We all know that digital marketing is all about looking for ways to get the best results! So here we are today to share with you what performance-based marketing is, and how you can use it to excel in your business. So without any delay, let’s get started!

First things first!

What does Performance-Based Marketing mean?

The digital marketing world is vast. You try a lot of marketing campaigns to get the desired results. Some of the campaigns work well for your business whereas others fail to produce a good result. A failed campaign leads you to nowhere and you are just left paying money for nothing. So what can be done to avoid that? The answer is “Performance-Based Marketing”.

Yes, you heard that right!

With performance-based marketing, you can save a lot of money by only paying for those digital marketing campaigns that are giving you good results. In other words, you can say it is simply a “result-based” marketing strategy, in which you only pay after you get the desired results. This means that you do not have to pay annually or monthly for marketing services, instead you can pay for it after getting the results you want.

Now how can you know that a marketing campaign is working well for you? Well, you can measure the results by anything like:

• Ad clicks

• App installs

• Page clicks

• Downloads

• Ad views

• Sale

• Engagement on Social Media

You can use these results to make some quick decisions. Either you can change the strategy, use any other ad format, or adjust the keywords to get the desired results. All of this, ultimately, leads to business growth.

Let’s explain this to you with an example. Very often you see ads on social media and you have to click them to open the website. If you are using the performance-based marketing strategy, then you can pay every time someone clicks on the Ad. Thus, it can be said that performance-based marketing works well when you are looking to pay for some specific actions.

Now that you know well what performance-based marketing means, let’s discuss some of its limitations.

One of the major limitations of performance-based marketing is that you cannot use it for general goals. The goals that cannot be materialized easily are hard to obtain through this. An example of this can be building a brand online.

The reason for this is quite obvious. No metric works for the long-term goals and is often accompanied by numerous factors, which is why this marketing strategy does not apply.

However, for the smaller campaigns, you can use performance marketing to help you determine the long-term marketing strategy. For example, you can track the followers or the page views to know its reach online.

Benefits of Performance-Based Marketing

So now you know how the whole process of performance marketing works. Let us now dive in deeper to learn more about its benefits and outcomes.

Quick Evaluation

That is actually the best thing about performance-based marketing! You can easily use the key metrics to evaluate the campaign's success. Then you can optimize your strategy according to the results. Thus, it can help marketers and business owners to decide what to do and where to go for the best results. You can easily go through the data from time to time and then you can adjust your approach to meet the desired outcomes.

Less chance of risk

Performance-based marketing has very low chances of risk as compared to other approaches. You make decisions based on the data, which is why the strategies go mostly successful. Also, your money does not go wasted, thus this is the best approach you can choose for your business.

Gives a very comprehensive review

Performance-based marketing gives a very comprehensive view regarding how things are going even at the granular level. You can keep a track of anything like social media performance, CTA engagement, or sales progress funnel. All of this is very helpful for businessmen and marketers as they can use this information to make good data-driven decisions that can help in the progress of their business.

Also, using digital marketing software, you can get a clear picture of all the data in one frame, which gives you an improved insight and leads you to campaign success.

Transparency

Transparency is one of the best outcomes of performance-based marketing. If you are a marketer, you know exactly what your goals are and how you can achieve them. Thus it is likely that you are likely to focus on those to meet the expectations of your clients. As a business owner, you can work on clear terms and conditions, and thus, you do not have to pay even a single dollar unless your desired goal is achieved.

Drawbacks of Performance-Based Marketing

Just like everything, result-based marketing or performance-based marketing also has a few drawbacks, so let’s have a look at them.

Increased risk of fraud

In performance marketing, you look for quick results which often leads to dubious practices and there are high chances of Ad fraud in this. For example, bots can be used to get fake clicks or false traffic, and if you do not detect it, you can lose a lot of bucks by paying the unethical marketing company for no reason. Thus you have to carefully monitor the whole process to avoid any loss.

You cannot focus enough on the larger goals

As we discussed, performance marketing helps you achieve short-term goals. There are chances that you might get too busy focusing on these short-term goals that you forget your long-term or bigger goals. Yes, the number of clicks and impressions is important, but they must also be translated to have an impact on the larger goals, and only that is how you can lead your business to success.

Delayed results

Performance marketing solely depends on the results. If you are not getting the results in a desired frame of time, it means you are wasting money.

When to Use Performance-Based Marketing?

Now that you know the pros and knows of performance marketing, you must be wondering if you should use this for your company or not? So let’s answer this question. There are a few things that can help you determine if you can use performance marketing to help you achieve your brand goals or not. Let’s discuss them.

Affordability

The first thing to consider is your budget and the cash flow limitations. You must carefully sign up for the result-based marketing keeping in mind your budget and how much you can spend on this. If you are just a beginner, it is better to use free marketing techniques. However, once you become established, you can go for the monthly or annually pricing techniques depending on your work demand.

You must know the technicalities

It may sound simple that you just have to pay for the results, but it is actually not so easy. You must know the technicalities so that you can use the data to make accurate decisions. Unless you do not know how to use this data for your business success, it is of no use.

Make sure that your brand has a name

This is another main factor that you must consider before moving towards performance marketing. If you are a beginner and your brand has not yet made a good name, this marketing strategy might not work well for you. Why? Because if you do not have a strong digital presence, people will be reluctant to take action like downloading an app or opening the page. That is why result-based marketing might be a failure for you. However, once you build your brand name through brand awareness, you can surely opt for performance marketing for your business's success.

You need quick results

If you need fast and measurable results from a single campaign, then you must go for performance marketing. For example, if you are trying out some versions of an ad, then you can go for this to make accurate decisions.

Some Tips for You

Now that you know almost everything about performance-based marketing, let us share with you some tips that can help you get the most out of it. So here they are!

Set clear goals

Before getting into performance-based marketing, you need to set some clear goals. You must know what you really want. Plan it and set a specific timeline for it. Make sure you have a well-rounded marketing plan for your business and performance-based marketing is just a part of it. You cannot solely depend on this to achieve your goals. Although it is great for the short-term goals, you must know how to analyse the data to obtain the bigger goals. Only then, you can lead your company to success.

Choose a trusted partner to avoid fraud

This is very important! If you want to avoid any fraud or illegal marketing techniques, you must carefully choose your marketing partner. For that, here is what you can do:

• Set your goals carefully and choose a partner that can provide you with according to your marketing strategy. Clearly share what you want and how you can work together to achieve the desired goal.

• Ask questions and get all the information you need before making the final decision. Make sure you are on clear terms with the marketer.

• Go through the reviews, both good and bad, and analyse carefully. See if the marketer will be able to give you the desired results or not.

• Your marketing partner can either lead your company to success or can result in its downfall, so you must carefully choose the one that is clear in dealing, has a similar strategy, and can be trusted for the partnership.

Choose the keywords carefully

Once your goals are set, the next thing is choosing the right keywords. You can choose the best keywords using various keyword tools like Uber suggest, Moz, and SEMrush. Even if you have chosen the suboptimal keywords for the first time, there is nothing to worry ad you can simply do some more keyword research and try any other alternatives.

Track your metrics and monitor the results

You can get successful results from performance-based marketing only if you know how to use the data to make accurate decisions for your business. Thus you must keep tracking your metrics. Find your strengths and weaknesses through the data and use it for your business growth. Some of the popular digital marketing tools that you can use include Google Analytics, HubSpot, and Uber flip.

Conclusion

And that is all about it! Remember, performance-based marketing is a great thing for your digital marketing campaign but there are a lot of things that you must consider before starting one for your company. First of all, make sure that your company has a solid online presence. The brand awareness strategies can help you with that. Once that is done, set clear goals along with a specific timeline, identify your targeted audience, choose a trusted marketing partner, and launch a campaign. It does not end here, as once that is done, then you have to carefully keep monitoring the data to analyse the company’s weaknesses and strengths. Only then, you can make accurate data-driven decisions that can lead to your brand success. You mustn't lose sight of the bigger goals. So keep that in mind and you will definitely be successful! Best of luck!