These responses from my client’s representatives can vary wildly. The most productive are those that prompt a discussion; is an adjustment or upgrade of a datafeed worth the time and cost of development for this one Affiliate?Unfortunately this discussion doesn’t usually take place. Sometimes the ideal for an Affiliate Manager happens and the Advertiser is happy to make any change to the feed that the publisher wants, but let’s be honest and say that this only regularly happens with Google shopping. Usually we get a situation whereby the Advertiser doesn’t feel that it’s necessary to change the feed based on the single Affiliate’s opinion, thus changes have to be submitted en masse perhaps once a year and we just have to hope for the best. At that point momentum is lost and usually the Affiliate’s interest goes with it.Why such hesitancy then? Could it be that comparison sites not long add low value to a programme, but are a threat entirely?
The greater good approach
In my experience affiliates who use a Client’s datafeed can be a utility for the better. Not just in sales, but in awareness around e-commerce issues and resolutions. An example of this was a Programme where they paid commissions to Affiliates inclusive of VAT, listed products in their feed exclusive of VAT and then listed prices on their product pages inclusive of VAT. If you can imagine how confusing this was for Affiliates, imagine how it must have been for an average consumer! Luckily a comparison affiliate made a big fuss of being unable to list the feed in the current state and the feed was changed, which when you understand that it was the same feed as they list on Google shopping you can imagine was crisis averted.
The Affiliate attribution mix
It’s no secret that comparison sites have been suffering for a few years now as the triple threat of Amazon, Google Shopping comparison and increased sector fragmentation took its toll. New segments of the digital marketing mix also moved in on the action, with the likes of retargeting solutions and basket abandonment dynamically updating customers with extra £££ off their previous prices.How many times have you compared prices though? I’m not here to argue that it may not be your first ‘discovery’ click, which is where the true longtail and content affiliates may come in. I’m here to suggest that with brands and products that lend themselves naturally to the space, comparing products on comparison sites may very well be your next step. How many times have you looked to make sure you’re getting the best deal? It’s second nature, with comparison sites lending themselves naturally to this.
Be specific
Comparison sites using your datafeed may well have the alternate name of ‘price comparison’ but that’s the tip of the iceberg in what they do. The same way that the humble blog was previously just a pastime that hosted a few banner ads, the comparison site is now a hub for customers to educate themselves on all aspects of product purchase and the best point of persuasion is in the details. Working closely with comparison sites will mean that you’ll be pushed and provided for in other ways that a simple listing if your prices don’t stack up kindly.Fair comparison is all too rare a commodity, so don’t count yourself out of the game.
