UKNM: And another rant about 'Experts' ...

[John Braithwaite]

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Nikki - not really related to your rant, but it raised something that has

been brewing in me for a while:

Why do promotional Internet companies not recognise the importance of

customer retention?


I am fed up with companies (and have talked to about 5 different ones with

'a brilliant marketing strategy' based on using customer information in the

last month) that think that it's OK to 'share' your customers with their

service - which always includes direct competitors. Do they think that I

(and others) are that stupid? We don't recruit customers to throw them away.

I tell you what, why not cut out the middle-man and I'll just stick an

Amazon click-through on my site?


Having had experience in Direct Marketing, the one thing you learn not to do

(from a very early stage) is to rent your customer list to competitors. It

is suicide. And I still have difficulty convincing these companies that this

logic also applies to the Internet.


Here is a recent missive from an organisation that should know better (name

deleted, but I'm sure some of you will have received this same email):


Since the launch of *name* we hope you will agree that we have

consistently demonstrated our commitment to developing long term

relationships with our retailers, because we know that only by working in

partnership we can ensure that they continue to be mutually beneficial.


In a constantly changing world the only thing we can be sure of is that we

are unable to predict even in the short term how the market for online

shopping will evolve, it is therefore of vital importance that we

continually measure & evaluate our Marketing activity to ensure that we

always maximise it's ability to drive sales, for us & for you.


You have definitely played your part in building this relationship &

supporting investment into online retailing by continuing to give us great

deals & great service & by the end of this year we will have spent over

£XXXXX promoting these offers, & the retailers who offer them in a range of

different ways.


A significant part of our marketing budget comprises banner advertising

across a wide range of sites. This activity drives substantial traffic to

*name*, and the retailers in it. Our experience has shown that certain

key sites have audiences with a higher propensity to shop online, and

these sites constantly perform well. Other sites, although with large

volumes of traffic,  are not necessarily cost effective in driving traffic

through to transactional sites and converting clicks to sales.


In the future in order to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of our

marketing activity we aim to concentrate banner activity on these key

sites, and sites with similar profiles.


In order to build upon this strategy, and further target online

populations with a high propensity to shop online, we wish to implement a

mutually beneficial banner advertising relationship for our retailers.

The basis of this will be that all *top promos* on *name*, will

require reciprocal banner advertising on retailer sites.


I attach some examples of the banner advertisements which we have used in

the past & of course we are happy to work with you on future creatives

should changes be required.


Hey, what a reasonable proposition, I am glad I am enhancing our

relationship..... not! YOU MUST BE HAVING A GIRAFFE! You get a big

commission from me and you get extra special deals for your customers

through your site. I make a loss from sales from your site and you want

more? Anyone else share the same problem?


John B

http://www.thegoodbookguide.com

(sorry about length!)



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