Dear Affiliates,
In light of recent concerns regarding the Next affiliate program the team would like to address a few issues raised over the past few months. We have made email communications and forum posts when it was relevant to do so; however we wish to reiterate our responses again and address a few new issues in one central place.
Commission Reductions
The Next Transactional program was launched in February 2007 and commission rates were initially benchmarked against competitor programs. As a result of significant growth after i-level took over its management in July 2007, it was necessary for Next to assess the commerciality of the program. Margins for different product groups promoted by affiliates were assessed to establish a realistic commission rate.
Next are moving towards product based commission tiers which will create a fairer commission level for all affiliates. Next are currently undergoing systems updates which, when completed, will allow for this structure.
It is important to be aware that Next approve 99% of sales regardless of an almost 45% return rate so that commissions can be approved daily. Sales are only rejected if there is duplication of sales against another network or if an affiliate has been found to have broken terms and conditions.
Next’s average conversion rate is currently around 6% and has an average basket value of £110 which is very competitive for a retail program.
Next bonus affiliates £6 for directories ordered with flexi account through the transactional program. On average 8% of sales result in this bonus.
Next’s EPC is currently 34p with Buy.at which is 82% higher than major competitors.
Competitor Brand Bidding
Next does undertake competitor brand bidding practices which do not conflict with trademark regulations enforced by search engines.
However, the specific example cited, where a Next ad appeared under the term www marksandspencer com, was due to expanded broad match through Google. With expanded matching, the Google AdWords system automatically runs ads on relevant keywords even if they are not in your keyword lists. Sometimes you may see competitors expanding to each other because users find them to be relevant, especially if they offer similar products/services. It was not Next’s intention to appear against this term and the issue was flagged up with Google as a result.
Network Changes
In October 2007 Next offered the program out to tender to six affiliate networks. The main reason for this was to recruit a network which had strong European connections and could facilitate Next’s forthcoming expansion into overseas markets.
As a result of the two month tender process, Affili.net and Buy.at were selected to manage the program. They were chosen because both had the capability to run programs in various parts of Europe and both demonstrated superior levels of account management and innovation in the industry.
Termination of the program with the incumbent networks was announced on 29th January 2008. This gave affiliates 31 days notice to change their links to the new networks.
Honouring cookies after program termination
The decision to not honour cookies after the date of termination on 29th February 2008 was taken by the networks alone. This decision was not discussed with Next or i-level prior to informing affiliates.
Affiliate Recruitment
Next chooses to partner with affiliates who will add value to a program by offering transparent methods of promotion. Affiliates wishing to partner with Next are required to detail their promotional methods during the application process. This is so Next can monitor how their brand is being represented online; can make suggestions which will improve performance; and address the different types of affiliates appropriately.
Recently certain affiliates have voiced negative opinions of the brand openly online. Next is open to constructive criticism regarding the management of the program and has maintained that queries will be answered directly to the affiliates concerned. It is Next’s wish not to partner affiliates who pollute natural search space with negative comments about the brand. It is also unfortunate that, although Next submitted a response to a particular blog, it was not approved by the blog author.
Program Positives
Next awards affiliates £6 bonus for new customer acquisition on the transactional program.
Due to the nature of Next’s customer base and web design, affiliates enjoy high conversion rates and basket values.
There are two ways in which affiliates can promote Next, through the transactional program and also through the directory program. The Directory program offers incremental tiered commissions from £8 - £11 per approved flexi account customer.
A product feed is now available for affiliates to use.
Creative is updated regularly and is of high quality. Specific creative requirements are available on request.
Next run regular incremental sales competitions and has offered £4000 worth of vouchers to large and small affiliates alike who have improved volume month on month.
We hope that the above has cleared up any inaccuracies published about the program. However if you do have any further queries we will be happy to address them at
nextaffiliates@i-level.com.
