What is the right mix of tools to measure affiliate marketing performance?
Despite all the advanced tools, just think of automation’s possibilities, there is a strong need to see at a glance how the organization is doing. The more complex organizations and the more complicated the management task for management, the greater the need for simple tools to measure actual performance.
Measuring affiliate marketing performance is a prerequisite for providing feedback on the progress of processes. Feedback is needed to control and improve processes. Therein lies, of course, the practical importance. This contribution concerns an exploration of the possibilities. Building up and working with (a set of) indicators is important. This is a practical aid for managers who need compact information about their organization’s state of affairs.
Why is feedback a management principle?
Feedback, or feedback, derives its value only when it is part of a feedback loop. This feedback loop, also known as a feedback loop, makes it possible to take corrective action and verify whether the correction is effective. Therefore, feedback is the assessment of the current performance of a process on information from an early or previous stage of the process.
Feedback is, therefore, necessary to be able to control processes. From a technical point of view, it is often necessary to install several feedback loops one after the other before the desired degree of control is reached. Control need not be limited to production processes. It can also be applied more widely; in this way, design and preparatory processes with feedback can also be better controlled. Organizing feedback is actually a fundamental management principle.
Feedback can be easily integrated into reporting relationships.
Feedback is important at every aggregation level in the organization. Besides providing feedback in the organization’s breadth, vertical loops, i.e., construct cascades of feedback throughout the organization. After all, what is the means for a certain level of the organization is the goal for the next lower level. Feedback can, therefore, be easily integrated into reporting relationships. This makes it important for those who hold leadership or power in the organization.
To properly allocate responsibilities, for example, in the case of delegation and mandate, it is necessary to agree on how to report on the use of that power. It is about giving an account of the assigned responsibility. This is especially the case in vertical relationships. Feedback is, therefore, an instrument for controlling authority relationships.
Feedback can also be applied to continuous performance improvement programs.
Feedback has another application. Organizing feedback loops is an important part of programs for continuous improvement of existing affiliate marketing performance. Feedback is applied to the learning theory. Feedback should be specific, relevant, concise, and prompt. It is about finding the best, and most obvious are areas for improvement.
The entire organization is usually involved in these programs. They focus on increasing the satisfaction of both the internal and the external customer. This is necessary in order to stay ahead of the competition. Here we do not so much look at the vertical relationships, but do everything to optimize the horizontal process flow. This leads to the bottlenecking of progress and improving quality.
- Feedback of information about the delivered performance: provides a vertical reporting relationship with concrete information
- is the basis for process control and corrective action
- is used for process improvement and prevention action.
The informal feedback instruments
At this point, we would like to point out – perhaps unnecessarily – an important informal instrument. These are the expectations of the leader, whether expressed or not. The employee notices how his boss reacts to his affiliate marketing performance, or (unfortunately) does not respond. The saying goes that the master’s eye makes the horse fat. Some leaders manipulate: they speak out (at least not in advance) what is being watched, gaining additional influence through the created uncertainty. The way in which the leader gives feedback is very important. This also applies to the way in which he uses more informal feedback instruments.
Which formal instruments can be used to measure performance?
Measuring performance and giving feedback about it can already be very important for management for several reasons. Traditionally, ‘control’ from vertical relationships has been a well-known example of performance measurement. However, it will have become clear that feedback is more than just control. It also has an important horizontal component: process control and improvement. This horizontal approach is currently receiving a lot of attention. Numerous instruments have been developed for this, one of which, working with indicators or key figures, is central to this.
In large companies, the need for optimize and measure affiliate marketing performance assessment is growing. Consideration is given in advance about which matters feedback is given. It is also clear in advance what level of detail will be used. This is one of the most important elements of organizing feedback. The more and better you organize, the more explicit you can be in advance, and you know better what tools are needed. In practice, four types of instruments are distinguished, each of which is capable of providing feedback.
- inspections; checks
- This is understood to mean the usual checks and measuring points that are applied during the daily process execution to see whether the process or the product meets the specifications.
- audits
- This is a periodic and scheduled evaluation by independent persons that is carried out according to a set procedure and with checklists to determine whether a system (e.g., a quality system) has been developed, documented, and installed in accordance with the requirements set on site.
- reviews
- This tool is used for design assessment. It takes place at an early stage of the design process to optimize suitability for manufacture and use. It is a formal, written, systematic investigation to evaluate the design requirements and to determine whether the design is seafront and complies with it.
- and… indicators
- These are cues collected at predetermined points in the process. The intention is to use these indicators to assess the performance of the process. Examples of indications are the percentage of failure, hours needed for rework, the percentage of B-quality, the percentage of rejected parts, machine downtime, average waiting time at the counter, etc. The characteristic of these indications is that they are indicative. They indicate the existence of a problem and not so much the cause.
There are, therefore, four types of instruments available to meet the need for feedback. With each of these instruments, at least in part, the realization of the effects intended by management can be made visible. Feedback using indicators is just one of these tools. It is this variant that manages to lock up a lot of information in a single clue.
There is now a great need for this. This does not alter the fact that before starting to work with indicators, it must be checked whether the same information can not be obtained better with other instruments. Even if this is not the case, harmonization, or the right mix of instruments in a total information framework must still be pursued.
What is the right mix of instruments to measure affiliate marketing performance?
The choice of instruments depends on a number of factors. The most important, of course, is the actual information requirement. It’s just about finding that tool that can at least provide the data you need. When several instruments can now meet the same need, additional considerations are made.
- the time required to design the instrument
- construction and maintenance costs of the instrument
- timeliness with which the results are obtained
- (after all, it is necessary that the indication comes at a time when intervention can still have an effect)
- the character of the instrument (anticipatory; guiding or correcting; controlling)
- the style of the organization
- The ability to fulfill the conditions of existence of the instrument.
In many cases, the same considerations also apply to the weighing up between one option and the other within a type of instrument. So the trade-off of one check against another, or one indicator against another. The list of factors can also be used to assess existing information systems for their suitability for continued existence.
A critical review often leads to the conclusion that traditional systems are no longer always adequate. We mainly refer to the long processing times of the source data. Moreover, the incorporation of all kinds of information wishes in the past has contributed to the information ultimately delivered being (too) late or insufficiently specific.
Who takes the initiative for a measurement system with indicators?
In the first place, they are interested managers and executives who want to improve their information system because they strive for a better organization’s performance. The horizontal information flow (information about the status of processes) is therefore central. But it can also be managers who strive for greater control. This is more in line with the vertical approach mentioned above. This involves the use of indicators to give concrete substance to a reporting relationship. For example, quality management by objectives is based on this philosophy.
What steps are needed to get started in practice?
In general, an approach that leads to an indicator in three steps is sufficient.
- Determine the so-called preferred search fields. It is also referred to as the performance areas. A search field is an even broad indication of the subject to be viewed. For an organization, the search fields are linked to the strategy and the strategic success conditions. For a department, they are linked to the department’s objectives.
- Subsequently, it is determined – very precisely – which type of information is most meaningful.
- Then it is provided with a target or norm value. Only then is the indicator of a fact.
Using the outlined approach, it is possible to generate maximum information with a minimum of effort.
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