How to Market to Affinity Groups

1) What exactly is an “affinity group”? - The dictionary defines affinity groups as “persons who share the same interests”. For marketing purposes, these groups generally fall into these categories:

a. Employee Groups – and employee associations or unions
b. Membership Organizations – trade associations, credit unions, chambers of commerce, religious groups, etc.
c. Customer Groups – sports fans, subscribers, listeners, viewers, shoppers, etc.

2) What makes affinity group marketing unique? Most marketing channels fall into one of two categories:

a. Business to Business (B2B)
b. Business to Consumer (B2C)

Affinity group marketing generally utilizes a unique “Business to Business to Consumer” or (B2B2C) strategy.

3) What is the advantage of using the B2B2C strategy? – With affinity group marketing, you can leverage the relationship that the consumer has with their group. This means that your products or services carry the implied endorsement of the group whose members you are accessing. It is essential that you positively “Influence the Influencers” to encourage these gatekeepers to actively promote your brand and distribute your offers.

4) What are some ways to positively influence the influencers? First it is essential to give their employees or members great deals. If the offers you are extending to these groups are the same or only slightly discounted from what the general public would receive, the gatekeepers at these organizations will not promote them to their employees or members. In fact, all access to the members can ultimately be denied as a result. You can also provide the organization with incentives, such as gift cards, tickets or other perks, to encourage them to actively promote your brand. Sweepstakes prizes are also effective tools to encourage promotion.

5) What is the strategy used for gaining access to members of these groups? Your products and services must first be presented to key people within the member groups who authorize access to the group. With employee groups, this person is most often a Human Resources professional who is in charge of employee benefits. With associations, it is most often the Membership Director who can allow access. A marketer must extend the members a legitimate discount or value-added offer that the general public would not receive.

6) How would my product offers reach the employees or members?

a. Email – now the preferred method of communication
b. Websites – special portals with discounts and member benefits available on the Internet or on corporate intranets
c. Newsletters – either electronic or printed
d. Posters – in high traffic areas like lunch rooms and HR offices
e. Flyers, Brochures and Handouts – distributed directly to interested employees or members, often in HR offices
f. Paycheck Stuffers – becoming less important as many employees no longer receive an actual paycheck but still utilized

7) What are some other effective tactics to get the most from my affinity marketing programs?

a. Change offers and discounts periodically – it is important to keep the information fresh with new artwork, banners and promotions.
b. Be creative - You can create “buzz” within these organizations with something new and creative that gets the people talking!
c. Offer incentives – offer organizations gift cards, tickets, room nights and sweepstakes prizes to encourage active promotion and to keep your brand “top of mind”. Remember, the contacts within the organizations are your sales agents. Reward them!
d. Provide tools – co-branded websites, banners and links they can place on their own websites, email updates that can easily be passed along to their employees or members. The easier you make it for the gatekeepers to promote your brand, the more likely they are to do it.
e. Make your offer available – Just because you might be able to get a slightly higher rate by closing out a promotional rate for member groups during a certain period, think twice. Do you really want an employee of a company with 100,000 employees telling their co-workers that you did not honor the advertised deal that was on their company website? Take care of these groups and they will take care of you!
f. Test and test again – try different offers, promotions, ad materials and copy. You will hit on the combination that consistently drives the most business for you.