This presentation is from Affiliate Summit East 2014 (August 10-12, 2014 New York City).
Session Description: Reduced coupon site payouts, toolbars, click attribution – have you evaluated these choices for your program lately? This diverse experienced panel discusses the pros & cons of today’s tough issues.
2. As technology changes, new issues
arise demanding a decision
Growth/Risks
Fair/Unfair advantage
3. Merchant - John LoBrutto
◦ 1&1 Internet
OPM - Rick Gardiner
◦ iAffiliate Management
Affiliate – Alan Rapoport
◦ DealTaker.com
Network - Jeannine Crooks
◦ Affiliate Window
4. You’re part of it too!
Tell us your thoughts and
why you reached your
decision
5. Coupon sites – pay them
the same or less than
other types of affiliates?
6. Less value because
Didn’t really drive the sale -people
were only looking for a coupon code.
Less revenue from sale because of
the coupon
Overwriting an existing cookie
7. Same Value as Other Affiliates
because:
Cost conscious customers start
shopping process there
Discount is just the cost of doing
business
Coupon sites often generate a higher
average order value
9. Less Value Because:
Cookie stuffing, so they really didn’t
earn the sale
Some overwrite existing cookies, so
steals sales from other affiliates
10. Worth having in the program because:
Drive large volumes of traffic from
loyal users
Technology exists to prevent cookie
stuffing or overwriting existing cookies
12. Worth the trouble because:
Every touch along the way helps the
conversion and should be rewarded
Stops coupon sites from getting the
full commission just because they had
the last click
13. Not worth it because:
Not all touches added value in the
conversion process
If they did add value, not at the same
level in each conversion so same %
each time wouldn’t be accurate
15. Multiple networks will help to grow the
program because:
Access to different affiliate base
Some affiliates prefer one network
over another
More exposure in the industry
16. Not worth the effort because:
Original network has sufficient affiliate
base so the incremental addition can
be minimal
Cost factor – another set of fees
Time factor – more affiliates to
manage through a different interface
18. Transparency improves everything
because:
Much easier to contact the affiliate or
merchant
Less guessing about how an affiliate
promotes a merchant
Easier to develop a strong relationship
19. Better to only provide limited information
because:
Affiliates don’t always want to be
contacted by merchants, and vice versa
Affiliates want to keep their trade
secrets private
Danger of going direct, cutting out the
network
20. In-House vs. OPM Program
Management – Better to
have complete in house
control or hand it over to an
outside company?
21. Better to manage in-house because:
No one knows or loves your product
like a staff member does
Less program control
Fees and overrides add additional
costs to having an affiliate program
22. Better to hire an outsourced expert
because:
They can grow a program quickly
Fixed cost can be easily managed
No need to hire and train a new staff
member
Easier to change if there’s an issue