Affiliate Marketing lessons from Thailand
So I was in Thailand. And while my brain was supposed to be on vacation mode, I could just not help but be fascinated by what I saw and immediately thought about how it all fits into the greater scheme of things (the greater scheme of things, being Affiliate Marketing, of course).
For anyone who’s ever been to Patong Beach, they would undoubtably have been harrassed by throngs of over-eager (read: “desperate”) salespeople grabbing onto your arms, trying to work out where you come from so that they can rattle off something in your country’s native tongue, or so that they can poorly try to mimic your accent. They’re selling anything from iPod’s, to pirate DVD’s, to tailor-made suits, to replica paintings of Van Gogh.
On the first day, I must admit, I fell victim to a few of them and ended up buying useless stuff which I’ll never use again. I definitely was not going to buy my iPod from a small street vendor. By day three though, I was walking down the same street, with my head down and my earphones blasting tunes into my ears, with the sole purpose of not being accosted by one of these gregarious Thai “spammers”.
The light shone through, though, one night when I was sitting in a little Bob Marley pub in a little-visited corner of the town. It was here that I sat drinking cheap Thai beer and listening to Noi playing his bongo drums. It was here that I got to know all the barmen and they listened to my stories and I their’s. It was here that I got to know the people of Thailand and what they were all about. And it was here that I bought a painting (not very good) for TWICE the price that the street-vendors would’ve sold it to me. Plus, I bought them all a round of drinks.
“You’re a poor consumer”, you might say. But, as far as I’m concerned, they were good salesmen. I knew I was paying more for the product, but I felt that they deserved my business. They worked harder, and they were sincere about it. It was an honour to give them my business. Plus, I will definitely go back there again, the next time I’m in town.
“Nice story, Kelvin, but what does this have to do with us?”
Affiliate Marketing is about sales. We all know that. But, with all the cluttered space out there, how are you going to get heard? How are you going to make contact with your consumers? Blasting them with hundreds of ads, making them louder and brighter than the rest may do wonders for branding, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to make a sale. Ever heard of “Banner Blindness”? For an intellectual read on this, go to http://www.internettg.org/newsletter/dec98/banner_blindness.html .
Basically, filling every spot on your site with banners (no matter how visually attractive they are) will not grab and keep their attention.
It’s all about knowing your consumers and offering them a service in an environment that they feel comfortable in.
The economist, Richard Thaler, found in his 1985 “Beer on the Beach” study that a thirsty sunbather would pay $2.65 for a beer delivered from a resort hotel, but only $1.50 for the same beer if it came from a shabby grocery.
The moral of the story here is that it hurts me to see affiliates pasting banners all over their site in a haphazard manner, hoping for a random click here and there. The guys that are really raking in the commissions are the ones who have analysed their traffic, who have provided them with a service (be it investment advice, retail comparisons or an interesting story about their trip to Thailand…). After that they “suggest” – by means of one conspicuous banner, or well-placed text links – which merchant may be able to provide you with what you want. You’ll find, more often than not, that that consumer will be more than happy to buy what you offer them, and will probably come back for more.
Conversion; increased basket size; retention.
Now that is selling.
July 19th, 2007 at 4:10 am
Kelvin, truly an inspiring and insightful article! You’re absolutely right. It’s about adding value to your consumer and presenting them what they want in a non-threatening consultative way. Rather aid them in their search for a solution than shove a product down their throat
Hey, maybe I should go to Thailand and research this some more for myself!