Publisher Spotlight: Smarter Click

The second of our monthly publisher spotlights is here. Continuing to showcase the publishers we work with at TradeTracker that help advertisers accelerate their revenues and grow their brands on our network.

This month we spoke with James Boden, the Global Commercial Director of Smarter Click to catch his thoughts on performance marketing in the UK and how a technology provider can help supercharge a brand’s revenues.

When and how did Smarter Click start and get in to the affiliate space?

James: “Smarter Click was born out of our three founders identifying a need in the market for a conversion technology that is truly dynamic, and adaptable enough to be able to meet any KPIs an advertiser might have. We launched into the affiliate technology space properly about 4 years ago, after spending an exciting 12-18 months perfecting our market leading proprietary technology. We have recently celebrated our 5^th birthday and have two offices in London, and one in Madrid.”

What challenges have you faced over the past 12 months and what challenges do you think the channel will face over the next year?

James: “The last 12 months has been an exciting time in Smarter Click’s development, re-enforcing our position in the industry as the no 1, go-to, technology partner. The market has faced a few developments in the last 12 months, with clients rightly challenging us and others in our space about transparency, incrementality and service. In a customer savvy space, clients are more informed, more educated and have more access to insightful data than they ever have, and Smarter Click have benefited from this shift by having a totally transparent interface and a passionate team that always strive to exceed our clients’ expectations.

In 2019, I don’t see this changing for the channel – all partners within our industry need to be open to being challenged about their methods and their results. Smarter Click are perfectly positioned to not only be challenged, but also support our clients and networks in challenging the industry as a whole.”

What would you advise new advertisers who would look to work with technology partners such as yourselves?

James: “Just Do It! Seriously though, don’t just jump into something without considering the most important person in this – the customer. As with everything consider the benefit to the customers and how you interact with them in your online store. Once you know this, choose your partner well – ensure you assess all your options and choose a partner that understands your customers, allows you the flexibility to test, learn and grow together and the transparency to understand the results of any activity.”

Do you have a list of do’s and don’ts that would help advertisers ensure they get the most out of working with Smarter Click?

James: “There are so many to list, but we have kept it to 5 do’s and 5 dont’s”:

Do

– Consider where your customer is in their journey and optimise your messaging accordingly

– Treat each customer as an individual and personalise your communications with them

– Continuously optimise and AB test; your customers change, change with them

– Ensure you are getting actionable insights from your data and taking appropriate actions

– In seriousness, Smarter Click are experts at what we do, you are experts at what you do – together we make an unstoppable force!

Don’t

– Just view technology partners such as Smarter Click as a discounting channel

– Use one message for all customers

– Assume your customers don’t change

– Ignore your data

– Ignore your technology provider!

Finally, what key features of TradeTracker do you believe benefit you and the advertisers you work with?

James: “It has been said by many, many times over the last 10-20 years, but a network’s primary function is to provide advertisers with a tracking technology that is accurate, works, and provide payment facilities for their affiliates. What makes the difference in the network world is the people – Tradetracker from our experience have a great team of professionals who are very easy to get on with – for Smarter Click, this is their greatest feature.”

Thank you to James and Smarter Click for providing us with his thoughts and a look into this exciting publisher. If you’re already working with TradeTracker be sure you contact your account manager to talk about Smarter Click.

As usual, check back again next month for more insights from the top publishers working with TradeTracker in the UK.