Performance marketing is an interactive method, which addresses online marketing and advertising in its widest sense. It is clear from the term itself that the approach is based on performance, and hence, businesses (retailers or merchants) pay only for tangible results and benefits.
Performance marketing has recently penetrated the digital world as a broader concept of affiliate marketing, which has become part of its umbrella including any other type of marketing, where marketers achieve the desired targets of businesses to get paid on the implemented process.
Why do businesses opt for performance marketing?
Performance marketing allows businesses to build their brands through a wide-base of a third party’s audiences and budgets, increase their market shares, traffic and engagement, reduce their risks, and help them generate higher return on investment (ROI). Despite the aforementioned benefits, most companies nowadays prefer performance marketing to other traditional methods due to making payments only for successful transactions. Contrary to the performance marketing approach, businesses may spend thousands of dollars on ad spaces without generating any interaction with the targeted audiences.
How does it work?
While some businesses may use only one aspect of performance marketing as the most appropriate way of translating their strategies into action, others may depend on multiple areas to achieve their goals.
Here are some examples of performance marketing:
- Search engine marketing (through either SEO depending on algorithm to be ranked at the top or direct payment to SEM companies for results)
- Social media marketing/advertising
- Sponsored content
- Native advertising (to match the look and the function of the platform on which ads are displayed)
- Affiliate marketing (usually involving partnerships with websites offering vouchers, coupons, promo codes…etc.)
Noticeable growth
The rapid growth of performance marketing in the digital world has been fuelled by retail and ecommerce companies’ need for promoting their products and services through publishers, taking into consideration consumers’ tendency to check reviews and recommendations, and compare prices before they make their purchases.
Transparency
As global businesses increase their investment in performance marketing, publishers should provide measureable and transparent outcomes of campaigns. All metrics should be monitored and reported to them; thanks to emerging advanced technologies and premium tech platforms. In other words, the marketing approach should allow them to quantify every dollar they spend to promote their products and services.
Getting started
With the help of a well-established strategy for your performance marketing, you will be ready for raising awareness of your brands, selling your products and attracting loyal buyers. Do not forget to set your goals, determine your audience and discuss other important success factors with your publishers.
to sum up…
Performance marketing has been launched with the aim of helping businesses promote their products and services and pay only for results. Although the term may sound new for some people, the approach has been used since the mid-90’s with the launch of the pay-per-click campaigns. If you are looking for more customer reach and engagement, while managing your budgets and having full knowledge of what you are paying for, performance marketing makes a bigger difference in this regard.