Is it time for a register for merchants who give exclusive vouchers?

[Mogga]

Tweet

It's getting harder each day to compete on what I call fair terms.

Some merchants are giving some affiliates exclusive extra voucher codes for a higher % [1]than I have. That means in a cookie-napping race they are always going to win.

That for me makes it virtually impossible to compete.

If merchants stated whether they would give exclusive better vouchers then at least I'd know not to bother promoting them.



[1] Either that or some affiliate are just making up codes. And the problem is, how do I tell without testing each code out?

[findlite]

Your answer is to become a super affiliate

There is a massive difference between the rank and file affiliate deals and the ones super affiliates get.

In my sector your average affiliate gets about 4/5% on any airport parking space sold. When you start pushing serious numbers though that shoots up to between 15-30% with other "perks" thrown in for good measure. Special voucher codes and other offers are just part of the way merchants try and entice the top players

Its also worth noting that for most merchants the 80-20 rule is very true. 80% of your sales/traffic comes from 20% of your super affiliates and 80% of your pain in the arse comes from 20% of your rank and file affiliates. Now you can see why the deals are there.... merchants want to land the pro's on board.....

Life is never a level playing field.... there will always be someone getting a better deal or more money. Your job is not to moan about it but to strive to be that person :tup

[Matthew Wood]

Not sure I agree.

If an affiliate forms a relationship with an advertiser and gains an 'exclusive' code in return for increased exposure on the publisher site or newsletter Isn't that just being pro-active and meeting the advertisers thirst for sales and scale?

Where there does need to be clarification though IMO is when the use of an exclusive code attached to one affiliate goes viral and then a commission is not rewarded.

A scenario: Imagine you are last referrer but the shopper has jotted down and used a competitor websites affiliate channel related code and the commission gets reversed - is that fair? and is that not open to wide scale abuse to the detriment of both networks and affiliates?

[loquax]

Some merchants also offer higher codes for drops in commission - which may explain various codes.

I don't mind that happening - provided there's at least a generic code in circulation rather than no code at all.

However, I do think merchants need to realise that what they do with one affiliate will knock on to effect others. If XYZ Codes is offered 10% discount - why the hell would ABC Content waste time writing reviews/blogs etc about that merchant?

Imo merchants need to start thinking about AM in a collective way rather than individual affiliate to affiliate. E.g. if I do "this" how is that going to impact my relationships across the board.

Not convinced many do... or perhaps they do and the stark reality is that "voucher codes = affiliate marketing" and the rest is just filler?

Jason

[aclements10]

Hi All,

An interesting topic.

To echo what others have already said, I think sourcing ‘exclusive’ deals with a merchant makes good business sense for any affiliate, and is simply part of working in a competitive industry. Any affiliate is at liberty to source exclusives from merchants – be it vouchercodes or commission – and I don’t think this is something we would want to regulate.

We encourage merchants to push affiliate specific offers where it is going to add significant value to their programme. This really all depends on their strategy for growing the programme, their budget and also what type of affiliates they want to engage with. Many merchants offer exclusive codes to content sites, because they want to build a better relationship with that site, achieve additional exposure on the site, or encourage better conversion rates. This is never something I would want to discourage.

Matt raised a great point about exclusive codes being distributed virally, and other affiliates having commission declined because a customer uses a code assigned to another affiliate.

We would always encourage merchants to offer exclusive discounts via a more secure method than a simple discount code. Using a url that applies the discount automatically when a user clicks through is a good way to guard against an exclusive offer being distributed in a viral manner. Our account management teams also do all they can to guard against the general release of offers that have been granted exclusively to particular affiliates.

A lot of merchants now state quite clearly in their terms and conditions, that they will only pay for commissions when a discount code authorised for use in the affiliate channel is used in a transaction. This is a necessity for many merchants, who simply wouldn’t be able to offer codes at all if they had to pay commission, on top of a significant discount, every time somebody tries to purchase using a code that has not been authorised for general release. As with any promotion, discount codes have got to cost-in for the merchant to be of any real, long-term value.

If anybody wants to discuss this with us in more detail then please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Kind Regards
Anthony Clements
Client Services Director
Tel: 020 7553 0353 Email: aclements@affiliatewindow.com

[befuddle]

I've currently 143 active Exclusive codes with a further 19 merchants exclusive codes recently expired.

It'd be very unwise to exclude those merchants just because I've an exclusive for them. You may be able to drive more sales for starters.

I got in touch with a merchant directly recently as I noticed my sales were a bit flat for them considering the time of year and that I noticed there were better codes available if you looked hard enough.

I managed to acquire a higher % discount for my visitors.

In return I am promoting them across the top of all my pages until the code expires.

[Mogga]

Exclusive codes or exclusively high discount amounts?

[befuddle]

Exclusive codes or exclusively high discount amounts?

Both and also exclusively lower commission level

[Mogga]

So have you got a discount level higher than anyone else, or just a higher discount than standard vouchers?

[loquax]

I'd like exclusives - but don't have time to chase for them and despite ranking in amongst some VC sites just can't tip the balance - not yet anyway.

Why I'd like exclusives (and not necesarily %age - just a name) is so that it ties in with my brand, is recognisable by users, and also so that if it's picked up we're recognised by the merchant.

But, there's a catch22 here too imo

For me to get exclusives I need to drive more sales... but how can you drive more sales if Mr Exclusive VC has better discounts.

From what I see is that Merchant X will err to the side of established VC site all the time - fair enough, but those playing catch up just see the distances getting greater and the goalposts constantly moving.

Now don't take that as I'm complaining... I'm doing what I can to push forward (and by the time we "get there" someone will have banned codes full stop but hey)... but it's a frustrating state of affairs.

Like I said above I'd like merchants to be more mindful (watched too much Star Wars of late).

Jason

[Mogga]

But, there's a catch22 here too imo

For me to get exclusives I need to drive more sales... but how can you drive more sales if Mr Exclusive VC has better discounts.

From what I see is that Merchant X will err to the side of established VC site all the time - fair enough, but those playing catch up just see the distances getting greater and the goalposts constantly moving.

I think it's this catch 22 that I find so depressing.

[befuddle]

So have you got a discount level higher than anyone else, or just a higher discount than standard vouchers?

Higher % than exclusive, higher % than standard but not the highest % for some.

I've also got higher % than anyone else AND higher commission than standard for others.

And possibly every other combination possible.

[befuddle]

Not one single merchant has said to me that I need to drive more sales to acquire or retain an exclusive code.

All some ask is if they can get improved exposure ie on the home page or in the newsletter.

[Mogga]

Ignoring all my whingings about the unfairness ...

Would it be useful to know which merchants would give out codes rather than having to just email merchants separately?

[loquax]

Not one single merchant has said to me that I need to drive more sales to acquire or retain an exclusive code

Cool... if I ever get asked to drive more sales first before getting stuff from retailers I'll use this thread as a reference