Through a strategy fronted by the tactical use of cashback rates and adjustments to their referral window, RS Components managed to break their competitor’s 16-year dominance in the affiliate channel, grow revenue, and strengthen publisher partnerships.
Results at a Glance
- 291.7% YOY program growth (August – December 2019)
- 91% MOM program growth from before the referral period was extended vs the month after
- 61% market share vs their biggest competitor
- Improved performance of top incentive publishers by an average of +187%
Background
- In 2018, B2B electronic and industrial parts brand, RS Components, launched their first-ever affiliate program with CJ.
- RS Components goaled their CJ team to increase market share to 52% of affiliate traffic compared to their biggest competitor, a known leader in the B2B affiliate space.
- Incentive partners make up a large majority of the RS Components program, so the CJ team proposed a strategy to enhance three key incentive partnerships to grow revenue and increase market share.
Strategy
- Using RS’s internal CRM data, CJ and RS built a series of in-depth reports to examine weekly trends and purchasing habits. Based largely on brand performance and contributions by different job roles, these reports provided the tools to build consumer segments specific to top publishers.
- In-depth analysis of the brand’s first-party data shed new light on TopCashback, Quidco, and EasyFundraising’s traffic, revenue, and conversion rates by job title, using this data to create unique strategies to optimize offers and maximize each publishers’ contribution. The team also optimized newsletters and offer strategy allowing by allowing publishers access to the anonymous customer data.
- In addition, first-party data was overlaid with CJ’s Affiliate Customer Journey reporting to see where users were making their first click and where they ultimately converted. This data revealed that the average purchase window was 24.8 days—well outside RS’s 14-day referral window. This meant many incentive publishers were not being fully commissioned for their true value and likely lacked motivation to actively promote RS.
- The CJ team extended the referral window to 30 days for all publishers to ensure they would accurately capture and reward sales from incentive publishers. This seemingly small change made a huge positive impact on the program, building publisher motivation and confidence that resulted in stronger partnerships and growth across the board.
- Armed with the data from these reports, the CJ team discovered that one product was driving the highest percentage of revenue from each of the three partners being assessed. This product was then broken out into higher commission rates to incentivize promotion.
- CJ kept a close eye on RS’s market share to see how it was managing to impact the competitive landscape. Things started to really pick up in March 2019 as a result of splitting out product lines and increasing cashback rates throughout key seasonal periods.
“Since launching our program with CJ, the network has solidified itself as a key strategic partner for RS. This has been made possible by an account management team that is fully aligned with our business objectives and regularly provide data-driven insights that not only inform, but also help shape both our short and long-term affiliate strategy. All in all, the great work we have done together has been pivotal in establishing affiliates as a key paid media channel for the business and we look forward to furthering our growth in 2021.”
- Simon Sandford, RS Components, Head of Affiliates
--
For more information about working with RS Components in the CJ network, apply to their program directly via the CJ Account Manager.
