As digital transformation accelerates and competition in different verticals intensifies, organizations are exploring various avenues strategies and channels to achieve their business goals. Whether these be retaining customers, reaching out to new audiences, driving revenue growth, or introducing products to the market, the evolving business landscape and changing consumer preferences have together presented businesses with an underlying requirement to implement new approaches as part of their advertising endeavours. While organizations have often preferred to handle such activities internally, more and more are now open to collaborating with others, a growing trend driven by the success of one method in particular – performance marketing.
As an online advertising strategy that continues to make its mark in the digital theatre, performance marketing entails dedicated companies assuming responsibility for campaigns and delivering the outcomes clients seek. Select agencies, media companies, and publishers can be on-boarded for performance marketing purposes, all of whom utilize channels including affiliate marketing, social media advertising, and search engines to ensure campaigns are successful. Yet performance marketing also revolves around a standout condition; advertisers pay for services only when specific outcomes have been attained – such as a lead, click, or sale. This factor is undoubtedly appealing for advertisers, who have assurances that every effort will be made to yield the results they seek.
In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the practicality of performance marketing is illustrated through several notable statistics that highlight digital advertising potential. In 2020, the number of internet users in Arabic language countries was estimated to be 183 million – approximately 70.2 per cent of the regional population[1]. Furthermore, digital advertising expenditure exceeded USD 1 billion last year alone[2] and around 59 per cent of advertising agencies have already begun to pursue performance-based campaigns.
These figures certainly emphasize on the scale of performance marketing unfolding across the MENA region, driven in part by the sheer number of digital consumers. Yet the sizeable tech-savvy audience is not the sole instigator, as there are several other prominent reasons behind the rising performance marketing phenomenon. One may now be asking the question, ‘So why are organizations pursuing performance marketing?’ Below are the three primary reasons which explores the possibilities and potential that transpires by selecting this advertising route:
Expanded market presence
When advertisers opt for performance marketing, they collaborate with a firm with the expertise and experience to comprehensively promote not only the brand, but also products and services. Performance marketing specialists have a proven track record in this field, backed by the resources necessary to be influential and impactful in specific markets. As such, brands can broaden their market presence; an outcome propelled by heightened exposure, sales, and popularity.
Positive results in shorter timeframes
Due to their performance marketing knowledge and experience, performance marketing specialists are aware of strategies required for specific projects. They are capable of going above and beyond approaches that advertisers themselves would adopt. This means more innovation, creativity, and productivity – a winning formula destined for success. Moreover, it is important to appreciate the way performance marketing works in terms of payment structure. Together, these factors will ensure that positive outcomes come to fruition faster and far more effectively, ultimately resulting in a win-win scenario for the advertiser and performance marketing company.
Invaluable advertising and business insights
From an organizational standpoint, performance marketing represents a unique opportunity to drive progression through several simultaneous insights. In terms of campaigns, their digital nature means results can be ascertained almost immediately. Metrics including impressions, clicks, and conversions can be used to measure performance, identify positive areas and ineffective aspects, determine returns on investment (ROI), utilize feedback and recommendations to their advantage, and plan for the future. Backed by such information, advertisers can coordinate with marketers to devise new strategies and lay the foundations for sustained success in the years ahead.
As MENA organizations look to their futures in the new digital era, performance marketing is the gateway for capitalizing on opportunities that offer enticing possibilities and copious amounts of potential. This online advertising strategy has already proven its worth in the evolving landscape, yielding invaluable business results in every vertical. For those yet to pursue performance marketing, the above points are three of many scenarios that could come to fruition by pursuing this path – and proactive action in the immediate future is the first step to realizing aspirations in the medium and long term.
[1] https://consultyasser.com/stats-digital-advertising-in-the-mena/
[2] https://consultyasser.com/stats-digital-advertising-in-the-mena/
