Assuming that you have identified an affiliate agency to work with, and you are going through the terms – what are some of the things you want to examine before signing on the dotted lines.
Here are four things to look out for when negotiating a contract with the affiliate agency.
Contraction, or Termination clause
Plan for the unpredictable. In the event that there is a shift in priorities and the affiliate program will need to contract, be suspended due to budget or in a worst case scenario, shut down – what are some of the terms that will govern the contraction with the affiliate agency. It is understandable that there might be overhead that the agency will need to support, however there will also be a reduction of workload and one should find a balance in the event that the affiliate program will come to that point.
FTC Inquiry
For the last few years, the FTC have been monitoring affiliate marketing and social influencer marketing. In the highly unlikely event that the affiliate program is involved with any FTC inquiry due to an affiliate action, or an inaction of the client’s affiliate program – having the affiliate agency support that inquiry as the subject matter expertise will come in invaluable.
License and fees
Some affiliate agencies will either utilize some propitiatory software, or tool and often there are license or fees that is tied to that tool. In the event that there are commitments involved with the tool, it is ideal to know that before hand. In additional to that, not only is utilization of the tool important to discover before hand but also know who owns the output
Coupon and promotion expectation
Establishing an expectation and guidelines for coupons for retailers, or promotion in general should be established between the agency and the client. Drawing some ground rules and expectation for coupons, discounts and promotions should help prevent any difficult discussion between the client-agency. The reason this should be brought up as coupon and discount cuts into the margin of the sale.