Foot Shop Ltd
Affiliate marketing delivers great results for Foot Shop Ltd
Date: January 2009
‘We knew we were missing a valuable opportunity if we weren’t proactive with the affiliate channel. We recognised that Coast Digital deliver great results, & they fully understand the complexities & breadth of opportunities open to our sort of business.’ Joe McGough, e-marketing manager, Foot Shop Ltd.
Foot Shop Ltd is a family-owned multi-channel retail company selling specialist footwear and foot comfort products. Sales channels include mail order, wholesale, shops and websites.
The business has grown rapidly since its inception in the early 1980’s. Foot Shop Ltd brands now include Cosyfeet, WalkTall, Look At My Crazy Shoes, and Funky Little Feet.
Search marketing forms an essential sales channel for the business. Following success in search, affiliate marketing was a natural next step, complementing pay per click and search engine optimisation.
Why Coast Digital?
Despite undoubted effectiveness affiliate marketing is still misunderstood. In the safe hands of specialists it is one of the most measurable and effective forms of direct performance marketing. But to make it work requires attention to detail and a thorough understanding of what is needed to deliver successful campaigns.
Darren Bond, search marketing specialist at Coast Digital comments: ‘It’s incredibly important to choose the right agency to work with owing to the complex nature of the affiliate marketing landscape.’
Initially Foot Shop Ltd had run affiliate marketing in-house, but when the member of staff responsible left, they lacked the resource and know-how to make the most of the channel. Coast Digital were appointed.
Strategy development
Foot Shop Ltd now runs several affiliate campaigns which are proactively managed by Coast Digital. These include: lookatmycrazyshoes.com, walktall.co.uk, and cosyfeet.com. The agency works in close association with Affiliate Window; a network provider offering the necessary volume and reach.
As Foot Shop Ltd mostly sells niche products, Coast Digital has implemented an affiliate strategy that plays to its unique strengths. Bond observes: ‘Since the start of our relationship I’ve taken a very active stance. It’s important to weigh up all the routes to market and assess their suitability. In the case of Foot Shop Ltd many approaches were considered: including special interest websites; forums and blogs; price comparison sites; coupons and discount vouchers; rewards for loyalty; banner networks; the list goes on.’
Working with Affiliate Window, Coast Digital email affiliates to inform them of the benefits of the programme. Bond comments: ‘I also chat with affiliates on the A4U forum and email them on at least a monthly basis.’ Lack of communication between an affiliate and a merchant can be a big problem. Coast Digital ensures this isn’t so.
Other important issues are transparency over conversion rates and commission charges – which are incredibly important to affiliates. Bond emphasises: ‘A close working relationship with affiliates is the foundation for success from all sides, merchant, network, and affiliates.’
Managing incentives
Incentivising affiliates is an important part of Coast Digital’s strategy. Bond says: ‘We’ve given away all sorts of prizes. I’ve come up with schemes where any affiliate can enter. If I was to say, the “best” affiliate will win, then the same affiliate would win 99% of the time. The idea behind what I do is to attract affiliates – big and small – to the programme.’
He continues: ‘We’ve done prizes for “most improved”; as this encourages affiliates to grow their activity. Also prize draws work well, where you get one entry per sale on the programme. Obviously the bigger affiliates get more entries, but everyone is in with a chance of winning!’
And Coast Digital has created a range of banners to help drive more traffic. The agency has also been rewriting the policy terms and conditions for the programme as they didn’t contain all the restrictions Foot Shop Ltd assumed were in place.
Awareness of brand-bidding issues
Foot Shop Ltd runs paid search in-house and as such doesn’t want affiliates bidding on their brand names. Maintaining good communication and effective incentives has ensured that brand-bidding hasn’t been an issue.
McGough states: ‘We know that Coast Digital is working hard to ensure the success of our affiliate programme. They protect our interests in terms of brand-bidding amongst the affiliates we work with.’
Eye-catching results
- Revenue up 30% in first 3 months
- Monthly orders up 30% in first 4 months
- An average return on investment of 8.48 to 1 (over 3 months)
‘We’re delighted with the results that Coast Digital are achieving for us and look forward to the continued growth and success of the programmes.’ Joe McGough, e-marketing manager at Foot Shop Ltd.
Visit Foot Shop Ltd's brand websites at www.lookatmycrazyshoes.com, www.walktall.co.uk, www.terraplana.com, www.cosyfeet.com.
