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BEST PRACTICES | APRIL 2009
How to Budget Time when Budgets are Slim
by Ben Kiel
Recessions aren’t fun. Companies struggling financially will try anything to meet budgets, keep the bottom line from plummeting, and unfortunately in that frenzy, tend to instill that same sense of panic in their employees – causing them to lose focus on what things are really important in their day-to-day activities. Prioritization now becomes extremely crucial. Recognize that you are probably not going to get everything done, and list out the most important items before you start for the day. Interruptions are inevitable, but if you can determine key items that will maintain and grow your program, you can cut out a lot of busywork.
Let’s use this opportunity to take a collective deep breath as an industry, and outline the key themes to keep in mind when you’re short on staff, resources, and time.
Profitability
Throughout the course of your week, you’ll be presented with a variety of opportunities with publishers large and small: commission increases, placements, emails and more. Additionally, you’ll be faced with decisions on your side of the program, including activation campaigns, exclusive coupons, and private offers. Instead of grasping at every opportunity that presents itself, really take a look at what options you have in front of you, select ones that have the highest chance of success and highest likely revenue impact. Choose programs with publishers you’ve had prior wins with, and pay special attention to publishers with whom you have the strongest relationships.
Program Management
In addition to the backbone of your affiliate program work – the revenue generating activities – there are myriad other responsibilities held by the affiliate marketing team: Designing promotions, managing communications, implementing new technology, program analytics, and fielding publisher inquiries. Once again, make sure that the work you’re doing is either maintaining the program (i.e. paying bills, legal issues, etc.) or contributing directly to its ongoing growth. For example, you may have to drop a deal-of-the-day program because it simply is not the most valuable use of your time at this juncture.
Delegation
Constantly evaluate your work to see if there is anything you might be able to have other departments take over. Can your customer service team handle publisher inquiries? Are you designing your own creative when you have a creative team downstairs? It’s extremely easy to get in the habit of managing all aspects of an affiliate program, so try to find ways to offload non-essential work.
In this economy, the workplace may be hectic, but do keep in mind that more shoppers are going online for discounts and coupons. Well-planned, well-executed work will pay large dividends down the road.
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