Merchant Case Study: Klook

Klook is a world-leading travel and leisure booking platform founded in 2014. Skimlinks sat down with them to talk about their affiliate program, how they drive performance through commerce content partnerships publishers and what they have planned for the rest of 2021.

Key Numbers Q-O-Q Q3-Q4 2020

Conversion Rate: +21.1% | Traffic: +23% |

Sales: +49.8% | Order Value: +47.8%

Tell us about Klook.

 Klook empowers users around the world to discover and book the best experiences and services anywhere, anytime. It provides a seamless way for users to explore popular attractions, tours, local transportation, food and beverage, and unique experiences at home or around the world on Klook’s website and award-winning app. Each day, users indulge in their wanderlust and spontaneity through over 100,000 offerings in more than 400 destinations. 

When did you start with affiliate marketing? How would you describe your approach?

We started our affiliate program back in 2016, as one of the first few marketing channels that we established in the early days, which has then become a strong focus for us ever since.

Proactive affiliate engagement is critical to our success. We ensure our partners are provided with the most up-to-date information about our product, and relevant insights to increase conversions. The network of Klook account managers in over 11 locations globally also secures the best local support to our affiliate partners within their regions whenever needed.

Our commission structure and exclusive offers come as rewards to publishers who bring growth in traffic and new customer sales. We understand what works well for one might be different from another. Through continuous test-and-learn, we aim to achieve mutual success with our partners.

We also take pride in our strong product offerings by constantly reviewing the supply and maximising its competitive advantages, ensuring Klook is always a better choice for guaranteed conversions.

How does Klook work with Skimlinks?

Our account optimization with Skimlinks started in 2020, and we have seen over 48% QoQ revenue growth in Q4 2020, amongst the pandemic. The result is absolutely promising for us, thanks to the proactive account management support from the Skimlinks team, who helps connect us and drive up the engagement with their extensive network of publishers.

We help publishers identify the best product to promote, also provide marketing campaigns and offer whenever available.

What kind of publishers are you working with?

We have established a great portfolio of content partners through Skimlinks in Greater China, Southeast Asia, and also Oceania. Many of those are notable media outlets in the region, which definitely help us tap into wider audiences and increase brand presence overall.

What benefits have you seen from the Preferred Partner Program?

I’d say the Preferred Partner Program is a key factor that helped us achieve great incremental growth. The Skimlinks account management team is delightful to work with – they are proactive, dedicated, and insightful. We rely on the team to help identify opportunities, and connect us with big content partners across multiple markets. Regular reporting, analysis, and meetings are also great benefits to help us understand the affiliate landscape better.

Thinking about the past year, most travel brands have struggled, but you’ve seen success. Can you talk about that?

The past year has been an absolute challenge for all of us especially the team here at Klook. Like all of our industry peers, our business struggled when the pandemic hit. The company moved quickly, adjusting our business strategy to address this “new normal’. We started focusing on domestic travel, ensuring strong product availability to cater to the local demands; we built experiential stay business in Asia, further enriching our supply portfolio to cover also Accommodation and Staycation packages; we work even closer with our affiliate partners, staying on top of opportunities to ensuring conversions on high booking value purchases so our partners can earn more.

You’ve been able to build great relationships with publishers through Skimlinks, what value has that brought?

Skimlinks helps us connect with a great network of publishers, which we might not be able to access otherwise. Publisher quality has never been an issue; performance optimization can happen almost immediately. The time cost has been hugely optimised for the Klook team, so we can focus more on strategic planning to enrich our affiliate’s experience.

Thinking about the future, what are your plans for 2021?

Continuing to strengthen our position domestically across Asia is our top priority in 2021, leveraging Skimlinks’s network to approach more local partners that connect us to new customers. We will also carry on investing in product innovation, helping our partners scale up traffic and conversion through affiliate solutions. So when cross-border travel resumes, we are confident and well-prepared to achieving greater success and growth.