Mad About Suspensions? Be Mad No Longer with The OLD Plan!
- 5 Comment
Like many affiliates I really dislike no notice suspensions and program terminations. In fact they really make the old blood boil, especially if the merchant is doing well for us or the email sent through is totally irrelevant to us (e.g. we’re being categorised as a cashback site or the merchant has got a bee in their bonnet about being in a shopping section that has a link to a casino section).
In most cases it’s simply a case of switching off a link - but it still doesn’t stop the annoyance at the inconvenience. Some terminations/suspensions can’t be helped, especially in the current economic climate, but others can be dealt with a lot better. For example contacting the affiliate BEFORE the suspension and discussing a compromise or offering a reasonable period of time to take action.
Rather than get angry with the fact that in 2008 termination/suspension emails are sent out often with any professional respect that should exist between “affiliate partners”, I’ve decided on a new course of action.
The OLD Plan!
If I’ve got to remove links for one merchant, then hey I may as well move links for two!
In other words, where possible if Network A’s merchant sends me a demeaning suspension notice, then those links will be removed AND links for a random a.n.other merchant from Network A will then be moved to Network B.
So Network A not only loses links for Mr Suspending Merchant, but also misses out on another merchant too. Double Whammy for having an awful manner of dealing with suspensions and terminations.
Of course if Network B then jump on the “you’re suspended for no reason and we’re not going to tell you either or give you any notice” bandwagon the same rule applies.
Imagine if all affiliates adopted a similar plan - do you think networks might look at the way they handle suspensions/terminations a lot better?
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5 Comments on this post
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Keith Bond said:
Have to be honest but I always considered program changes as part and parcel of the affiliate business and usually accepted them or dropped the programme BUT in the latest CAP magazine it mentions (on page 38 Aug / Sept 2008)
T&C’s for affiliates is a contract between the affiliate and the program. Changing T&C’s is essentially a breach of contract .
From now on thats the way I will always view the situation.
Termination of a programme without due notice can also be looked at in the same way.
August 5th, 2008 at 7:30 pm -
Matt Bailey said:
Hi Keith,
Agree, although unless you’re working directly then the contract that you have is with the network. Therefore you are potentially jeapordising your entire relationship with the network on the back of one campaign. Granted it is up to you whether the relationship with the network is worth more than one campaign but that’s an individual call. The merchant agreement is with the network and if that is breached then it’s up to the network to instigate any follow up they so choose.
Looking at it the other way, if the Ts and Cs of a campaign form a contract between the affiliate and the program, then any affiliate activity that goes against the Ts and Cs is also a breach of contract. If there are PPC or copy restrictions in the Ts and Cs and an affiliate breaks them, however unwittingly, then that too is breach of contract and could result in an affiliate being sued??
I think a modicum of common sense has to be applied here. Agreed it is annoying when a campaign closes, but having worked network side for 2 years, I know that it is the last thing that a network wants and all routes will be exhausted before a merchant is allowed to terminate.
Thanks,
Matt
August 6th, 2008 at 2:51 pm -
Winston said:
I’d be looking at ways to manage this problem with as little inconvenience to myself as possible. I just can’t see the problem going away because surely merchants need that flexibility? Just like when those of us who run ppc adwords campaigns pull the plug instantly when the campaign starts losing money, etc, merchants are surely going to need to be able to do the same? An email and an apology would be nice of course, but it may come late in the day!
I guess the modern affiliate should be looking at having a centralised link system that contains the redirect meta data required to support campaigns. So your content just has a generic link with a GUID that your system then passes through to a current link. You can have a nice back end to the CMS that switches whole campaigns on or off, date ranges, alternative redirects should you wish to pause a campaign, instant reinstating if the suspension ends. Make as much use of automated feeds as possible. A nice back end tool to map products to content. Or automate with SSIS and some fuzzy look ups. Id love to have a go with that - unlikely on my personal projects
Im sure it’s gotta be possible to swap campaigns in and out with little fuss on a modern dynamic data driven site. Those that can get such systems running will be able to pick and chose campaigns based on profit, a nice competitive edge perhaps?
August 7th, 2008 at 3:40 pm -
Paul said:
Matt,
So why are the T&C’s of an affiliate program (the contract) often changed without an affiliate having the option to agree / disagree or approve / disapprove. It seems changes are imposed / made without giving affiliates the option. Any change, how small or big, is in effect a new revised contract. Without the affiliate being permitted to approve / disapprove the changes, this in effect nullifies any new changes to the contract or any power those new amendments can enforce.
And how frequently do we see unsincere hollow standardised emais from some networks using old chesnut statements like “sorry for the inconvenience”, “circumstances beyond our control”, “we regret to inform you”. I am not convinced that even to this day, networks are doing enough to reclaim pending commissions or remnuerations for lost tracking etc. Some networks seem to have suspended programs in a perpetual suspended state, so an affiliate is left in limbo land as to whether to program will revive or not.
Paul
August 10th, 2008 at 12:35 pm -
Matt Bailey said:
Hi Paul,
I can’t really answer the questions about networks leaving campaigns as suspended as I’m no longer network side. I agree that this is not ideal and maybe something that should be raised with each individual network.
With regards to Ts and Cs changing, whilst I agree with your sentiment it is often quite difficult to implement. With thousands of affiliates on a campaign, asking each of them for their approval about Ts and Cs changing would be unfeasible. The way I would see it, if an affiliate receives notification of changes and no longer wishes to work with a merchant because of this, then they can remove their links. The network and/or agency involved would hopefully have discussed the changes with the merchant to ensure that affiliate drop out would not be too great.
Essentially, for the affiliate it is a case of whether they are prepared to work with a merchant or not, on the merchants terms. If the merchant is foolish enough to dictate terms which means that quality affiliates are not prepared to work with them anymore, then more fool them. For affiliates, there is usually an alternative.
Matt
August 11th, 2008 at 11:23 am
