Avelon wins Best Value, Best Functionality & Features, Best Ease of Use and Best Customer Support on Capterra. Balfe's Bikes
THE JOURNEY TO £100K OF AFFILIATE REVENUE PER MONTH
Last updated: October 2025
THE ISSUE
Balfe's needed a solution that could open up a new acquisition channel without overwhelming their small, busy team.
"“Obviously as a retail business we wanted to grow our sales, but as a relatively new business compared to some of our competitors, it was also a key goal for us to increase traffic to the site from respected/well-known referrers and build further awareness of the business.”
Balfe’s Bikes is an independent bike retailer with a strong reputation for quality bikes, parts, and accessories paired with expert customer service. Despite being relatively new compared to some competitors, they have grown rapidly, earning trust within the UK cycling community through their commitment to customer experience.
Balfe’s Bikes faced a dual challenge:
- Growing sales sustainably in a competitive environment.
- Increasing website traffic from respected publishers and affiliates to build brand authority and trust with new audiences.
Before Avelon, they had not tapped into affiliate partnerships effectively. They needed a solution that could open up this new acquisition channel without overwhelming their small, busy team.
Introducing Queenie Waterman
Queenie Waterman is the Marketing Executive at Balfe’s Bikes. Her role focuses on driving digital marketing initiatives, increasing brand awareness, and supporting ecommerce growth through effective acquisition channels.
“Obviously as a retail business we wanted to grow our sales, but as a relatively new business compared to some of our competitors, it was also a key goal for us to increase traffic to the site from respected/well-known referrers and build further awareness of the business.”
WHY AVELON?
When considering affiliate platforms, the team prioritised cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and minimal operational burden.
“Low cost, low risk with a minimal monthly fee to use the platform vs. other affiliate networks,” Queenie explains. “Ease of use & automation. As a small team we are at times quite stretched, so being able to let the platform do its thing once we were onboarded has been very helpful.”
Queenie describes the onboarding process as easy, informative, and supportive from start to finish.
“Andrew has always been on hand to help with any queries during set-up and beyond, and always very responsive. As well as sharing with us new features to make sure we can make the most out of the platform.”
This high-touch support gave the team confidence to launch quickly without operational disruption, while also learning how to maximise Avelon’s capabilities for their specific goals.
RESULTS SO FAR
“I suppose one surprising thing was how quickly sales picked up once we were live.”
Since implementing Avelon, Balfe’s Bikes has transformed its approach to affiliate marketing and publisher partnerships. Sales grew way faster than expected and within 6-months, their program had matured to £100k of revenue per month.
“It has helped us build relationships with publishers and other affiliates that we didn’t have before. Opened up a completely new acquisition channel for us.”
Key outcomes include:
✅ A brand new acquisition channel
✅ Faster-than-expected sales growth post-launch
✅ Strengthened relationships with respected publishers and affiliates
✅ Complete automation & minimal overview required after set up
UNIQUE OUTCOMES & FUTURE PLANS
Instead of being bogged down by manual management, they were able to focus on strategic growth while Avelon handled operational workflows in the background.
“Hopefully we will see our sales continue to grow, both through existing partnerships and the onboarding of new affiliates both in the publisher and influencer space.”
Unique Outcomes
The simplicity and automation of Avelon were critical to success for the small marketing team. Instead of being bogged down by manual management, they were able to focus on strategic growth while Avelon handled operational workflows in the background.
Looking ahead, Balfe’s Bikes plans to continue scaling their affiliate partnerships, onboarding new publishers and influencers to extend their reach and grow sales further.
Recommendation
When asked if they would recommend Avelon to other businesses in their industry, Queenie’s response was both candid and playful:
“Absolutely not, please no one else use it… (Joking of course). Yes we would recommend Avelon, it’s been a highly effective channel for us. It’s cost effective, and easy to use once set up. The depth of publishers and other affiliates provides a great pool of opportunity.”