How Fintech Marketers can Harness the Affiliate Channel

One of the reasons that marketers find affiliate partnerships to be so effective is because affiliates develop relationships with their audiences and are perceived as a trusted source for advice while traditional advertising that comes straight from the brand is usually taken with a grain of salt – of course, the brand loves its own products!  For fintech brands, this makes the affiliate industry that much more valuable because consumers are about as sensitive to from whom they accept advice on their finances as they are about their physical health. Only affiliate has the potential to connect relevant content with the right kind of customer, at the right moment in their buyer’s journey. 

Every person in the world has to deal with finances whether they like it or not. From personal budgeting apps to credit card management, and investment services, when it comes to earning consumer trust and reaching qualified customers, fintech brands must be extremely strategic in their marketing strategy. With this being said, let’s dive into a few ways affiliate marketing can deliver qualified customer acquisition for your fintech brand.

Quality over Quantity: High-Value Customer Acquisition

The main barrier fintech marketers seem to run into is unlocking the secret to gaining trust from potential customers. Customers may dismiss a fantastic fintech app or product if it is poorly marketed or explained, as many hesitate to put their finances in the hands of brands and services they do not fully understand. When working with an established affiliate management agency, fintech brands are introduced to a vast array of different channels, publishers, and partnerships. These affiliate relationships could range anywhere from content publishers and influencers, to cashback, coupon, and deal partners, depending on your fintech brand’s overall ROI goals. High-quality publishers understand their target audience’s preferences and typically have built a strong network of engaged, warm consumers. By partnering with those that best align with their brand’s customer acquisition goals, fintech marketers can boost credibility and kickstart conversion growth. 

We understand that across the finance space, the importance of getting the attention of quality customers far outweighs quantity. Our Agency team specializes in implementing full-funnel, omnichannel strategies for our clients across all verticals, tapping into over 20 digital channels to build a strategic, diversified media mix to reach their acquisition goals. Don’t just take our word for it – learn how Perform^[cb] pushed forward to drive a 1,214% increase in conversions year over year after onboarding a leading personal finance service that had already had proven success and tenured affiliates in the finance vertical.

Outcome-Based Payment Model – AKA Always-On ROAS

Unlike other advertising channels, affiliate marketing safeguards brands from burning a hole in their marketing budget pocket. The affiliate channel offers a cost-effective customer acquisition strategy for marketers to pay only for desired outcomes, meaning you won’t spend a dime for impressions or clicks – only until a new customer is driven, also known as always-on ROAS. Perform^[cb]’s affiliate management agency team utilizes an entirely performance-based fee model. You only pay for what works – affiliate marketing allows brands to learn which channels are overperforming or underperforming, and adjust budgets accordingly. With campaigns built directly around performance, fintech brands are able to spend more time analyzing granular insights and uncovering precise optimizations based on conversions, purchases, installs, channels, and so on.

Enhanced Brand Safety and Compliance Monitoring

The affiliate model offers significant flexibility regarding campaign structure, partnerships, compensation, and approaches. This agility is one of the many aspects that makes the affiliate channel so attractive to and safe for fintech brands. When creating an affiliate program, finance marketers have complete control over which partners to onboard and test with, the messaging and creatives that publishers use, and how they want to optimize with them. Furthermore, teaming up with an experienced affiliate management agency can give finance marketers peace of mind knowing their campaigns comply and adhere to all brand guidelines. Maintaining compliance standards across your affiliate program is especially crucial for brands in the  fintech space, as financial security continues to be top-of-mind for consumers. Finance brands must enforce in-depth vetting and compliance processes to satisfy all industry guidelines, including FTC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). When new rules and regulations are released, marketers are able to quickly brainstorm with their affiliate agency to pivot their customer acquisition approach, ensuring a safe, successful campaign for fintech brands.

At Perform^[cb], fintech marketers don’t have to bat an eye knowing they’re backed by our in-house compliance team, extensive partner-vetting process, and patented anti-fraud software. Our in-house compliance team utilizes an in-depth application and vetting process to ensure only the industry’s top affiliate partners have access to our marketers’ campaigns. On top of that, our patented anti-fraud software, PerformSHIELD, proactively analyzes marketers’ campaigns prior to launching, as well as in real-time after launch, to identify any vulnerabilities to suspicious activity. Learn how a popular banking app was able to drive a 233% increase in new user volume in one month by employing Perform^[cb]’s strict partner vetting process.

Introducing your fintech brand into the affiliate channel will result in a bullet-proof promotional strategy to reach untapped audiences and high-quality consumers, improve ROAS with cost-effective customer acquisition, and ensure you have the campaign control and brand safety you need to succeed. We work closely with trusted leaders across the affiliate space, including the award-winning partnership platform, impact.com. Utilizing impact.com’s Protect suite, we further monitor search terms, keywords, trademarks, and more, as a shield against compliance risks for our partners. Ready to work with an Impact Diamond Agency Partner? Reach out to Perform^[cb]’s team of industry marketing experts to unlock that “secret sauce” needed to scale your fintech brand on an outcome-based payment model today. 

Not convinced yet or maybe you want to dig deeper into the affiliate channel?  Download our Navigating the Affiliate Channel e-book.