Affiliate Marketing For Small Business: Quick Guide

Affiliate Marketing For Small Business: Quick Guide

Your small business can have a big affiliate program - here's how.

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People tend to trust recommendations from trusted sources more than advertisements. This fundamental consumer behavior is precisely what affiliate marketing taps into - turning customers into powerful brand champions. For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), affiliate marketing is ‌an ideal low-risk strategy as it helps them expand their reach without any upfront costs.

This marketing approach gives SMBs an opportunity to compete with large enterprises and win some brand ambassadors. In this quick guide, learn how to get started with affiliate marketing for your SMB.

What you'll learn:

• What is affiliate marketing for small business?
• Benefits of affiliate marketing for growing businesses
• Types of affiliate marketing for smaller teams
• How to start your small business affiliate program
• Scale your affiliate marketing efforts with Salesforce

What is affiliate marketing for small business?

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based strategy where you reward individuals for each sale they bring in, typically through a unique tracked link. It involves a brand (seller), an affiliate (promoter), and a consumer (buyer). The brand (you) shares a unique tracking link with the affiliate, and every time the customer uses that code or link to purchase, the affiliate earns a commission (provided by you).

For example, if a food blogger becomes a coffee brand's affiliate, they create content on social media platforms, and include a discount code or link to their online store. This approach works a lot like a referral program, where affiliates are paid only when a transaction happens.

Benefits of affiliate marketing for growing businesses

According to AffiliateWP, affiliate marketing accounts for approximately 16% of all ecommerce sales in the U.S. and over 80% of advertising strategies. Having an affiliate marketing plan enhances brand credibility and provides social proof for your SMB - all while diversifying traffic. And that's why small commerce businesses consider it as a key part of their integrated marketing strategy.

Here are a few benefits of an affiliate marketing program:

• Low-risk costs: You only pay when affiliates generate actual sales or leads. This reduces upfront marketing expenses and builds partnerships at low costs.
• Reach new audiences: Your affiliates' social media followers and networks can expand your market reach beyond your target market.
• Get loyal customers: Acquire new customers at a predictable cost while using your affiliates' marketing efforts and expertise.
• Enhanced credibility and trust: Build trust through recommendations from already established networks. This leads to higher conversion rates and customer confidence.

Types of affiliate marketing for smaller teams

Affiliate marketing isn't a one-size-fits-all strategy, and there are a few different types to consider. Understanding these three types is important for both businesses and aspiring affiliates to achieve success:

How to start your small business affiliate program

You're ready to start your affiliate marketing program, what's the first step? These clear, actionable steps can help build out an affiliate plan for your SMB. Let's go.

Step 1: Define your affiliate goals

Before anything else, clearly outline what you want to achieve with your affiliate program. Are you looking to increase website traffic, boost sales for a specific product, or acquire new customers? Setting measurable goals is the foundation for your program. Also, choose affiliates that resonate with your brand's values, and products.

For example, if you're a software as a service (SaaS) startup, working with a tech influencer who uses your tool every day can increase your conversions.

Step 2: Choose the right products for the program

Next, pick products with broad appeal that might be relevant to your affiliates' target audiences. Consider creating product bundles as a mix-and-match of 2-3 items may increase your conversions and average order value (AOV).

Step 2: Get the right marketing tools in place

Now, you just need the tools to get started. Consider using a CRM for small business for your affiliate marketing program to analyze your historical data and identify the most successful campaigns and products. A CRM can track key metrics like conversions and revenue generated from your products to help you identify popular products.

For example, if you're planning a special holiday season marketing program, Starter Suite can recommend which products might generate more dollars based on your past performance. Insights like these can help you plan your affiliate marketing program more effectively.

Step 3: Create an affiliate agreement

Draft a clear and comprehensive affiliate marketing agreement defining the terms of the partnership, and payment structure. Include the rules for promotion to protect your business and have both parties sign for legal purposes.

Step 4: Determine the commission structure

Decide how you'll pay out your affiliates. Common methods include a percentage of each sale (5-30% is standard, depending on the industry) or a flat fee per sale. To encourage affiliates, you can offer tiered commission structures or performance bonuses for hitting sales targets or certain milestones.

Step 5: Make your affiliate program discoverable

And now, it's time to get your affiliate program out there. Starter Suite can help you implement your email marketing and social media marketing activities to help your

Step 6: Measure your SMB affiliate metrics

Set your key performance indicators (KPIs) for your affiliates, like earnings per click (EPC) and cost per acquisition (CPA). Track each affiliate with an urchin tracking module (UTM) for commission sales. These unique links provide clear insights into campaign performance, and which affiliates are bringing more value.

Pro tip: An AI CRM for SMBs can magnify your marketing efforts for each affiliate. With sentiment analysis and social media monitoring, identify where your traffic is coming from. Intelligent, autonomous AI agents like Agentforce can run end-to-end campaigns and analyze your big traffic sources.

Scale your affiliate marketing efforts with Salesforce

Ready to set your affiliate program up for your SMB? With the right technology and strategy, you can consistently win and woo new customers with brand champions. Salesforce provides multiple tools for your affiliate marketing process so you can generate more sales and build more loyal fans.

Start your journey with Starter Suite today. Looking for more customization? Explore Pro Suite. Already a Salesforce customer? Activate Foundations and try out Agentforce today.

AI supported the writers and editors who created this article.

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Nicole is the Director of Product Marketing for Salesforce supporting our SMB business. Her experience spans across all aspects of marketing and go-to-market strategy. One of her passions is helping small and growing businesses use technology to scale their organizations.