Investigating the Mechanics of Affiliate Marketing Through Digital Content Marketing: A Key for Driving Traffic and Customer Activity

Introduction

The domain of online marketing and internet advertising is going through radical changes. Rapid technological advancements and breakthroughs have led to the digitalization of the media, which in turn has resulted in ferocious marketing strategies aimed at promotion of brands by businesses. Internet advertising has gained prominence with the high growth rate of online media penetration at global level because it offers richer possibilities to directly make targeted communications to global consumers and segmenting them. In context to Indian online market, according to Internet and Mobile Association of India [IAMAI], the digital commerce market has seen a growth by 33 per cent reaching to a figure of 62,967 Crore in the year 2015 which is predicted to touch a mammoth figure of $50 to $70 Billion by the year 2020 owing to the increasing popularity of online shopping and increase in internet penetration (IAMAI Research Report, 2014). Online retailers like Flipkart, Amazon, and Yatra.com have already started affiliate marketing in India and it is gaining popularity in digital market. Affiliate marketing has emerged as one of the choicest promotional tools for lead generation the digital promotion through seamless integration of variety of programmes. In an online affiliate program advertising website offers their affiliates revenues based on provided website traffic and associated leads and sales. If a website decides to join another websites affiliate program, it has to host a coded link on its website that directs a visitor to the parent website. If the customer makes a purchase from the parent website through this affiliate link, the host website will get a percentage of that sale. To summarise, Affiliate marketing is a type of online marketing technique where an affiliate/publisher promotes a business through an advertisement on their web site and in return that business rewards the affiliate with commission each time a visitor, customer generates sales. Affiliate marketing is also referred as performance marketing and associate marketing (ibid).

The objective of this research paper is to analyze by conceptualising the mechanics of affiliate marketing through judicious and optimum use of digital content marketing by e-tailers so as to engage customers and create boundless business opportunities for growth, expansion and profitability. E-retailers intend to take advantage on it in spite of impediment and escalated competition of e-tailers. Tomorrow’s high-performing businesses will use technology to strengthen their relationships with customers, leverage their data, optimize and secure their critical systems, and enable their workforces with leading tools.

Technology is also enabling customers to take more control of their shopping experiences, and new approaches to shopping and fulfilment are opening the doors to competition that would not have been viable just a few years ago and it’s all changing at warp speed. Retailers are increasingly leveraging their presence across channels of catalogue, web, stores and kiosks, to increase their share of the customer’s wallet and expand across consumer segments. The retailers should be able to actively engage with customers on various social media platforms and essentially working towards making a truly integrated multichannel experience, that is the future of e-retailing.

In the last few years, brands have become very good at targeting people of a specific demographic or geographical location. However, to create really compelling content for a customer, they must be targeted according to what they do, not just what they look like, or where they live. Today, brands can access data about each individual customer’s buying behaviour, and use it to craft uniquely relevant content, that provides utility and real value to a customer. This can also help the company in converting a loyal customer or visitor into a close affiliate. This strategy is far more effective in getting customers to take up the real revenue generating actions through affiliate marketing, rather than simply being customers. Information technology [IT] drives innovation and innovation is the path to business success. It’s hard to imagine any business that has not benefited from the digital revolution. Innovation results in smarter apps, improved data storage, faster processing, and wider information distribution. Innovation makes businesses run more efficiently. And innovation increases value, enhances quality, and boosts productivity. The affiliate Marketing is a good example of this (Ventuso LLC, 2010).