I don’t usually do blogging without making more than one effort to contact a company, but this time I’m making an exception and I’m making it for Tradedoubler and their dreadful support system. I’m seriously considering indulging in a bit of brand name bidding because I reckon it might well be the only way to get Tradedoubler to actually talk to me in a time period that can be described as “less than an ice age”.
I submitted a support request quite a few days ago. I know they got it because I got a “we have your support request” mail back. I can’t remember how long ago and I can no longer find the mail, but I was already annoyed about it on October 28th when I posted about it on Twitter.
So In The Spirit Of Comparison…
Here is the time it took a recent support request from another network to be responded to.
Affiliate Window:
Ticket Submitted: 27 Oct 2009 23:53
Response: 28 Oct 2009 11:18
Within 3 hours of office hours resuming. Nice one Awin.
But Of Course, Tradedoubler Know All This….
Because people never cease talking about it on forums and blogs, and they have been talking about it for some time. To be fair there has been one time this year (June I think) where a support ticket was answered within 72 hours, which I consider to be adequate. I remember being distinctly surprised by this. I’ll also be honest, this ongoing issue means I only ever contact Tradedoubler when its absolutely unavoidable.
Do I Need To Know The Secret Handshake?
I don’t have any contacts in there I can use (which is the first thing anyone suggests I need) but why should I need a direct line to one of their staff to get a simple request sorted? In this case I need my payment details altering before the next run else I’ll miss out, so I’m feeling moderately aggravated about the whole thing.
Lets Try This One More Time…
I am now off to re-submit my request. Perhaps they did reply and it got lost somewhere in cyber space, or perhaps my request vanished into the ether quite at random. But is it absolutely out of the question that a multi million pound company might have a communications system that works? Or am I being foolish? Tradedoubler have beautiful offices in the centre of London, a massive client base, and an internation operation. But do they have a support ticket system that works?
Lets leave that one for Tradedoublers newest member of staff to answer….
Computer Says No…..
P.S. Read This Post About Their 2007 Same Day Response Promise.
**edit – I had contact from TD and it transpires that they did respond to my original support ticket (on the first working day they got it) it’s just that I didn’t get it. So they did do what they should have – but alas because they don’t have a support section for me to log into and check on these things, I didn’t know. This is a bit of a shame as the network are probably copping bad PR for “ignored” support queries that they answered promptly and efficiently. I feel TD need to invest in one of these as I think people would see a marked improvement overnight in what is often seen as a poor support service.
November 4th, 2009 at 11:58 am
how do they keep so many high profile clients with the shittest support system in the whole of the affiliate network.
November 4th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
I’m having the same problem with them, I’ve sent them the same mail twice now and the first was about 6 weeks ago!
Seriously bad
November 4th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
I think it is clear that Affiliate Window know what they are doing. They have won numerous awards for best network, most innovative blah blah blah.
It really shows when a company has got themselves set up right from the ground upwards.
Economics says weaker companies will fall by the wayside an will eventually cease to exist. Whilst the reality is they will probably still be around, will they have the same client base, both merchants and affiliates.
If you had the choice, and the same merchant was on Awin and TD, you know which network you would run it through? How many others would do the same?
As an aside, I just signed up to Awin, the merchants they have are bigger names than others I have joined.
These bigger names I hear convert better, but in general would you say there is any difference in the commision levels they offer in comparison to smaller merchants?
November 4th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Just to jump in here – quite often a larger brand will indeed pay lower commissions for the simple reason that they convert a lot better than smaller companies so can still be competitive doing so but that isn’t always the case by any means. Commission ultimately means nothing until you get a conversion so EPC is the metric that matters most. An SME with a very well optimised site who pays good commissions to build market share can do extremely well for themselves in the affiliate market so it’s always worth trying several merchants out for various products.
November 4th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
reminds me of the Simpson’s episode where Homer thinks he’s going to sell his software company to Microsoft for billions, then Bill Gates turns up, trashes his house with a baseball bat, takes the company and says “I didn’t get to the the world’s richest man by writing cheques.”
November 4th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
I’ve never had a response from TD yet… just to rub salt into my wounds I got a missed call fom their main switchboard earlier today but no message was left to say who it was from or what it was about!
November 4th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Kier makes a good point Stuart, there are many variables that can ultimately affect how much you can earn from different merchants.
We’ve tried to increase the transparency by creating the AWin index score for each merchant which uses an algorithm based on the programmes conversion rate, approval percentage, validation period and epc over the last 3 months.
This alows us to compare brands and sme’s on a like for like basis whilst offering affiliates the breakdown elements that make up the AWin Index score. This should enable you to ascertain whether a merchant pays more commission and offset this against other key factors like their payment speed or overal approval vs. decline ratio.
Ultimately what suits one affiliate may not suit another.
November 5th, 2009 at 12:05 am
Wow, two debates on one post – we need more of this round here guys. Nice to see some network points of view on industry issues, so thanks for that Mark & Keir.
My support ticket is all sorted now, I’ll be adding an update to the post later so its balanced with the new info.
November 5th, 2009 at 12:06 am
Oh and incidentally, if a merchant is with both I’ll run with Awin simply because they have a support system that works well.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Hey Kirsty,
Not sure if you’ve stumbled across this but it’s a list of account manager contact details for all the programmes on TD. It looks to be a little out of date to me as I can see programmes that are no longer live but could be a start.
http://hst.tradedoubler.com/file/20649/uk/publisher-services/contactAM.html
Secondly, it’s also a bit of an eye opener when you start to add up the number of accounts associated with each member of staff. No wonder it has taken you an age to get a response.
Service level agreements are certainly high on my agenda when deciding which network we chose to run our clients affiliate programmes. That said we tend to centrally manage affiliate programme from within the agency these days where we can guarantee a faster response.
If the programme you are trying work with is run by an agency, maybe try contacting them. That said, if they were any good they would have already found this post and contacted you
Thanks
Paul
November 7th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
I think in the end it simply boils down to the fact that companies are run in a particular way because of the business approach of the people at the top and until they change or until the whole company starts going down the pan, nothing else will change and by then its too late.
Normally if you’re a consumer, you just vote with your feet. Unfortunately in our world we have to deal with some networks that for as long as I can remember I would rather not have dealt with. The more ‘corporate’ their apparent approach, the worse they seem at the affiliate end. Talking the right talk in marketing still carries a load of weight, regardless of performance.
However, I’m guessing that they are viewed as the dog’s whatsits at the merchant end, which is why they haven’t collapsed so far with wholesale movement of key accounts. Plus the fact that its a growth market still, so they’re protected to a large extent.
November 9th, 2009 at 2:48 am
Hi Kristy,
I can say i have a little expirence with TD myself, I think I would have worked on a few of the accounts that all are likely to have joined.
Its been over a year since I have left, but still keep in contact with a few up there. I can say that the below link does seem pretty up to date.
http://hst.tradedoubler.com/file/20649/uk/publisher-services/contactAM.html
One thing to keep in mind, is that TD have a dedicated publisher team. I personally think forming relationships with these managers would be a great start.
I may sound bias being ex TD, must say that I do know some people at AW as well. To me TD is a pretty solid network with huge potential, its a matter of experience and understanding all networks are different, run different and both have their positives and unfortunately negatives.
I personally think success is in a balance for any affiliate and like any form of business forming successful relationships are vital.
Dean
November 9th, 2009 at 4:45 am
Hi Kristy,
I think I would have worked on a few of the accounts that all are likely to have joined.Its been over a year since I have left, but still keep in contact with a few up there. I can say that the below link does seem pretty up to date.
http://hst.tradedoubler.com/file/20649/uk/publisher-services/contactAM.html
One thing to keep in mind, is that TD have a dedicated publisher team. I personally think forming relationships with these managers would be a great start.
I may sound bias being ex TD, must say that i do know some people at AW as well. However think TD is a pretty good solid network with huge potential, its a matter of experience and understanding all networks are different, run differently and both have their positives and unfortunately negatives. I personally think success is in a balance for any affiliate and like any form of business forming successful relationships are vital.