Migration Considerations

Moving from one Network or SaaS to another should be seen as a last resort. It is a disruptive exercise that can take months and may not yield the desired results.

Generally, all major Networks and SaaS platforms have the same affiliates. This is because affiliates have a compelling commercial incentive to work across all of these platforms to ensure they can access a wide variety of brands.

Migration on the basis of access to more partners should be treated with caution and a sales team claiming their Network or SaaS has better partners should be asked to provide evidence. 

Brands usually have these considerations when thinking about migrating:

• Improved reporting dashboards and data integrations

• Reduction in fees and management costs

• Improved customer service

• Agency or Freelancer suggestion

Service issues can be remedied by utilising an agency or consultant rather than a Network team. This is the least disruptive way of addressing a concern with service. 

Leveraging a migration offer against the current Network or SaaS can help to secure equal rates or some form of reduction. Leaving only to save money should be treated with caution, cheaper isn’t always the best and lower fees at the cost of weaker performance may be self-defeating. 

Reporting and data integrations are areas agencies and freelancers cannot easily improve. This is where a migration is the likely best solution. However, switching on the basis of reporting may not be compelling enough and exploring if the current Network or SaaS can build custom reporting should be explored. 

If an Agency or Freelancer claims to only work on a particular platform and requests a migration they should be asked if they have a kickback arrangement. Migration on this basis serves their interests rather than the brands and should be treated with caution. 

Migrations are disruptive because:

• Affiliates publish content often. All of their content will need to be updated with new tracking links. Some partners may simply refuse to do this due to the administrative burden. This means the new platform will not be able to track historical media performance

• Someone has to engage and guide partners through the migration. Their main task is to encourage partners to update their historical media. They should audit each partner website to check if new tracking links have been applied

• There will likely be a tracking blackspot as one platform winds down and the new platform comes into effect, if this downtime occurs during peak trading it could upset affiliates as they may lose out on notable amounts of commissions

• Migrations only progress if the developer teams at the brand and Network or SaaS work quickly and are aligned, any delays on either side could postpone or extend the migration process

• Unforeseen issues may block progress such as GDPR considerations, a lack of developer experience to implement advanced tracking solutions, and other unknowable problems may present themselves 

• A migration consumes all of the focus of the team, all other activities are effectively placed on hold while the migration takes priority

However, migrations can also be beneficial. Some Network and SaaS platforms are better than others for the needs of a brand, moving platforms can offer improvements that help to promote the growth of a programme. 

Brands should consider at least 5 solutions when thinking about a migration to get a wide appraisal of the market and to allow for better judgment of the risks and opportunities.

A successful migration should:

• Align with the strategy, for example, migrating for the purpose of implementing server-to-server tracking to improve the ability to track sales and reward partners with the goal of increasing the incentive for them to proactively invest in the brand 

• Work to a defined execution plan that maps out what should be done, when it should be done and who should do it

• Assign a person to work on a one-on-one basis with each partner to encourage them to apply new tracking links to all relevant content

• Ensure developers on both sides know each other, can easily speak to each other and work to a defined timeline, to execute the technical elements of the migration

• Finish with a mirror image of the prior programme, whereby all historical media is trackable and whatever benefit that drove the migration is in place, working and ready to be measured for impact

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