I am not going to say word, yet, except that Next won the A4U Award for Best New Comer Merchant which has had a program of some sort for years, so figure that out. And was this expected considering the year affiliates have had to endure. I don't really promote Next, incidental traffic if that.
So those who do might have pro's & cons to debate on the commission reduction. We were pinged to check email inbox with their opinion, so just posted here for feedback & thoughts on the commission reductions on short notice ie the amount of the commission during the sale & the overall reduction pertaining to "claimed" reversal %'s.
Quote:
It is now almost a year since the Next transactional programme started and I would like to thank you for your efforts to date. I would also like to wish you best wishes for the festive season and the coming New Year.
Last order date for Christmas is 21st December and we will not be offering delivery until the End of Season Sale begins on 27th December. During the Sale period, between Friday 21st December 2007 at 5pm and Friday 28th at 6am, the commission for all sales will be 1% on all transactions. This is to take into account large reductions in pricing for sale items and to maintain our 100% approval rate.
We Fully understand a 1% commission rate means activity will be unsustainable for some affiliates, however, this is the only way we are able to keep the programme open without temporarily suspending it.
The July 2007 sale saw both significant uplifts in volumes and click to sale conversions.
The new Season ‘Spring Summer 2008’ begins shortly in which we hope to redevelop the programme with new commission structures, creative for your website, and to gain closer working relationships with affiliates.
The New Year will see some important new changes to the Next transactional programme, including a change in the commission to 2% across all product groups. As reiterated in previous communications, this is to take account of the 50%+ return rate. Please rest assured that conversions will remain strong and we will continue to approve all transactions on a daily basis. Only sales generated through illegitimate activity will be declined.
Some housekeeping: The company went through a re-brand in July this year and new logos and creative are available from the AW interface for both the Retail and Directory accounts. There are still some old logos and creative on sites and in emails which will dilute the efforts of the rebrand and present a confused message to our customers. Please can you ensure that all creative is up to date and any old logos are removed from your publications immediately? Unfortunately, any affiliates using old creative after Friday 28th December will have their accounts paused until the old creative has been replaced.
A directory focused email is now available on the Affiliate Window interface for you to use! Please feel free to download and distribute the email. While this email does not need to be approved before being sent, there are a few rules we would appreciate that you followed:
- Please do not state in the sent area or in the subject that the email is from Next (the email must clearly be from you, the affiliate).
- The domain where the email is sent from must clearly be the affiliates and must not contain ‘Next’ in it.
- The Terms and Conditions, privacy policy and all copy at the bottom must remain in.
- An unsubscribe link must always be included in the email, so receivers can unsubscribe from your email list (this is a legal requirement).
It would be appreciated if any solus emails be sent to next@affiliatewindow.com for approval prior to sending. This will ensure that all correspondence sent is consistent with the Next brand and present an integrated message to our customers. To help you with your email campaign we may suggest some copy, offer some creative or make a few design tweaks here and there. We’d also like to take this opportunity to say that free delivery voucher codes are not to be used under any circumstances.
We wish you all a happy and profitable Christmas and look forward to working with you in the New Year.
__________________ DisclaimerThis communication contains information which is confidential and/or maybe privileged. All information contained herein is without prejudice.Blog Moose On The Loose.
Re: Next - Commission changes - Is There Any Irony
It arrived earlier than predicted...
"The January sales are already in full swing and affiliates are enjoying the traditional post Christmas commissions. However, within the first week some merchants announce that they’re not paying commission on any sales items. “Don’t worry” they tell affiliates “you can still earn a massive 2% on all our other items”!"
Re: Next - Commission changes - Is There Any Irony
Quote:
Originally Posted by loquax
It arrived earlier than predicted...
"The January sales are already in full swing and affiliates are enjoying the traditional post Christmas commissions. However, within the first week some merchants announce that they’re not paying commission on any sales items. “Don’t worry” they tell affiliates “you can still earn a massive 2% on all our other items”!"
Re: Next - Commission changes - Is There Any Irony
Jason I reckon you should remove this article from your blog before you give any other merchants grand ideas :eek:
Have you got any predictions for this weeks lottery instead - I'll send you a cure for your lackamincepieitus
I love the timing of this as well - wonder who's idea that was! Probably hoping it's going to slip under the radar and all be done and forgetten by t'other side of Christmas - I'd love to hear from those affiliates who do usually suffer from tons of returns and rejected commissions, do they find they are actually better off by having such a low commission but 100% acceptance - or - is it simply 'cos it makes life easier for the merchant/network not having to keep track of validations etc?
Re: Next - Commission changes - Is There Any Irony
sad thing is we are not longer suprised by these measures
I just wonder how Next can make a case for this when they don't suddenly halve their staff's wages when the sale is on do they ? surely there is enough profit STILL in sale items to pay the full commission .. the mark ups generally big anyway so the original commission is pretty low IMO as it is so to reduce it is a further spanking
"this is the only way we are able to keep the programme open without temporarily suspending it."
errr suspend it then ! ... why make it acceptable to pay less.. ?? does nobody at networks see the direction this type of action heads down ? seems to be happening more and more because it's being allowed to happen, are networks so desparate for cash that they'll have affiliates treading water on rates rather than being firm and saying to merchants you pay a fair rate or can't play, suspend it till you can.
reduced commissions and zero commissions seem to be occuring too often yet the traffic environments affiliates are operating in are more competitive than ever .. affiliates need MORE commission not less or none !
I wonder if "we are having a sale on this month guys so I'm going to pay you half but can you still work full time please" would go down if I tried to manage my staff like that.
Re: Next - Commission changes - Is There Any Irony
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shane
I wonder if "we are having a sale on this month guys so I'm going to pay you half but can you still work full time please" would go down if I tried to manage my staff like that.
I am sure I heard a story that staff have to work from 5am in the stores for the sales for either no extra money or at least the same rate and no extra for unsocialable hours.
Next had already cut commission for "christmas" but now down to 1% to if you even go high ticket for £100 all you are going to get is a £1.
I guess they do not see the affiliate marketing channel as cost effective.
what are saturdays winning numbers.
