Everybody loves a coupon. Consumers love a deal. Affiliates love to offer their visitors something extra to help close the sale. Merchants may see higher conversion from those with a promotion and can also use the codes to track activity channels.
But these little codes can cause problems. The big empty coupon code field in the checkout process screams to a buyer who is without a coupon and ready to buy, “Hey, you’re paying too much!”
What was likely a conversion has potentially resulted in a lost sale as the consumer seeks a coupon code.
If the buyer comes back with a coupon, the merchant got a sale but just gave away money. If the coupon search was unsuccessful, the consumer is annoyed by the perception of overpaying or they simply move on to a competitor.
Each scenario likely results in a lost commission for the initial affiliate. Whether the buyer found a coupon or not, that search sent them through other affiliate sites where the user likely clicked a link.
Last in wins. The coupon affiliate gets a quick sale. The first affiliate gets nothing.
I’ve heard the argument, “offer your users a coupon”. We do that sometimes, but we have visitors who aren’t necessarily interested in using a coupon, so why give away money? And once they recognize that there’s a deal to be had, what’s to stop the buyer from looking for a better one?
So what is the solution?
First understand the situation. Monitor and measure your visitor behavior. One merchant used analytics to figure out what percentage of their visitors were leaving to find a coupon code and return through a different affiliate URL.
More than 10% of their visitors were going away and coming back though a different affiliate link or through an affiliate link when they hadn’t come through one in the first place.
A solution is to eliminate the empty coupon field. However, a merchant who offers coupons obviously needs a way for redemption. Technologies exist that allow the code to be embedded in the link, so the discount is automatic.
Alternatively, language that doesn’t leave the visitor feeling like they’re missing out can lower the rate at which users go off chasing down coupons. A big empty field labeled “Coupon Code?” or “Discount?” begs the user to go hunting.
A field labeled “Referral code” or “Promotion” is more ambiguous and less likely to leave a coupon-less visitor feeling like they’re missing out.
The merchant above couldn’t eliminate the coupon field because other groups need it to track promotions. They got creative and customized the tracking and commission structures in their program to more equitably compensate their affiliates.
This isn’t to say that “coupon affiliates” are bad. Clearly there’s a huge audience of consumers who love to get a deal. But not every shopper is a coupon user and not every affiliate wants to promote coupons.
What value are you getting from your affiliates and are they getting compensated equitably?
Scott Jangro is a long-time online publisher and affiliate marketer. Learn more about him at his blog at jangro.com.
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