Unilateralism in affiliate/ merchant relationships
One of the most common complaints of affiliate marketers seems to be the unilateral manner in which merchants and networks change their terms and conditions of the affiliate marketing relationship. Almost every other day, I read a post or two related to this. It is obviously a serious issue, especially for professional affiliates, for many of whom this is their only revenue stream.
Azam considers the plight of affiliate marketers to be worse than that of the checkout staff at Tesco. While that may be taking things too far, I suppose we need to take the spirit in which he makes this aggrieved statement. It hurts the affiliate deeply when merchants/networks cut down commissions or suspend accounts without even bothering to let the affiliate now, well in advance. That is definitely a basic right of the affiliate (even if there may be nothing to that effect spelt out in the terms and conditions)-- or call it a basic courtesy that can be expected from a principal.
Unfortunately, the truth is that a lot of affiliates don't often get the respect they deserve. I wonder if merchants/networks fail to see the extent of effort it takes an affiliate to promote the products they do?
Does this mean that nothing can be done about it? Certainly not. Affiliates will continuously need to constructively voice out their genuine grievances in appropriate foray. Merchants can ignore repeated calls for attention at their own peril, because in today's age with the speed at which bad news about a company can travel, merchants can ill afford to put off listening to their customers and partners.
Secondly, put in some effort into building personal relationships with the merchants/ affiliate managers. Pick up the phone and talk -- you may find an easy resolution to the problem.
And last but certainly not the least, if you are a true performer who is delivering results or capable of delivering results, work towards setting your own terms and conditions, as Vinny Lingham suggests. Merchants will seriously consider this, if they realise that they have more to lose by not having you on board as an affiliate.
Let your performance speak and command the agreement of the merchant to your terms and conditions. After all, we are in the business of pay-for-performance marketing.
Until next time,
Ben Flux
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