Forum Moderators: skibum
Very new to the kingdom.
I've performed searches but I'm still a bit confused about how to set up an affiliate tracking system.
In a nutshell, I've almost completed a site which is going to market products of another company. I would prefer not to take calls or emails so I was planning on posting their address on my site. However, I would like to be involved in a commission if they sell.
How would I be able to track emails and phone call if they are taking them? How in the world would I be able to be up with this?
Thanks for any comments.
Sincerely,
SCOTT
I have noticed that with some 'products' like self catering accommodation, people like to email and phone, rather than book online. Any affiliate scheme will never work that well in this case. If you are sending traffic to an accommodation site, the probability is that the person you sent will look at the site and then phone them. Unless the company asks where they came from, you are unlikely to get the credit.
With some affiliate schemes, you get issued with a special telephone number which is answered as if they were you. This is much better but rare. Perhaps the company you mentioned may be prepared to do this if you started sending a lot of business.
I think the only option is too make people buy online via your site, that way the traffic can be tracked. Emails could be cc to both parties from your site, but not from theirs. Telephone?... very difficult, perhaps avoid giving any contact details.
I hope I understood your question, good luck.
How would I be able to track emails and phone call if they are taking them? How in the world would I be able to be up with this?
The short and brutal answer is:
You don't.
Any communication between potential customer and the manufacturer/service provider has the potential to lose 'your' commission.
Done right, the customer should never need to talk to the vendor....EVER. Anytime they do (prior to the sale), you MAY lose the commission.
It sounds unfair, but that is the business world.
I've heard this once, only once from a vendor:
"...yeah, sure, they went to your website and that's how they found out about us, but then they mentioned another website we sell through, also....so we couldn't give you the commission since we couldn't determine who actually made the sale. Sorry about that...."
That happened one time. I can promise you it won't happen again. Something along the lines of, "Ok, I might just have a friend or two call and order something...we'll see where the commission goes and then re-evaluate our relationship..." (Giant Eyeballs-quickly thinking about the loss of 10's of thousands in sales each month...and then, of course, total understanding of who is in control.) This face-to-face encounter did wonders. Especially when they knew I was being courted by a competitor...:)
I'm not in the business to play games; neither should you.
