Marketers are in a tough spot. They’re expected to perform just as well as they did years prior — with a lot less budget.
That’s a tall order considering what’s happening in the market.
CPCs are soaring, loyalty is plummeting, and new demographics to target are popping up every day. Plus, every marketer is already spinning about 20 plates just trying to make it through the quarter.
They simply don’t have time to think outside the box. That’s why we’ve come up with five potential strategies for you.
Below, you’ll find five ideas to reel in the prospects you want to target — without breaking the bank.
5 ways to lower your CAC (without compromising lead quality)
Way 1: Transaction-linked offers
Most performance marketers are paying for impressions. And the more impressions they want, the more they’ll have to pay.
First, they have to pay for high-impact creative. Then, they have to spend time editing and finalizing it. Once it’s ready, they’ll have to figure out how to get that creative on sites their ICP is visiting — and they’ll have to pay even more to place it above the fold.
Guess what? All that time, money, and effort doesn’t even guarantee conversions. In fact, depending on where the ad gets placed, they could lose people’s respect and loyalty.
Transaction-linked offers, also known as card-linked offers (CLO), work in almost the exact opposite way:
- They help you target exactly the kinds of people you want to target exactly where you want to target them.
- They eliminate monetary risk. You only pay when a customer actually makes a purchase.
- Boost brand credibility. Your brand shows up next to all the other notable brands in an issuer’s network.
What’s more, transaction-linked offers are not only rooted in data, they produce new, helpful data, giving you a 360-degree view of how America spends. With that information at your fingertips, you can further target your offers based on your audience and business objectives.
Plus, card-linked offers don’t feel like an ad. They feel more like coupons and show up in a “safe” advertising space — within consumers’ banking and payment apps.
As Kard’s Merchant Sales Director, Chris DiCenso points out:
“Performance marketers pay a steep CPM whether a customer buys or not. In the background, they are just hoping and praying they get a return. A CLO platform like Kard de-risks that whole process — you’re only paying for a good outcome.”
Way 2: Social commerce
Social commerce, the fusion of shopping and social platforms, has become a game-changer for modern marketers.
Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Whatnot have made it possible for brands to turn scrolling into interactive shopping experiences. And TikTok is leading the way.
Per eMarketer, Gen Z marketplace buyers were more than twice as likely to have made a purchase on TikTok Shop than Millennials.
On Black Friday 2024, TikTok hosted 30,000 live-selling sessions, driving over $100 million in U.S. sales. One beauty brand, P Louise, generated over $2 million in sales during a 12-hour live-stream event.
Live, online shopping platforms work because of how interactive they are. Shoppers can ask questions, see products in action, and make instant purchases — all without leaving the app.
But being on one social app isn’t enough.
Though TikTok came back online, its brief absence was enough to make more than one company/creator think about diversifying their social presence. To really excel at social, merchants need to take an omnichannel approach, ensuring consistency across all consumer channels. As experts at eTail put it:
“We see a wide opening representing the vast array of touchpoints where Gen Z encounters brands. This expansive top requires brands to cast a wide net of engaging, authentic content across multiple channels.”
Way 3: AI-powered experiences
AI promises to help you deliver irresistible experiences to the right users at the right time. But adoption isn’t taking off as quickly as everyone thought.
That’s because, in order to achieve great results or extreme efficiency through AI, you need two (big) things:
1. User trust
Recent studies indicate a growing skepticism toward AI among consumers. A report from MarTech revealed an average decline of 11 percentage points YoY in consumer comfort with AI-driven activities year over year.
To address that gap, you might (1) take extra care to make AI-generated content sound human and (2) reduce the “creep factor” of your personalization.
2. Robust data
According to a study by the Boston Consulting Group, only about 30% of companies are creating a single customer view across channels.
Worse, just 1% to 2% are using data to deliver a full cross-channel experience for their customers. And truthfully, most don’t gather all that much first-party data in the first place.
Without that first-party data, you can’t reap the full benefits of AI-powered experiences.
Before you start incorporating AI into your GTM strategy, be sure you’re collecting enough first-party data. And if you’re not, consider working with vendors like Kard or other platforms that can help.
Way 4: Strategic partnerships
Strategic partnerships are essential for brands that want to expand their TAM. Take DoorDash, for example.
Last year, DoorDash expanded its services far beyond food delivery to multiple retail stores, including David’s Bridal. This collaboration allowed customers to receive bridal and special occasion wear from any of David's Bridal's 180 locations within an hour, being the technology consumers turn to when they need anything — even bridal attire — in a pinch.
Strategic partnerships can also:
- Rejuvenate brand appeal
- Launch new joint product offerings
- Enhance brand credibility
If any of those outcomes sound appealing to you, start making a list of potential partners that share similar values and target demographics. Then, approach them having already brainstormed a few ways to co-market your products or services (and some reserved budget for those efforts).
Way 5: Affiliate programs
Affiliate programs are another way to reach new audiences through a third party. Brands with affiliate programs leverage other companies or individuals to promote their products or services.
Affiliate marketing isn’t new, but it’s gotten a resurgence with influencer marketing, offering merchants a cost-effective avenue to reach diverse audiences and drive sales — content creators already have an established network of followers who trust their opinions, and the companies that contract them can control outcomes with performance-based commissions.
But affiliate programs alone won’t be enough to differentiate your brand and grow your audience. You need to pair it with something else — something like card-linked offers.
CLO is the smartest customer acquisition move you can make this year
Cost-effective customer acquisition is within reach if you’re willing to move beyond the uncertainty of traditional advertising models and try something new. We’re inherently biased, but we think card-linked offers are one of the safest, highest ROI things to try.
By tapping into card-linked offers, you’re:
- Cutting through the noise.
- Placing your brand exactly where your audience already spends their time (and money).
- Targeting your ideal customers with precision.
- Only paying for actual results.
Ready to stop throwing cash at impressions? It’s time to give Kard a look.
Book a demo to see our platform in action.
