both merchant and advertiser satisfaction.
Affiliate managers who spend the time to find a network that suits their marketing objectives and follow the correct steps to set up a compelling offer have a wonderful opportunity to develop a new powerful online channel. And when their goals are clearly defined with a success metric, you can leverage your success in other areas of your marketing strategy.
Results in The End
The bottom line as I view it is.. it’s all about results. We’ve developed our cost-per-acquisition (CPA) goal and understand what we can afford to spend to acquire a new customer, and how to retain them once they have given us their business. In today’s ever-changing search marketing environment, it’s an informed advertiser who fully understands their customers’ (and potential customers) online habits which will be successful.
-- From The ContextWeb Advisors
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