Performance based marketing can be really attractive for both parties. With the example of affiliate marketing and some tests I did myself I see some basics coming up which I like to share with you.

Performance based can be attractive because there is almost no risk. As a company you only have to pay a commission when a sale is made. For the publisher/sales person there is normally a higher reward.

Performance based solutions don’t suite all marketing campaigns though. Best is to keep in mind a sales agent you pay per sale.

You need a clear goal and clear tracking. If the goal is vague you can better stick to payment per hour or some other sort of payment. When a sales agent has to do all kind of side work he/she will feel this as a distraction if he doesn’t get payed. If he does get payed a company has often the feeling of paying too much.

Tracking must be good. When a sales agent gets the feeling his revenue is going to somebody else he will stop for sure.

The biggest disadvantage of performance based marketing however is time. How do you keep the sales agents motivated. They are investing time and do get a lot of interesting other offers. So there is a competition for the sales person’s time or attention.

This is were trust and incentives get in. And this is exactly the reason why you can do a lot of harm if you are going for a quick gain and forget about your sales agents/affiliates. Be careful you have a name to protect.

Most people think of Google Adwords as a tool for acquiring new clients cost effectively. And of course it is a good direct marketing tool. However creatives and advertising agencies should use it as well.

As an advertising agency you need to get as much information as possible about your audience. You want to know their need, their interests etc. Adwords can give you this information. It gives you focus, some clues to brainstorm on. Yes it makes a difference if you know that people are looking for blue shoes lately in stead of red ones. So learn more about how to use Adwords as a market research tool.

Besides Adwords as a research or inspiration tool. It can also be a good tool for branding, getting attention etc. Of course you can learn more about Adwords for branding. However you don’t see much of a creative use of adwords yet.

Most Adwords Ads are like “need a car?, come to us” which is of course effective in DM. But Adwords for branding will need a different approach. What about using estrange statements like “My car is better than yours” or using slogans and redirect to customer feedback “BMW Sheer driving pleasure, want to see what others think” etc…

Start building or reinforcing brand associations.