Pursuing the Power of Partnerships

The Power of Partnership webinar, hosted by Partnerize and Power Retail, explained how retailers can create valuable relationships with their customers and other retailers, and accelerate growth. 

Joined by special guests, Dannan Jameson, Strategic Partnership Manager at Naked Wines, Stefanie Colley, Head of Customer Success and Client Services at Partnerize and Tamara Cole, Acquisition Specialist at Adore Beauty, the webinar was packed with information to help retailers navigate their way through brand partnerships. 

If you missed the webinar, don’t stress – here are some of the key takeaways from the invaluable session. 

Innovating Your Affiliate Program

How are Australian retailers innovating their approach to affiliate marketing, to further expand their program? In the last ten years, the concept of affiliate marketing has evolved and reached new heights. 

“One of the most exciting things I’ve seen in the last ten years is really how much the channel has evolved from a traditional view of affiliates to a much wider view and portfolio of partners that customers are working with,” explained Stefanie Colley.

“We’re seeing marketers push the boundaries of their partnerships to incorporate a much more diverse range of partners – that’s everything from your key affiliate partners, to content publishers, to influencers, and even mobile and technology partners.”

Brand Partnerships 

While these innovations are unlike traditional aspects of partnerships, the loyalty space is still as important as ever. One area where retailers are showing great interest is in brand-to-brand partnerships.

Adore Beauty offers an excellent example of balancing a traditional affiliate-style program with innovative new partnerships. Affiliate programs have remained a ‘powerful channel’ for a number of years for the online beauty retailer. Because of this success, Adore Beauty has looked for ways to expand the channel by exploring new types of partnerships.

“For us, this has been turning our attention towards brand-to-brand partnerships, and the focus for us at Adore has been on new customer acquisition,” explained Tamara Cole. “The results we’ve seen from this have been really exciting for us. Brand to brand collaborations gives us access to new audiences, and the opportunity to increase brand awareness.” 

Tapping Other Retailers for Synergies

2020 has demanded that retailers explore new avenues for growth. One increasingly popular strategy involves collaborating with other retailers for mutual benefit. 

An important factor to consider before joining forces with another retailer in a partnership is to gain clarity on goals and expected synergies. Naked Wines and Adore Beauty have worked together to create a meaningful partnership to further expand customer acquisition and loyalty. 

“With our two brands, we have similar brand synergies and similar demographics,” explained Dannan Jameson. “It’s really important to create a conversation between you and your partner, and have that open dialogue to really dig deep into what your objectives are. The objectives don’t have to be the same, but it’s creating that idea or opportunity to where we can work together to both reach each other’s objectives.” 

The Power of Data

Every retailer understands how important data-driven strategy is for driving expansion, growth and acquisition. However, there may be untapped potential within data that can be a powerful force for Australian retailers looking to expand into a partnership. 

How can retailers make the most of data form their affiliate and partnership programs, and how can Aussie businesses use it to achieve certain goals, such as customer acquisition and customer lifetime value? 

“Sending specific data through to the platform can show you what the value of the customer,” explained Stefanie Colley. “Ultimately it helps you understand the value of customer your partners are driving and who are these customers are that you can tap into a bit better to target. The richness of the data that you can pass back isn’t just beneficial to how you work with your partners but beneficial to help you make better informed business decisions.”

Informed Decisions and Higher LTV

Naked Wines works very hard to drive strong customer loyalty, and by using data to track the lifetime customer value (LTV), it helps them make informed and calculated decisions for the brand. 

“We can use this data to structure partner incentives to encourage partners to work smarter and continue to get more of those higher LTV customers. These incentives come as bonuses, or by increasing the acquisition spend we offer to that individual partner,” said Jameson. 

“We know it works, so I think it’s really important to take a look at all of your partners. Are they bringing in those high value customers, and if they’re not, what can you do to increase the value of the customer? What can you change? Using Partnerize is a really nice approach, because you can optimise the testing and learn what works and what doesn’t. With Partnerize, you also have a whole platform that allows you to be very transparent with the partner,” she explained. 

Transparency and Trust

Transparency is an exceptional aspect of retail that is integral to forming trust between the customer and the brand. It’s just as essential to take transparency into consideration when forming a partnership.

Why is it more important than ever to have a transparent understanding of acquisition across the customer journey? 

Adore Beauty works with different partners that vary in size and type. “For us, it’s very important to have transparency in these partnerships in two areas, both in terms of our relationships with our partners and the way in which we work with them on an ongoing basis.” Tamara Cole explained.

“When we kick off relationships with these partners, we start by being really upfront and we say ‘Here are our goals for the channel’,” she said.

For retailers, providing constant feedback partners about how it is performing in relation to targets and benchmarks is crucial. 

Partnerships have evolved drastically over the last decade, and with new innovations come exciting new ways to work with your partners, both traditional and new, to reach new audiences and increase customer LTV. The power of partnership is greater than ever, so it’s crucial for retailers to make the most of their affiliate strategy to drive outstanding growth and accelerate innovation.

Want to learn more about the partnership opportunity? Request a Partnerize demo today!

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