Alex Foaie (CashClub): Business League is The League, an industry benchmark that gives us the perfect format and context to constantly analyze, optimize, and evolve.

Whether online or offline, any conversation with the Marketers making sales in BusinessLeague is full of insights. But when we sit down to talk with Alex Foaie (CEO, CashClub), we really get into a long conversation.

From how they approach the Challenges in the competition to CashClub's comprehensive marketing strategy, via the growth potential of a cashback business, we covered plenty of topics.

"Through an advanced integration of the partnership between stores and affiliates, we demonstrated that online stores can even end up promoting their affiliates in certain contexts, an idea that initially seemed impossible."

Read the full interview with Alex below. And if you haven't started making sales the way you know you deserve yet, create your BusinessLeague account now!

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CashClub's evolution in BusinessLeague

Business League represents a continuous process of evolution: sometimes you win, other times you learn. For us, there are no unfavorable contexts—every season has been an opportunity to test, optimize, and scale. We have never looked at any season as a setback, but rather as a step forward in our development. Our goals have been to grow constantly and adapt, and we have succeeded in doing that, so I can say these are also the key elements of our success.

The competition, in a single sentence

Business League is The League, an industry benchmark that gives us the perfect format and context to constantly analyze, optimize, and evolve.

Specific challenges

CashClub has evolved from a cashback platform into a complete integrator of Loyalty solutions for the European market, significantly diversifying its revenue streams. Alongside the B2B2C component, an increasingly important segment is B2B, through which we offer European companies turnkey solutions for loyalty programs, including cashback, discount codes, and price comparison tools, integrated directly into their own platforms. Furthermore, competition among partner stores for visibility on our platform and our partners' platforms helps consolidate this model.

When it comes to cashback services, the challenges vary depending on the business model. In the B2B2C segment, the main focus is building trust and educating users. By contrast, when integrating services into partners' platforms, the priorities are different—optimizing cashflow to reduce payout times to end users, guaranteeing competitive SLAs, and maintaining an efficient, scalable system.

On growth (and growth potential)

In any business relationship, transparency and openness are essential, and we have staked our relationships with partner stores on these two values as well. We believe growth opportunities are limitless when a partnership is built on mutual involvement and communication. In fact, experience has shown us that when both we and our partners invest resources, budgets, and—most importantly—communication, the results can exceed all expectations. We have case studies confirming this, where the number of transactions generated through our ecosystem grew by over 3,000% thanks to close, strategically aligned collaboration.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the most important aspects in developing this channel is constant, two-way communication. Openness to innovative ideas has allowed us to turn approaches previously considered impossible into successful strategies. For instance, through an advanced integration of the partnership between stores and affiliates, we demonstrated that online stores can even end up promoting their affiliates in certain contexts—an idea that initially seemed impossible, but proved on the contrary to be possible and even extremely effective in supporting certain campaigns.

To improve the performance of the affiliate channel, we recommend that stores leverage all available incentive methods: custom commissions for specific campaigns or based on performance, exclusive discount codes, relevant promotional materials, optimized product feeds, and above all, investing in developing relationships with affiliates. Webinars dedicated to top-performing partners, events organized exclusively for affiliates, and other engagement initiatives can make all the difference. Within our platform, we already see business models for which affiliate marketing should become the primary growth channel, but this requires an active, collaborative communication strategy from all stakeholders involved.

What are the advantages of working with stores through affiliate marketing vs. direct relationships?

In CashClub's current business model, a direct relationship with partner stores is not entirely feasible. As a service integrator, partner diversity is essential, and directly managing the more than 1,000 active stores on the platform would compromise operational efficiency. For this reason, over the past few years we have chosen to turn down hundreds of requests for direct collaboration, focusing instead on integrating stores through 2Performant: https://i.businessleague.com/ambasador-cashclub.

Looking optimistically toward the future, I estimate that by the end of 2030 we will surpass the milestone of 30,000 integrated partner stores in Europe. Managing such a volume of collaborators would require significant resources, which is why Business League by 2Performant remains the best solution for CashClub.

Your users

Currently, we address every European consumer, without exception. Whereas five years ago we operated mostly on certain marketing channels and collaborated with a narrow segment of influencers with a high level of financial literacy, we now focus on expanding our reach across the entire market. A recent example is our collaboration in the agribusiness sector, where we introduced the concept of customer loyalty in an industry where such practices are less explored.

What is our marketing strategy based on? We have permanently integrated Ads campaigns, SEO, influencer collaborations (micro, macro, nano—both through agencies and via platforms such as Fame-Up and Mocapp), our own referral program, as well as an active organic presence on social media through video and text content. Over time, we have tested all available marketing channels, and today we are enjoying the results: our community numbers over 70,000 active members, and through CashClub partnerships we reach over 4 million users, with that number growing steadily. Initial growth was organic, through building strong communities on social media covering almost all the niches present on our platform.

From your experience, when is the best time for an affiliate partner to run a promotion? How long does it take for a promotion to reach its full potential among users?

Based on CashClub's experience, I believe determining the best period to launch a campaign depends largely on the industry and the specifics of the niche in which a business operates. Seasonality varies significantly from one sector to another, and to achieve maximum impact, I recommend launching campaigns outside crowded periods such as Easter, Christmas, or Black Friday, when competition is high and promotion costs rise considerably. I also believe an effective strategy involves developing campaigns dedicated exclusively to the affiliate channel, directing specific budgets and efforts toward this area.

Plus, the effectiveness of a promotion depends on several factors: 1) the existence of prior purchase intent, 2) the value of the products included in the campaign, and 3) how essential they are in the consumer's daily basket.

If purchase intent is not already formed, at least 3–4 touchpoints with the potential customer are needed, whereas for products with immediate demand, such as flower bouquets on March 8, a single interaction can be enough. The same logic applies according to product value—the higher it is, the greater the number of interactions needed for conversion. And when talking about duration, I recommend well-structured campaigns lasting at least two weeks to deliver optimal exposure and sustainable results.

The 3 Challenges in BusinessLeague:

• How do you approach them?

Our strategy is clearly defined: we always start with Revenue Rally, making sure we complete this stage in the first phase. Next comes Speed Run, where we focus on optimization and efficiency. Finally, we tackle Target Strike, our area of expertise, which we intentionally leave for last. This not only allows us to apply the lessons learned from previous stages, but also gives us the opportunity to beat our own records through repetition and adaptability.

• How much importance do you give them?

We sign up for challenges daily, which positions us among the most active and competitive affiliates in BusinessLeague. I think we have banked on always paying attention to what we can do better—performance and optimization are part of how we work, and that has helped us stay at the top and seize every chance to grow.

• Which one is your favorite?

For a loyalty platform, where the purchase decision is already almost made, the Target Strike race becomes the most relevant for us. This is also the race where we achieve the best results and, at the same time, our favorite, thanks to its direct impact on our performance and continued success.

To what extent do advertisers' offline marketing campaigns help you? Do you have a few examples of good practices?

Brands with both an online and offline presence usually benefit from much greater consumer awareness. An omnichannel strategy plays an essential role in creating solid brand awareness, keeping the brand constantly top of mind for consumers, which significantly reduces sales campaign costs over the long term. In our case, this has an indirect impact, since mentioning a brand with an offline presence becomes much more relevant to new users, helping build trust right from the first interaction.

Good practice examples in this regard are Noriel and Sinsay, which are extremely active across both channels. We often observe increased traffic and a significantly higher number of transactions following their campaigns run offline or through an online-offline mix.

A piece of advice for new players

I believe it is essential for those just starting out to be curious. I don't know whether this behavior can be cultivated, but I consider it a fundamental quality that helps with learning and testing new approaches to understand what works in practice. This is a trait that holds true in any field, and affiliate marketing is no exception.

Furthermore, it is important to think big. Regardless of the affiliate method chosen, I recommend that those starting now identify right from step one a business model that is scalable over the long term.

Plans

The optimistic plan is to reach Unicorns by the end of 2025. However, even if we don't get there in the immediate future, it will be a matter of "when," not "if." Depending on 2Performant's expansion strategy across various European markets, reaching this goal could happen faster or slower. If we don't reach this stage by the end of 2025, you will certainly find us there in 2026.

In our business, plans are so varied and extensive that we don't have enough pixels :) . We aim to become a solutions integrator for all possible verticals and industries, across as many European markets as possible. In addition, we will go through our second funding round this year—a Seed round—which will give us more capital and speed in implementing our strategic Roadmap.

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If you haven't started making sales the way you know you deserve yet, create your BusinessLeague account now!