I read an article recently that really got me thinking, should you trust your affiliate manager? I'm not indicting EVERY affiliate manager out there but I hope after reading this it will at least warrant a question or two for your affiliate managers.
In the latest issue of Revenue Magazine on page 120 there is an article titled "The Root of Evil". The author talks about a few different topics but this one really jumped out at me. He writes about an incident that took place earlier this year at Commission Junction. I'll paraphrase below:
Quote:
...Less than a month later, three big affiliate managers quit over CJ's policy that prohobits employees from running their own affiliate programs.
The email sent by Value Click to all CJ workers discussed a perceived conflict of interest. Well, DUH! If I were an affiliate, I certainly wouldn't want my account rep to see ALL OF MY crucial data, never mind use it to build up their own program. But clearly, being an affiliate must be more lucrative than just talking with them all day, or each of these managers wouldn't have opted to leave. |
Amazingly (and it pains me to admit this) I've never thought of this possibility. What if the affiliate manager I've been working with on costly campaigns and marketing efforts is taking the key elements and using them in HIS own counter campaign? What if he's taking MY intellectual property and using it to his or her own advantage? A better question would be what's to stop them?
Of course, I'm painting a worst case scenario here but this is not beyond the realm of possibility. If it happened at CJ it can certainly happen in our sector as well.
I'm not going to reveal any details but I know for certain that there are affiliate managers in our space that run their own programs just like you and I. That doesn't mean that they're taking our ideas but to argue that none of them are benefiting from them is somewhat naive.
Now what good will come from this discussion? It's my hope that it will open some eyes out there and at least have folks asking questions. It's not a conspiracy theory but you should be aware that is happening in our space and others. It's worth a little due dilligence to learn just how much trust should exist between you and your affiliate managers. Wouldn't you agree?