Merchant guide to getting the best out of VC sites...

[aotagain]

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Is there one ? Perhaps a network would care to publish one.
Only there's been an awful lot of debate, but no real guidance.
I think this should be in the public domain - not a 'contact your network to discuss'.

That way perhaps there may be less merchants making apparently arbitrary decisions.
They can be incremental - if so how ?
They can help to retain customers - if so how ?
Case studies perhaps ?

If its obvious, why not publish it, rather than make oblique references to merchants having to consider the VC channel more carefully.
Whats the problem with telling them how ?

[adamski]

I posted this (Affiliate Window | Blog Blog Archive The Incre-Mentality) on our blog today. Not really a guide but certainly some advise on how to analyse the situation.

[Leeky]

I was toying with the idea of having a vc site dedicated to "New Customer Codes" only so the merchant benefits from *new customers*, and not customers they say they would be getting anyway.

Today I registered the domain www.newcustomercodes.co.uk but doesn't yet contain any codes, so now i've got the large task of contacting as many merchants as possible to try and get some "new customer codes" (probably wont have much luck though, but worth a try)

With it being a niche vc site I can spend more time adding content to each merchant page (as there wont be so many) to try and persuade new customers to purchase from a site they haven't used before.

Lee

[KevinEdwards]

I think it's also worth bearing in mind there are basic principles that can be explained but just like any affiliate campaign generally there's no one size fits all approach.

[aotagain]

I think it's also worth bearing in mind there are basic principles that can be explained but just like any affiliate campaign generally there's no one size fits all approach.

What are they then ?

[KevinEdwards]

I presented on incentivised traffic at the Expo last year, covering off voucher codes towards the end - you can see the presentation here: http://www.slideshare.net/a4uexpo/in...w-presentation

[aotagain]

OK, I'll have a look out of interest as am an affiliate (mainly).

However, what I'm getting at is that the reason I know about that now is because I started the thread. But there's a whole pile of merchants out there who are all potentially going to have separate conversations with networks, which isn't very efficient and they're not all going to start a thread to find out (heaven forbid !).

I know there's not going to be a definitive guide, but at least one guide of some sort could be useful?

For example, say I am a merchant with a niche product that is bought by enthusiasts.
My question would be: "How likely is a VC site to deliver me a new user ?" and probably: "If thats unlikely, how do I keep them in the program for specific promotional use later, without affecting my (new user) content affiliates commission or my own margins for existing customers who happen to search for merchant+code ?".

On the other hand, if I frequenly ran discount offers on laptops because of overstocking or clearances, I might be asking "What sort of response could I expect from VC sites where their natural users have gone there first looking for some sort of code for a laptop in general ?" and possibly "Whats the best way of getting prompt and high profile coverage on those sites for my latest discount ?".

I'm sure there are general answers to FAQ that could be put in some sort of structured document.

Just seems there's been a lot of focus on problems and the IAB guidelines and not so much practical advice out in the public domain. Not pointing the finger at anyone here btw.

[KevinEdwards]

I think it's a sign of the rapid growth of VCs that we're having these debates and inevitably we're all trying to catch up.

The IAB Affiliate Council moves are significant on a number of levels and have thrown up some additional issues regarding enforcement and structure that are being worked through by the networks at the moment.

Ultimately a merchant needs to have as much information to hand in order to come to a considered decision about what is right for them and this is done best with affiliate consultation (this obviously isn't limited to voucher codes, all merchants should be having the same conversations with cashback sites, PPC and content affiliates).

I think this year will see an increasingly standardised approach towards voucher codes, backed up with more templated responses but like anything this will take time.

[Hero]

I know there's not going to be a definitive guide, but at least one guide of some sort could be useful?

I can send you the presentation from the expo seminar on Effective Voucher Code Implementation if you are interested? Target audience was merchants and agencies

[BFG 9000]

Hi Hero,

I'd love to see a copy of that - any chance you could send it over?
ajohnson3 (yes there’s a number 3 in there) at mmm.com


TTFN

BFG

[aotagain]

Be great to see a copy Hero - have PM'd you.

[Hero]

Sent
Can also be found in Effective Voucher Code Implementation - Hero Grigoraki/Webgains, Chris Frost/Coldsnail, Richard Clark, Duncan Jennings/eConversions, James Little/Affiliate Future

[aotagain]

That was interesting reading and seems to cover most of the areas that merchants need to consider - I wasn't there, so don't know what the verbal part of the presentation was, but assume there was quite a bit more to it.

Perhaps the next step might be a distillation of key points to consider for merchants. I mean for instance 10 basic points in order of importance. In the absense of data, they'll have to make a judgement and I'm not sure many will have the key questions clear in their minds. I'm sure many will look at the whole area and just think it shouldn't be that complicated to target the best customers.

In the printed world, they can easily choose between a glossy magazine and a coupon in the Sun. I'm sure plenty are wondering why they can't in the affiliate world.

Take what must be a fairly common example: a merchant who generally wants new customers from targeted sites that are close to the merchant theme, but who occasionally wants to put discount offers out there to the general masses. They could do with a step by step guide ?

This may all seem very obvious, but I've spoken to a few merchants who:
(a) didnt' know that the last cookie gets the commission (or hadn't really thought about it that much)
(b) never knew that their business and products were even mentioned AT ALL on code and discount sites in any way when they weren't running codes or discounts (one question was "why doesn't Google stop them ?")
(c) didn't know that they would pay commission if their existing customers put their name + code into a search and went through an inevitable code site
(d) didn't realise that sites that their 'core interest' users normally inhabit would not get commission if the visitors then went off to a code site and bought through that
and most important perhaps:...
(e) puzzled over how to use a code site when there was a potentially good discount promotion to do, without compromising the other parts of the affiliate channel.

I think we need case studies and examples, including how to start a scheme safely.

If I were any sort of merchant starting up a scheme I would start off only using sites which had a developed user base which ALSO targeted my known key customer type.
ie. like a targeted magazine with an established circulation.

Speaking as an affiliate, it would be nice to have data on what proportion of their affiliate clicks come from pure code sites ie. some indication of whether its worth promoting them from a 'pure' content site.