Marketplaces (such as Shopee and Lazada) streamline the process in one platform, from promoting various brands’ products to managing transactions and handling dropshipping.
Marketplaces optimise their online platforms to provide products that customers want to buy and give customers a better online shopping experience to keep e-commerce sales afloat.
That’s where affiliate marketing comes into play, as marketplaces are pursuing to create connections with affiliate Partners and their customers & discover findings in customers’ online shopping experience.
At the Involve roundtable event, we sat down with Bevan (Chief Operating Officer, Corvan) and Ann Lee (Chief Operating Officer, YouBeli). They shared their insights on the marketplace industry and how affiliate marketing helps them.
The Involve Roundtable Event took place at Komune Co-working Space in Bangsar South, on 22nd July, 2022.
Being On Top of The Game with Competitors
Marketplaces constantly face challenges from competitors as various brands’ products and choices spoil many consumers.
The competition to improve & maintain brand awareness and loyalty in the marketplace is getting harder unless brands start to scale up their strategy in these critical areas:
- Marketing – using communication channels
- Delivery & supply chain management
- Connectivity and integration in a seamless platform
In partnership with Involve, affiliate marketing helps Corvan and Youbeli execute concrete strategies in bridging the connection with affiliates and consumers that drive more sales in the competitive environment.
Consistent Brand Awareness & Loyalty
Using the right tools & strategies, Corvan and Youbeli ensure consistency of having the audience know about their brand, purchase items online, and keep returning for a greater shopping experience.
Corvan creates videos, including Instagram reels, to build awareness and consistency in the brand.
Youbeli provides good deals on local products in Malaysia that entice customers to purchase on their website.
Affiliate marketing helps Corvan and Youbeli branch out to various segments and audiences, especially Partners who have their niche audience with great trust and brand loyalty.
Since customers get information through social media before purchasing at e-commerce sites, Corvan and Youbeli must constantly develop unique campaigns, including promotional mechanics, so Partners can utilise this information for producing content.
Most customers’ attention span toward content on social media is becoming shorter. Thus, campaigns and content need to have solid & unique grips that get customers to engage and make purchases online.
Localised Thematic Campaigns
Scaling monthly thematic campaigns drive more interest and engagement with the brands’ products and services. Therefore, from a business point of view, thematic campaigns potentially contribute to growth in e-commerce sales in Malaysia.
Bevan said, “smaller players tend to follow the big players for running double date sales (such as 11.11 and 12.12) to keep their audience excited and engaged with the brands.” Furthermore, consumers tend to compare with previous sales campaigns and promotions, so brands need to develop new thematic campaign mechanics.
Most brands focus on the products available in the marketplace based on the audience’s preferences. They also look into the customers’ shopping experiences, such as gift wrapping, personalisation, and unique selling points for different campaigns.
For YouBeli, besides double-dates and payday sales, they focus more on localising various campaigns, such as Chinese New Year, mid-autumn festival, and ghost month, to target specific customers. “Major peaks sales, especially during the festive seasons, leave a stronger impression, so campaigns need to be different, continuous, and consistent,” Ann Lee added.
Therefore, local segments are vital in executing unique campaigns help:
- represent themselves as brand
- gather and build awareness of those local segments of costumes
- support local brands.
Seamless Supply Chain & Delivery Funnels
Marketplace e-commerce sites like Corvan and YouBeli ensure the delivery of customers’ orders flows smoothly within the supply chain while ensuring that the products are in tip-top condition when they arrive at the customers’ doorsteps.
Corvan and YouBeli tackle supply chain management by looking into the inventory of products based on price, quantity, and quality. They also rely on third-party integration systems to monitor customers’ orders and preferences, so it is easier to manage logistics and delivery of products between suppliers, sellers, and buyers.
Strategic Collaboration with Partners
With the help of Involve account managers, Corvan and YouBeli connect with Involve Partners, such as content creators and KOLs. These content creators’ and KOLs’ audiences are the right target market that Corvan and YouBeli want to reach.
Corvan shared that they worked with over 100 KOLs (micro and significant) and celebrities through the affiliate network. For example, one of the Involve Partners, Productnation produce content for Corvan by making product reviews, articles about the campaign, and listicles of recommended products for their audience.
Marketplaces align their campaigns with Partners’ promotions by being product-driven and customers’ online shopping touchpoints through the funnel.
“KOLs are more serious in talking about the products they are promoting,” Bevan shared, “They share more technical knowledge about specific products to their audience.”
Ann Lee pointed out that YouBeli provides campaign mechanics, the list of recommended products to promote, and creative assets to Involve Partners. Providing this information to Involve Partners gives them enough lead time to prepare for creating content.
“We encourage Partners to view campaigns and recommended products on our Offer page.” Ann Lee added, “Partners will be able to elaborate on the goodness of products and additional promotions such as discounts.”
Wrapping it Up
Key points about the marketplace insights, highlighted by Corvan and YouBeli:
- Being unique and competitive in executing campaigns for affiliate marketing
- Increase & maintain brand awareness and loyalty
- Making campaigns and segments local to reach out to the target audience and support local brands
- Monitor the flow of supply chain & delivery funnels
- Bridging connections between brands, affiliate Partners, and customers in the fast-changing e-commerce marketplace
Looking for more products to promote from marketplaces like Corvan and YouBeli. Sign up as an Involve Partner and our account manager will guide you through doing affiliate marketing online.
Ready to expand your reach to new audiences and elevate your strategies through affiliate marketing? Sign up as an Involve Advertiser to get started.
