Should We Ignore Voucher Code Cookies?

[Supercod]

Just so it’s clear I am not actually saying what I have said is something that should happen, am doing my normal covering all the bases i.e. if we go down one road what impact will it have if others put the case for another area etc. Last cookies wins has been the way for such a long time and while it’s far from perfect it’s certainly the better of a bad bunch at present but I am open all ears to the new best way or even short term solutions but simple fact is whatever happens needs industry wide support and frankly I don’t think we have that on many issues these days and giving all voucher code sites a bad name because of a few is not the way forward, the way is for the WHOLE industry to take a stand against the bad apple and do what was achieved in the spyware days and even that took some amount of meetings to get action.

[Matthew Wood]

Cashback sites will evolve to become a destination site in their own right IMO - they will therefore have the power over the brand and the sale - perhaps some voucher sites will also evolve to add more value and do the same in the future? - its a rising pie out there!

As affiliates we must have long term strategies to work with merchants to deliver value add sales... that way AM will gain even more respect, even more budget and even more credibility in the long term.

[Richard101]

On Kieron's blog I mentioned that retailers should implement a process where they control who sees the discount/voucher code redemption box.

That way discount codes will drive incremental sales and not erode margins on sales that were in the bag prior to the customer seeing the voucher redemption box. AW responded well to my suggestion.

[befuddle]

I'm all for more pie but it's not just the voucher codes sites that need to evolve, it's also the other content sites and even the merchant's site.

They're clearly just not offering the customer what they want.

A site may entice a click to a merchant (as mine does) but if a customer sees that there's opportunity to actually shop around for a better deal then they have the right to do so.

And if the pie is getting bigger is cannibalisation going to be an issue?

I'm hungry now.

[Supercod]

Without a doubt, some cash back sites are destination in their own right and same is true of more and more voucher sites. Remember I have been offering codes on Free UK Stuff since 1997 and while the site is not a dedicated code site, it has the odd code for good measure and people don’t visit my site because they know I will have a code for a merchant they come looking for some "free stuff" and if they find a code and go and use it than that’s a bonus.

All that has happened in the past 2 years is you have seen people dedicated entire sites to code and some will be destination in there own right that merchants will be desperate to feature on and some will simple PPC and SEO for as much cookie dropping as they can get away with, either you have a code or you don’t but that’s a whole other topic that’s been covered hundreds of times on here already.

[Shane]

As James suggests, I think deeper analysis of the sales process and proportional reward for those that played some part in it is one avenue that needs serious consideration and will ultimately have to evolve as PPC is getting ever more expensive and SEO ever more challenging so those that shortcut it to the top must not be allowed to prosper at the expense of those who put the long term effort in and essentially do drive massive sales even if they aren't getting credited for them everytime.

what's happening at the moment in some cases just isnt fair.. but any solution may just be as flawed unless carefully thought out, even more carefully implemented and then monitored with great care.

unethical affiliates will always try to find some way around any system so it needs doing properly or it's just swapping one bad system for another.

[befuddle]

Shane - this isn't about unethical affiliates. I'm ethical, my site operates ethically and all my traffic is SEO.

[Supercod]

Wouldn’t it be great if more merchants done it the Center Parcs way? Family Holidays & Short Breaks UK | Center Parcs on the home page they actually have a box showing the special offers / discount codes in use at present. I know Merchants want to milk people for all they can but surely this is the ticket. Then voucher code sites can list them and content affiliates can promote them and person has same chance to pretty much see the code / offer without doing a sneaky search to see if they can find a code before completing the purchase.

[Shane]

befuddle ... yup I know - sorry didn't mean to focus on that aspect as though it's the only issue, Was just saying that any system put in place has to be dodgy affiliate proof or they'll be benefitting and still pulling the sector down so changes have to be well thought out.

Any change has to secure the appropriate revenue share for ethical affiliates and ensure that unethical ones can't find a way around it.

[Matthew Wood]

what's happening at the moment in some cases just isnt fair.. but any solution may just be as flawed unless carefully thought out, even more carefully implemented and then monitored with great care.

Totally agree - At some stage analysis will be conducted and decisions will be made (or not) - how will this affect affiliate marketing as we know it today? It's a lot bigger than content affiliate cannibalisation as it affects other parts of the online marketing mix.

We've already seen brand account for 30%+ plus of sales for some merchants, now its cashback accounting for the same or more... will it move onto vouchers, do they already account for this volume? - what will be next? - will all these and future models be treated with some disdain?

Interfering with last cookie wins will most likely hurt AM as we know it now, but what about the future if we think holistically?

I think I'm going to head for a beer now before I dig an even deeper hole for myself!

[Maxafi]

Wouldn’t it be great if more merchants done it the Center Parcs way? Family Holidays & Short Breaks UK | Center Parcs on the home page they actually have a box showing the special offers / discount codes in use at present. I know Merchants want to milk people for all they can but surely this is the ticket. Then voucher code sites can list them and content affiliates can promote them and person has same chance to pretty much see the code / offer without doing a sneaky search to see if they can find a code before completing the purchase.

But surely that completely defeats the point of having a code? If all merchants did that, they may as well just reduce the price in the first place and take advantage of creeping further up the list on all the comparison sites.

[loquax]

I kind of agree with the affiliates need to evolve philosophy - I never touched codes until last year and whilst on one hand it was right to raise the issues of the unethical practices (iframes, 1x1s etc) - sitting back and watching those same affiliates continue to dominate the landscape wasn't going to change anything from a user pov (users tend to not care if my site, your site or a cashback site is getting shafted in lost commissions).

So.. adaption it was we've done - with the latest change just implemented this week.

It won't solve other issues that exist... users going off to cashback, users heading to MSE, users heading to HotUKDeals and then Quidco.... but at least we've been able to act.

The codes issue could be further sweetened IF merchants/networks said "no code, no forced click" and enforced that rule... no chance that will ever happen though.

Now I can deal with codes - I can't compete with 100% cashback though and for me that's one major issue in AM that's overlooked whilst the codes issue remains a hot tattie.

Losing odd sales because I missed off a code is manageable (provided all other affiliates play by same rules) - but I can't afford long term to lose users permanently from any monetary option via AM because they want 100% cashback on everything.

The code/cookie issue has to be solved at merchant/network level not messing about with the cookie... and that means enforcing rules/standards plus setting checkouts etc so that visitors aren't lost "in search of codes".

Jason

[buspassjohn]

Wouldn’t it be great if more merchants done it the Center Parcs way? Family Holidays & Short Breaks UK | Center Parcs on the home page they actually have a box showing the special offers / discount codes in use at present. I know Merchants want to milk people for all they can but surely this is the ticket. Then voucher code sites can list them and content affiliates can promote them and person has same chance to pretty much see the code / offer without doing a sneaky search to see if they can find a code before completing the purchase.

We show the current generic code on every product, at the moment 7.5% discount off all orders over £40, code 'earlybird' until the end of October,this is done to increase the chances of conversion whether the traffic is from a code, cashback or content site, we think this is the fair way to do it, the only thing we are lacking is affiliates that appreciate this and actively promote us.

[getvisible]

just like anything, merchants got caught up in the hype of voucher codes before they actually understood the impact on their bottom line.

I'm feeling that many merchants are starting to analyse the pro's and con's of offering codes. Just because its good for affiliates - doesn't necessarily its great for merchants.

The initial purpose of codes was to offer an incentive for a person to buy (and affiliate promote) that merchant over another. If all merchants in an industry are offering codes then what incentive is there? They're effectively reducing their prices and margins - to who's benefit?

It's "Game Theory" and somewhere in this debate the merchant has been left out.

Yes I do promote codes, carte blanche, and within content. But just because I've made a fair bit out of promoting codes in a particular manner it doesn't mean that I feel I'm more important than the merchant.

[Hero]

showing the procession of visited sites within the affiliate channel for a specific customer is pretty easy although it won't give answers as to who should get the commission, which affiliate was more instrumental in convincing the customer etc, because we just have to accept that we just cannot know what the customer is thinking.

What however is important is a different analysis, which only the merchants can provide: the life time value of the customer. Is it an existing or a new customer? Do they go on to place subsequent orders for larger amounts, or do they never come back? Do they only place an order when a code is available or do they do full price as well? Is customer service and brand awareness of importance or solely the existence of a voucher will do? Do they recommend the merchant to other people?

The above questions are valid for cashback, ppc, price comparison, social networking sites, etc etc. You cannot just isolate one type of affiliate.

Here's a question that's been bugging me: who said that voucher affiliates are not content affiliates? Who defines the content?