The Convergence Point: How Marketing Funnels and Customer Journeys Overlap in Affiliate Marketing

In affiliate marketing, success hinges on understanding where marketing funnels and customer journeys intersect. While these concepts are often discussed separately, their overlap creates the critical touchpoints where publishers connect potential customers with advertisers—and where real conversion magic happens.

Where Publisher and Advertiser Funnels Meet

Every affiliate transaction involves two separate funnels that converge at a single critical point: the click. This dual funnel concept is essential for understanding how successful affiliate partnerships function.

The publisher's funnel focuses on:

• Generating impressions through content and promotion
• Converting those impressions to clicks (CTR)
• Delivering quality traffic to advertisers

The advertiser's funnel focuses on:

• Receiving affiliate traffic
• Converting that traffic (conversion rate)
• Maximizing completed actions (purchases, sign-ups, etc.)

For Faire, and similar marketplace businesses, this convergence point requires careful optimization on both sides to ensure efficient traffic acquisition and strong conversion metrics.

Finding the Optimal CPC Balance

The sustainability of affiliate partnerships depends on finding the right cost-per-click (CPC) balance:

• Publisher Perspective: Must receive a CPC that exceeds their cost to generate clicks
• Advertiser Perspective: Must ensure their conversion value justifies their CPC payout

This creates what we call the "arbitrage sweet spot" where both parties benefit. For example, when VEED works with content publishers, they must ensure the publishers can profitably generate clicks while VEED maintains conversion metrics that keep the partnership ROI-positive.

The Marketing Funnel Stages in Affiliate Marketing

Different industries have unique funnel structures, but most follow a general progression:

Awareness & Interest (Top Funnel)

At this stage, content affiliates and influencers create discovery and awareness content. For example, interior design influencers might showcase Philips smart home products in lifestyle content, introducing the brand to new audiences.

Consideration & Comparison (Mid Funnel)

Review sites and comparison platforms help consumers evaluate options. Sites like SourceForge allow users to compare brands like Invoice Simple with alternatives, and guide consumers through this critical stage.

Intent & Purchase (Bottom Funnel)

Deal and loyalty partners help convert ready-to-buy customers. Partners like Rakuten and RetailMeNot excel during peak shopping periods for retail brands, while brands like BILL might see success with business-focused loyalty programs or closed groups, like FounderPass.

A Note on Strategic Partners

A strong affiliate program also treats specific high-value affiliates as strategic partners. These usually include the top 10% of partners that are driving a large chunk of total revenue. A strategic partnership can entail more frequent communications, higher prioritization during optimization campaigns, and custom terms. Generally, strategic partnerships should be formed with partners that are reliable and capable of moving the needle for the program as a whole.

Strategic partnerships can happen with partners across the funnel. For instance, a retail brand might have a strategic partnership with a lower-funnel partner like Rakuten by regularly purchasing placement bundles that consistently keep them listed prominently on the site. At the same time, the brand might benefit from a strategic partnership with an upper-funnel partner like Future PLC to have a dedicated account manager that helps provide discounted placements across multiple media properties that align with the brand.

Industry-Specific Funnel Variations

Different business types have unique funnel structures requiring customized approaches:

E-commerce Retailers

E-commerce brands have relatively short purchase cycles, with conversions typically occurring within hours or days. Their funnel might look like:

• CTR from affiliate link to retailer site: 2-5%
• Site visitor to add-to-cart: 5-10%
• Add-to-cart to purchase: 40-60%

SaaS Companies

For SaaS businesses, the funnel tends to be longer with multiple touchpoints:

• CTR from affiliate link to landing page: 1-3%
• Landing page to free trial sign-up: 10-15%
• Free trial to paid subscription: 15-25%

Financial Services

Financial brands have complex funnels with additional verification steps:

• CTR from affiliate link to landing page: 2-4%
• Landing page to application start: 15-25%
• Application start to approval: 5-10%
• Approval to completion: 40-60%

Key Metrics at Each Funnel Stage

To optimize the full customer journey, focus on these key metrics at each stage:

Top Funnel

• Impressions and reach
• Engagement metrics
• Initial click-through rates

Mid Funnel

• Time on site from affiliate traffic
• Product comparison engagement
• Demographics of audience engaged

Bottom Funnel

• Conversion rate
• Average order value (AOV)
• New vs. returning customer rate

For retail programs, additional metrics become crucial. Well-optimized retail programs like Redtiger closely track return rates, which typically range from 8-15% for electronics, but can reach 20-30% for apparel.

The Optimal Approach: Full-Funnel Strategy

The most successful affiliate programs employ a full-funnel approach that ensures coverage across the entire customer journey.

“The best affiliate strategies rely on a strong mix of different partner types across the funnel. This is essential to engage users, help them evaluate their options, and ultimately drive conversions. You can’t expect growth by putting all your eggs in one basket.” Musa Ali Chaudhry, Associate at Hamster Garage.    

For example, Uber might work with:

• Lifestyle bloggers and social content creators for awareness
• Travel sites and app review platforms for consideration
• Deal and loyalty partners for conversion

Industry Examples: Getting It Right

Several brands demonstrate excellence in aligning their affiliate strategy with the customer journey:

Large department stores like Nordstrom are likely to use more sophisticated strategies like the following: 

• Strategic partner selection focusing on brand alignment
• Premium commission rates for top performers
• Detailed product feeds updated in real-time

Similarly, large retails brands, for instance, Target, likely work apply the following strategies:

• Creating specialized opportunities for different partner types
• Maintaining consistent communication about promotions
• Supporting partners with rich creative assets

invideo follows similar best practices by ensuring their partners receive the support they need at each funnel stage, maintaining clear communication about product updates, and providing specialized creative assets for different partner types.

Conclusion

Understanding where marketing funnels and customer journeys overlap creates the foundation for successful affiliate programs. By recognizing the dual nature of affiliate marketing—where publisher and advertiser funnels converge—brands can build more strategic programs that deploy the right partners at each stage of the customer journey.

For brands looking to optimize their affiliate marketing efforts, the focus should be on creating sustainable partnerships that work for both sides of the click. This balanced approach ensures long-term program growth and consistently strong performance metrics.

‍