Have you ever found yourself responding to a clever mobile banner, clicking on a hyperlink in your daily news digest or receiving a geo-targeted and timely mobile message to your phone -- only to be hastily redirected to a glossy advertisement that promises you the upper limit of what you didn’t know you needed?
We all have.
And we’ve all watched as, over the years, advertising methods have moved stealthily into an ethereal cloud of sites, sounds and colors that tap to our phones as marketers expand the channels people use to digest their messages.
In a world covered in advertisements dressed in swanky inferences, we find a symphony of marketing efforts reaching a crescendo of noise, ultimately ending in consumer deafness. Indeed, with so many options being ferried to and fro, how does the everyday consumer decide when to click versus when to pick.
I remember nearly 10 years back, as I dove headfirst into affiliate marketing and first forayed as an affiliate manager, working on my first couple lead generation offers I peddled to affiliate networks. Products and services, such as acai berry supplements, tooth whitening, reverse mortgage, "Jesus" holiday calendars and for-profit online universities were all the rage. Cheesy, single-page landing pages with generic, low-res images -- most listing a bombastic call-to-action with pictures of elated and presumably satisfied customers -- were common, along with the good ol’ fashioned eight-field short-form, positioned to the right, enticing you to fill and submit.
I remember looking at these forms and thinking to myself, “Wow. No one would actually fill one of these out, would they?” Over the years to come, I learned that they actually did -- and, in fact, they still do.
Chance Versus Choice
The power of affiliate marketing is in the innate spirit of competition to get the consumer's attention. In this business, it's a race to the inbox, the iMessage or the mobile screen. You have talented technologists, ideological marketers, big-box brand ambassadors and the zealous rush of consumer demand in play.
Yet, even now as we live in a world struggling to grapple with the emergence of digital cryptocurrencies or the notion that social media platforms might be harvested to turn the tide in political elections, I find myself wondering if the consumer is being left behind in all of this -- or conversely, if the conscious consumer is shifting to a different medium altogether to make their decisions, be they politically minded or consumerism related.
I thought the term the “silent majority” was an interesting notion during President Trump's election. The idea that there was a large, unnoticed and growing group of people big enough to make a political impact that had been overlooked by rising media and traditional marketing.
Consumers often become callous from messages they don’t like -- they tune out and eventually ignore them completely and, instead, pursue their true interests, much to the chagrin of marketers and politicians. However, developing an antibody resistance or deafness to marketing doesn’t mean that demand disappears. It simply migrates to a supply outlet of its own choosing.
I believe consumers have grown tired of the main value proposition offered by mainstream lead generation and affiliate marketing -- chance.
Most affiliate marketing sites ask the customer to provide detailed contact information with a vague promise that the site will provide, or find, a product or service for them. This vague promise comes with the requirement in fine print that the customer agrees to have their information shared extensively; and once it is submitted, it’s largely up to "chance" that the customer will get a fair exchange for their trust and consent.
I believe that smart consumers are migrating to platforms where they no longer take chances on making their decisions in a vacuum. They're moving to advertising forums where they have choices.
Plenty of consumers have felt the sting of falling for that quick, convenient affiliate marketing promise, only to have their online identity stolen or to be offered a product that falls short of the marketing promise.
Indeed, there is a growing bubble in the lead generation and affiliate marketing world, where the high-value, tech-savvy and affluent consumer is maximizing their time by comparing ads, educating themselves and using deductive reasoning before clicking and making choices.
A New Model To Follow
People want to tangibly compare brands, taglines, color schemes, online reputation, price and features side-by-side when deciding which ads they want to respond to. Some of the companies that are getting this right include LendingTree.com, NerdWallet.com, Priceline.com, Rent.com, Hotels.com and Insurify.com.
These sites have figured out that by creating a platform and user experience where minimal information is collected from the customer -- and maximum information is provided to help guide and educate choice -- there is an inherent efficiency linked to conversion, lifetime value and advertiser satisfaction.
I believe the lead generation and affiliate marketing industry is poised to begin shifting away from marketing in a binary vacuum. Soon, we're going to see more of these comparison-based advertising platforms emerge where consumers will make choices, instead of taking chances, when comparing their options.
Marketers can guide and educate choice by going one step further and tailoring marketing to take into account what is relevant to both the consumer and the advertiser. Lead generation and affiliate marketing are typically slanted in favor of the advertiser, leaving customer experience up to a game of numbers and statistics. Take a holistic approach to make sure marketing matches consumers and consumers match the advertisers' desired customer profile.
For smart marketers wondering why earnings per lead (EPL) or lifetime values (LTVs) are diminishing, I encourage you to consider how you can provide more choices and education to your consumers. Sites that give more information than they take, before initiating customer-brand engagement, are on the right track.
From my perspective, choice-based marketing is ensnaring the affiliate marketing world's best customers. Do your part to evolve the industry and empower customers and advertisers by calibrating intent and helping solve one of affiliate marketing’s greatest problems.
