1.
January 10, 2012
Affiliate Summit West

2.
Panelists
Marty Marion
Affiliate Marketing Manager
Deluxe Corp.
Sherry Tingley
Owner
One Click LLC.
George Hansen
Director of Sales
Digital River – oneNetworkDirect

3.
Agenda
 What is B2sB affiliate marketing
 The opportunity
 B2sB Affiliate Marketing, why now?
 B2sB vs. B2C differences
 Who is the B2sB audience & how to market to them
 Will the SB buy from an Affiliate?
 Top things an Affiliate can do tomorrow to earn big
 Panel discussion
 Q&A
 Key takeaways / wrap

4.
What is B2sB
Affiliate Marketing?
Marketing business
products & services to
small businesses

5.
How big is the opportunity?
28.7 million SBs in North America
(with < 20 employees)
26,501,128 2,204,103
Sources: 2009 IRS/U.S. Census Bureau, Statistics Canada 2007

6.
How much do SBs spend?
$142.3 Billion /yr.
On goods and services to run and promote their business*
Includes:
Marketing services
Computers and software On average, SBs will spend
Printing
Office supplies about $5,000 /yr. on
Business forms
Promotional products these products & services
Apparel
etc.
How much of that budget
Does not include:
Raw materials
do YOU want?
Manufacturing equipment
Utilities
etc.
Sources: SBs Directions 2011, Gartner 2011, Deluxe Corp. 2010 , IBIS World 2011, Barnes 2011 & InfoTrends 2009

7.
How much do SBs spend online?
 Over 60% make business purchases online
 That’s 17.2 million potential customers
 With an $86.1 billion combined budget
How much of this could be in the Affiliate Channel?
Source: Small Business Directions, 2011; n=842 SBs

8.
B2sB Affiliate – why now?
Overall Affiliate Revenues Projected to Soar
 Despite economic downturn, Merchants are projected to pay out
over $4 Billion in commissions by 2014
Source: Forrester Research Affiliate Marketing Forecast, 7/09 (US)

9.
B2sB Affiliate – why now?
Going mainstream
As budgets tighten, Merchants are
increasingly adding Affiliate Marketing to
their marketing mix
 Usually not part of a fixed marketing budget
 Low risk pay for performance model
 Provides a competitive ROI compared to other
channels
 Healthy competition between affiliates is leading to
more relevant niche sites increasing traffic and
conversions
 Merchants and Affiliates are increasingly working
directly together toward mutually beneficial results

10.
B2sB Affiliate – why now?
B2sB Affiliate Footprint is relatively small
 B2C market is fully matured and saturated
 B2sB is just entering its growth stages
 B2sB merchants increasingly entering the channel, so
their growth incentive is at an all time high
What does this mean for B2sB affiliates?
 Less competition
 Incremental revenue stream
 Higher average commissions
 Time to establish expertise “before the rush”

11.
B2sB vs. B2C – differences
SB Consumers
 Purchase decisions are less
impulsive & require more info
 They are “cost conscious” not
“price sensitive”
 Looking to answer a question
or solve a business problem

12.
B2sB vs. B2C – differences
SB Merchants
 Depending on the product/service
AOV can be substantially larger
 Overall higher commission rates
 Place education in the Affiliates
hands, similar to offline distributed
selling model

13.
B2sB vs. B2C – differences
SB Affiliates
 Play a crucial part of informing
SBs consumer in the purchase
process
 Builds a strong and direct
working relationship with
Merchants
 Understand that the B2sB
affiliate blueprint for success is
still being drafted
A little more effort will equal a lot more $$

14.
Who’s your target audience?
or

15.
Who’s your target audience?
Small Business
 Over 3/4 of SBs are run by sole
proprietors
 The same people who buy shoes,
CDs, TVs, gadgets, gifts and more
 They use similar purchase behaviors
when buying for their business
 More SBs look to buy products
online than those trying to sell
online*
A recently survey by Deluxe Corp.

16.
How do you reach the SB Consumer?
Are there people who make
money (or want to) by doing what
I describe on my site?
 If you answered “YES” you already
have a B2sB opportunity

17.
How do you reach the SB Consumer?
Am I already providing content
that is relevant to SBs?
 Business Services & How To sites
• SEO, hosting, social media,
marketing, business growth, time
management, etc.
 Business Products
• Office supplies, computers, software,
checks, forms, printer Ink, business
cards, etc.

18.
How do you reach the SB Consumer?
Can I create or provide something
that would speak directly to a small
business owner’s needs?
 Business Segmentation
• Creating SB categories within existing
sites, offers and email lists can take
your marketing in a new & profitable
direction

19.
How do you engage the SB Consumer?
By asking these Questions…
 How can this help SBs attract more
customers?
 How can this help SBs manage their time and
money more efficiently?
 How can this help SBs keep their customers
coming back?
And putting the answers into practice on your site...

20.
Will the SB buy from an Affiliate?
Yes! The SB consumer needs 24/7 access to products so that they
can buy for their business outside of their own business hours
Yes! The decision making process is less about emotion & more about
knowledge & trust
Yes! Price sensitivity is more about added value of the product or service
they are buying…They are still looking to cut costs so balance here is crucial
Yes! SBs are everywhere, easy local access to business products & services
is not
Yes! More SBs look to PURCHASE business products online than those
who try to SELL them
Understanding the small business consumer = $$

21.
Top things an Affiliate can do
tomorrow to earn big
Reach out to merchants & establish an open line of communication
 Don’t be passive in your relationship
 B2B Merchants rely on the connection between their distributors & the consumer
 B2B Merchants are more willing to share data, take advantage
Create a SB section of your site
 The SBs Consumer is looking for a place to go…GIVE IT TO THEM
 Create a section / content just for the SB Consumer – SEO/SEM
 Affiliate Marketing is not simply building links and collecting commissions
Organize your site with visitors in mind creating content to support product sales
 Merchandise site with as much care as you would a consumer product site
 Insure that relevant content surrounds the products & services you promote

22.
Top things an Affiliate can do
tomorrow to earn big
Educate your visitors, offer a POV and show expertise
 Pack your site with relevant content, and make sure they can find it
 The SB Consumer is looking for an answer, GIVE IT TO THEM
 Its your site, share an opinion
Connect with or create a blog around the SB Products / Services you offer
 Social Media - I’m sure you use it, but don’t just spam, have an opinion
 Niche vertical blogs - Connect to your prospects where they are
Sell like products
 Organize SB products / services in “Stacks”
 You have brought them to your site for a reason, ASK FOR THE SALE

23.
Top things an Affiliate can do
tomorrow to earn big
Test products, promotions & content continually
 Don’t set it and forget it!
 Understanding the SB market will quickly make your efforts successful
Share successes and challenges with your Merchants
 Share what works and doesn’t
 Data - You have it, the Merchant has it, combine it and win big
 The more you and your Merchant work together, the easier success will be
Participate in the industry
 You don’t have to give away your secrets to participate in the industry
 Two heads are better than one, share your success & learn about others
 Look for places to earn more money through contests, surveys, etc.

24.
Panel discussion

25.
Q&A

26.
Key takeaways / wrap up
 The SB consumer is still a consumer!
 The SB consumer is looking for answers & experts!
 Organizing your site with relevant content!
 If you learn from your visitors and the sales they create, you WILL
create more sales!
 Communicate openly with your Merchants, they are eager to work
with you!
 Potential for higher AOVs & commission rates!
 Be patient, effort = reward!
 B2sB is an incremental way to grow your business today!
We are all here to make more money….
follow these steps and you will