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Oh Baby - It’s Not Me, It’s You!
A few weeks ago, I received the following email from a big name baby merchant at Linkshare:
“I’m writing to inform you of some changes we are making to the xxx.com affiliate program. We have recently done a deep dive into the financials of our affiliate network, and we have decided to remove your site from our affiliate program. This decision is solely based on the financials, and over the past year we have found that shoppers coming from FlamingoWorld tend to buy items with much lower margins and with a significantly higher discount usage.”
This big name baby merchant at Linkshare pays 10% commission and always has coupons. Coupons are all over their site, right now there is one on their homepage. Free Shipping, $ off a certain purchase, coupons are always available. I think it is to the point that anyone familiar with this store knows that they always have coupons and expect them. They won’t shop there without one.
It seems to me it is not my issue, but their issue. Maybe they should offer lower commission and not offer coupons if it is cutting into their margins? It is not my fault if my visitors buy things of lower margins and use the coupons this baby merchant provides.
As a test and out of curiosity, I went in and applied to their affiliate program in my other Linkshare account. I was automatically approved and received the following in an email:
“Dear Connie Berg:
Congrats! You have great taste, and it shows! In fact, here at xxx.com, we are so impressed with your website that we want you to join our Affiliate Program!”
If they are so concerned with their margins and the type of affiliates they have, why would they auto approve affiliates? Moreover, it is obvious since the acceptance email came seconds after I applied and was auto approved, that no one actually looked at my site.
I wrote the affiliate manager back saying that instead of terminating me that maybe we could talk about things. No response for over a week from them.
I contacted my Linkshare account manager and suddenly I got a reply on the day I was to be terminated from the program. Evidently the folks at Linkshare like me (well one anyways) and put in a good word for me.
We were able to talk things through, I gave the affiliate manager my view of things and he listened. For now, I am still in the program, but no telling what will happen in 6 months if my visitors are still using the coupons they continuously provide.
I have quite a few merchants that never offer coupons that I do really well with. My visitors don’t have to have a coupon to shop, but if stores provide them, they will use them.
13 Comments
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Now that’s a great headline Connie
Great, great blog entry, again. Anyone else reading this stuff? Connie is on fire!
I among many colleques read it. Connie I have found it wonderful how your business acumen has increased over the years. It has been a pleasure to watch success! With big battles and small battles…
Rather than complain, moan, give-up or quit you do what real business people do- you perservere and use your resources around you. hats off. I think back many years ago in 2000
best,
Wayne
Great post … Connie: would you still want to be in their program now that you know internally conflicted they are over discounts?
Connie,
Please realize that as affiliates we are not only responsible for driving traffic that converts, but making sure that we have prescreened our traffic to insure that they will only purchase a merchant’s high margin products.
Seriously though, if a merchant isn’t interested in servicing *all* customers - regardless of the margin than not only will the have a failing affiliate program, but eventually they’ll have a failing business.
Regards,
Dave T.
“Rather than complain, moan, give-up or quit you do what real business people do- you perservere and use your resources around you.”
What is this article other than complaining and moaning about a merchant that doesn’t want FlamingoWorld in their program?
So many affiliates have this strange notion that merchants owe them something. The relationship wasn’t profitable for the merchant, so they terminated the relationship. What’s the problem?
Brian, yes I still want to be in their program. I am one of those people that when someone tells me no, I just have to have it. I like a good challenge. I had some good conversations with this merchant and we both understand the other’s position and are working on solutions.
Rockwell, I didn’t say I was complaining. This is my blog, it is about affiliate marketing and I choose to share my experiences here, good or bad.
Merchants do owe me something. They owe me the courtesy of talking to me before automatically terminating me. Affiliate marketing isn’t a hobby to me, it is my business. I prefer to be treated like a business person, a business partner.
And they didn’t terminate me, I am still in the program. The merchant and I talked and we worked it out.
Merchants do owe affiliates a legitimate reason for discontinuing us IMO. They act like they are doing uas a favor for having us in their program, when we are doing them a favor with all the free advertising.
It all depends on whom is working for whom. I always thought of the publisher as being the one in ultimate driver’s seat. I’m nasty and demanding that way, though.
I have been known to be nasty and demanding too.
I have the mindset that no one is working for anyone, we are working together. Merchants and affiliates both want something from each other and they should try to figure out how both can win.
Some of my best programs were previous under performers on my site. I could have easily dumped them but instead communicated my concerns and ideas and turned them around on my site. Communication is key.
I am with Connie as to merchants do owe affiliates an explanation before terminating them, unless affiliates are doing something really wrong against their policy.
Dave: I disagree, merchants have all the rights to service only their “best” customers. If I was to increase my revenue albeit all the time and resource limitation, guess who am I going to focus on that provides 80% of my revenue? 20% of my customers.
Just that they have to treat their affiliates as business partners. If that happened to me, I’ll also blog about it (with the merchant name if necessary) so that they can publicly answer my (and other affiliates) concern.
I won’t even consider joining if they state that they can terminate anytime without a warning in their policy.
Sounds like the company is simply lazy and not going through with the math of their business and passing the blame onto you.
The same merchant, babystyle.com, terminated me without a notice, as well. I have been generating decent sales for since I started with their program, and I don’t even do coupons. The reason they gave me, after asking for it, was that the customers I refer “tend” to return the items purchased, at a rate that double their average rate. What!
Anyway, I didn’t bother asking to be accepted back, so I am just referring their visitors who visit the pages I made for babystyle.com to Mothers Work sites and BabyCenter.com, who seem to be pretty happy with the extra sales coming their way.
Connie - this underlines the problems that happen when there is no proactive management, or they take a “this is a numbers game” approach to the entire program. Affiliates are like Connie says, working together, as marketing partners. Knowing each other, particularly one as active as Connie, is extremely important. Flexibility around how to structure payouts, promos, landing pages and other tools is crucial. And auto-approving is just downright lazy and damaging.
Connie - we have a few baby programs, come on over.
Thanks and keep up the good work! Love the blog!