Zanox's American sojourn-- a welcome development

Last month, German company, Zanox, one of the leading players in performance-based multi-channel commerce in Europe announced setting up operations in the US. It was only a matter of time, I suppose.

In the five years since Zanox has been in operation, it has established itself among the very top in Europe and is quite profitable. It was bound to be looking at new markets to expand its offering and what better than the US. By the end of next year, online turnover in the US is expected to cross a whopping US$103 billion.

A market that size would be attractive for anybobdy, but for a company with the expertise and the confidence that comes from quickly penetrating and capturing a significant share in Europe was naturally bound to spread its tentacles wider. The confidence comes not in the least from its excellent suite of products that covers the whole spectrum of search & affiliate marketing as well as those supporting offline sales channels. Zanox has taken basic viral marketing and combined it with affiliate marketing with its ZanoxMail product. That's just one example of how the company has been successful at synthesising the best of various online and offline sales and marketing concepts to come up with its wonderful array of solutions.

Obviously, the US market offers unlimited growth potential for Zanox. But its expansion augurs well for the market -- both marketers and affiliates-- as much as it will benefit it. I, for one, like choice-- and Zanox will offer that choice. It will also bring to the table its proven products/solutions, considerable knowledge and technical savvy as well as the experience of operating in multiple countries. Linkshare and Commission Junction both have had problems with their products and/or operations & customer service -- which will hopefully be a thing of the past. Emerging competition from a credible competitor like Zanox will help to hasten the steps taken by the two embattled companies to mitigate the problems they've had and ensure that these are nipped in the bud. Overall, I believe, there will be a greater emphasis on getting quality people with greater expertise and a heightened sense of service to affiliates.

Isn't that something to be cheerful about?

Until next time,

Ben Flux, Traffic Junction

posted by Ben Flux - Traffic Junction @ 10/09/2005 10:06:00 AM