Are most affiliate programmes outdated?
It’s a question that Alexander Feist, Head of Affiliate Marketing at Sage, has reckoned with.
For starters, there’s a distinct lack of transparency on so many.
‘Did you convert or not?’ Too often, that’s the only data affiliates receive. “It’s a bit like asking someone to navigate a city with a map that only shows the final destination, none of the optional routes,” says Feist.
Without clear visibility into what’s happening between a click and a conversion – and all the other kinds of consumer interaction – affiliates are effectively flying blind.
They can’t see which actions, audiences, or touchpoints are driving meaningful results. And that, Feist argues, is holding the industry back.
“The affiliate landscape has fundamentally changed,” he says. “We're not working in the era of black-box tracking anymore. Today's sophisticated partners are running businesses that require strategic decision-making, and you simply can't make intelligent decisions without data.”
Thinking beyond last click
This year, last-click attribution has gone under the microscope. The entire industry is considering whether it is the best rule of thumb to measure by.
Feist believes we need to move past it. “Traditional last-click models create a race to the bottom where partners optimise for the cheapest possible traffic that might convert, regardless of quality or long-term value,” he says.
This focus on the end result overlooks everything that happens before it. In B2B affiliate marketing, that’s a critical mistake. Buying journeys are long, multi-touch, and complex. Decisions are rarely made in one sitting.
“For B2B SaaS affiliate programmes like ours, there is always an attribution challenge,” Feist explains. “If we're not tracking and sharing data on early-funnel activities – such as demo requests, white paper downloads, newsletter sign-ups – our partners are completely blind to their actual influence on the customer journey.”
That visibility is what enables affiliates to prove ROI to stakeholders, justify investment, and optimise their approach. “When they lack performance data, we can't justify budget allocation, they can't optimise, and ultimately, no one scales. That’s why programmes with poor data sharing inevitably see their best partners drift away to more transparent opportunities.”
What is event-based tracking?
Sage’s answer to this problem has been events-based tracking: a system that rewards affiliates not only for final sales, but for meaningful customer actions along the way.
At its core, events-based tracking captures micro-conversions like trial sign-ups, demo requests, or content downloads, which reflect real engagement and intent. These events are then shared with partners and, crucially, compensated.
Feist says this model has transformed Sage’s UK affiliate programme: “Events-based tracking flips the partner dynamic. From day one, partners see immediate validation of their efforts. They're not waiting months to understand if their strategy is working; they’re seeing real-time evidence of impact.”
The result is a positive feedback loop. Early wins drive confidence, confidence drives reinvestment, and reinvestment drives growth. “We embraced events-based tracking to reflect the full journey of our customer, not just the final sale. By recognising early actions, we show partners that their contributions are valued from the start,” says Feist.
Data as a differentiator
When Sage launched its UK affiliate programme, transparency was a deliberate choice, and one that set it apart.
“In an environment where partners are choosing between dozens of potential programmes to promote, why would they invest in ours if we can’t show them what’s actually working?” says Feist.
By being radically open with performance data, Sage created a culture of trust and accountability from day one. That approach not only attracted high-quality affiliates but also aligned internal teams across Sage’s global marketing and sales functions.
“Granular data sharing isn’t just ‘nice to have,’ it’s the foundation of a genuine affiliate partnership,” Feist adds.
In practice, this meant rewarding partners for driving qualified leads, not just conversions, and building confidence in the programme early. “Incentivising early-funnel activity encouraged partners to invest earlier and more confidently. We compressed activation time from months to weeks,” he says.
The future of affiliate transparency
As the affiliate industry matures, Feist believes this approach will become the norm. “The broader marketing world has already accepted that attribution needs to extend beyond last-click. Affiliate marketing is simply catching up to where the rest of digital marketing has been heading for years,” he says.
The technology is already there, through CRM integrations, server-side tracking, and advanced analytics. The real challenge, Feist argues, lies elsewhere. “The barrier isn’t technical capability; it’s strategic willingness,” he says.
And that willingness to move from transactional thinking to true value-based partnerships is what will define the next era of affiliate marketing.
“When you have transparent, comprehensive tracking, the conversation changes from ‘how much commission for this sale?’ to ‘how do we optimise the entire customer journey together?’” Feist says. “That’s where affiliate marketing becomes genuinely strategic rather than just another paid acquisition channel.”
In a space still dominated by opaque systems and last-click logic, Sage’s success story serves as a blueprint for what’s possible. Transparency builds trust. Trust drives investment. And investment fuels sustainable growth.
Affiliate marketing doesn’t have to be a guessing game. With the right data, everyone can see the whole map.
You can learn more about Sage's leading global affiliate programme here.
