Accelerate Client Growth With Ecommerce Platform Apps

Ask almost any OPM about their biggest challenges and one of the first you’ll hear is that it’s difficult to get tags placed on client websites. Fortunately, powerful tools are now available to help reduce or eliminate these delays so your agency can wow its clients.

Key Takeaways

• Getting affiliate integration tags and scripts on client websites can be a massive agency challenge  – one that stifles creativity and performance 

• Fortunately, ecommerce platform affiliate apps are a great way to eliminate these challenges with any clients using one of the popular third-party platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, and Adobe Commerce (Magento)

• These apps streamline network integration to just a few clicks, and pre-existing integrations with leading affiliate platforms mitigate the need for additional site tagging

• By leveraging these apps wherever possible, agencies can drive results faster and showcase the qualities that make them special

Many of the most potent innovations in affiliate now require some form of integration, and getting new tags on a site can take many weeks or months. Process delays stifle innovation, delay testing and implementation, and create tension with advertiser tech and ecommerce teams.

For agencies, these delays are a big problem. Agencies must be agile and innovative to showcase their unique value, especially in the first months of an engagement. With hundreds of agencies and consultants available to run programs, competition is more challenging than ever.

Even the best agency team can’t delight clients and build long-term relationships when process challenges limit their speed-to-market and effectiveness.

Ecommerce platform apps

The rise of third-party ecommerce platforms has created new opportunities to enhance the implementation process for affiliate agencies and client teams. These platforms bring a common e-store code base to thousands of advertisers. The platform companies have also created open systems that invite martech and ad-tech solutions providers to develop apps to streamline program implementation and management. Merchants can add the latest tools and tech to their stores simply by installing these apps. 

Salesforce popularized the third-party app store model many years ago – it is one of the reasons why that company has become so dominant in CRM. The Salesforce Appexchange popularized this “modular” integration model, giving clients a constantly expanding array of vetted solutions. The model unlocks the power of “crowd innovation” for their business. ecommerce platforms have copied this model in hopes of having the same success in creating market dominance in ecommerce software as Salesforce has built in CRM. 

Affiliate apps for ecommerce 

ShareASale and Awin have been the most aggressive major affiliate platforms in creating apps for the top ecommerce and influencer management platforms. In most cases, advertisers and their agencies can begin working with our platforms immediately after making a few clicks to install these apps. From there, you simply connect the affiliate merchant account with the app and start tracking traffic and sales immediately. Other networks have also introduced apps with some major ecommerce platforms.

Affiliate apps empower agencies to help clients transition to new platforms faster and easier. Many are already integrated with these apps, eliminating the need for further site tagging. As with our popular ShareASale and Awin MasterTags, our apps enable advertisers and their agencies to turn on relationships with publishers and technologies with just a few clicks. In most cases, no additional technical integration is required. 

Available ShareASale and Awin apps

ShareASale and Awin have developed apps for leading ecommerce and influencer management platforms to help agencies and their clients set up affiliate programs, add tech partners, and get outstanding results. Our integrations make it easy for users of these platforms to enter affiliate marketing quickly and easily. These integrations include:

• Adobe Commerce (Magento)
• Aspire
• BigCommerce
• CreatorIQ
• Prestashop
• Shopify
• Socialix
• Shoplazza
• Wix
• Woo Commerce

Other networks have also created commerce platform apps with at least some of these providers. Investigate the availability for your clients’ ecommerce platforms so you can streamline integration and accelerate speed to market. 

Apps help prevent data leakage

Another way these tags help agencies and clients is by making it easy to track the companies with access to your clients’ website data. Many ecommerce sites have one or more disused tags quietly transmitting data to third parties even though the advertiser is no longer leveraging their solutions. That means first-party client data is being shared with outside organizations without your client’s knowledge.

With apps, the list of affiliate partners receiving data from the web store is easy to manage in the affiliate platform. In most cases, partners can be deactivated with just a few clicks, making it easier to ensure data security. 

Action plan for agencies

It’s easy to see why a turnkey solution that powers more agile program management, testing, and innovation can give your agency tremendous advantages. Here are some simple steps to capitalize on this opportunity.

• Find out which technologies power your clients’ online stores. While some large enterprise brands have developed their own ecommerce front- and back-ends, most brands now leverage third-party ecommerce platforms. 

• Get your client to implement app-based integration. Meet with your client counterparts to discuss the many advantages app-based integrations can offer. If they have a tech team to implement website changes, include them in the discussion. You’ll find your clients are just as anxious to eliminate process friction. When you launch with a new client that uses one of the major ecommerce platforms, we highly recommend using an app to establish your new program. 

• Create a tech partner testing and implementation program that leverages these apps. Since most new publisher classes and performance-based tech partners can be turned on and managed via the apps, you can craft an aggressive program to drive quick wins and continued growth that thrill your clients and build lasting relationships.
  

• Connect with your network’s agency support team. Awin and ShareASale have a dedicated team to help agencies get the most out of our platforms. These experts can help and provide additional ideas and support for agency-specific opportunities and challenges. Some other networks offer agency support teams as well.

The OPM world has always been and always will be highly competitive. Even the best teams and ideas are impossible to leverage when obstacles like site tagging slow processes and stifle innovation. But with app-based integrations, you can help your client get better results by demonstrating what is unique and special about your offering. 

About Awin and ShareASale

Two-thirds of digital ad spend currently flows to the three big tech platforms – Google, Meta, and Amazon. But their auction-based ad models favor their bottom lines and inflate costs at a time when every single marketing dollar counts. Affiliate partnerships offer a real alternative to big tech and put you back in control of your own business growth.

Using Awin and ShareASale’s platforms, you can unlock unlimited marketing opportunities that reach consumers everywhere. Choose which affiliate partners best match your marketing objectives. Control your costs by defining how you pay these partners. And customize your affiliate marketing program using Awin’s tech to mirror your unique goals, whatever they may be. Consider us your full customer journey marketing partner to drive growth. Our one-million-plus partners will drive traffic to your store, help convert shoppers into buyers and encourage referrals and repeat business. Connect with Awin and ShareASale, or follow us on social for more insights and ideas on how to drive more revenue to your online business.

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