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2007-10-04 - Selecting a Co-Reg/Lead Generation and Affiliate Tracking Platform

By: Bret Grow

I hear from companies all the time who are trying to track their ad network conversions, get stats to affiliates and merchants, and then filter and send their co-reg/lead gen data to merchants. It’s a huge amount of work that if done incorrectly, can take lots of money, man power and various types of sophisticated software to accomplish. In the end, many of my clients found that their last data management platforms turned out to be more problematic and costly then they bargained for.

Don’t let fancy sales pitches and flashy sites deceive you. Just because a company is large or well known, doesn’t make it a good pick. If you are not already familiar with a great system, may I suggest comparing any other platform to the LinkTrust (http://www.linktrust.com) platform which specializes in tracking and data management solutions for online marketers.

Here are some basic tips to keep in mind when choosing a co-reg/lead gen platform:

1) System Flexibility - Chose a system that doesn’t paint you into a corner. The biggest complaint I hear from my partners who come from other platforms is that they had to fit into a box created by their last system. Be sure to ask “what if” questions when investigating solutions. You may not need to do everything now, but there will come a time when your needs, or those of your merchants, changes. Look beyond today and buy for your company’s future needs.

2) System Scalability - Most people over look this one. Just because a system can manage leads doesn’t mean you’ll be fine when you have hundreds of thousands of records coming to you. The fact is that most systems show their weakness and you pay the cost. More lead volume means more liability, so make sure the subsystem you choose can handle high volumes.

a. Shared Servers (Least Desirable): Platform providers offer this common solution because it saves them money. However, when traffic peaks for one client, the system slows for everyone. Your up-time and stability are tied to what other companies using the same system do. Systems that consistently slow down will cost you big bucks because your pixel tracking will grow ever more inaccurate and co-reg/lead gen data can be lost in transmission to you.

b. Dedicated Servers (Better): Getting your own server helps with traffic issues to a point but this solution will fail if anything happens to that single server. Hard drive and power supply failure happen, and when they do, you are dead in the water. You can handle more traffic but only to a point since one server can only work so fast.

c. Server Farms (Most Desirable): Servers in the farm work simultaneously and identically. Your traffic is load balanced across many servers. Any of them can go down and you will still be running strong. Need more speed/power, just add more servers to the farm and they pick up the slack. Down-time is drastically reduced and internet attacks are managed better.

3) Data Filtration - Verifying your data can make or break your campaigns.

a. Internal Filtering: Make sure you can setup your own custom data business rules and filtration. It will save you time and money by validating data prior to paying other systems to do it.

b. External Filtering: See if the platform can interface with 3rd party data filtration systems (DataX, Melissa Data, Service Objects etc.). I recommend only platforms that can integrate with these types of systems in some way.

4) Multi-System Consolidation - Why buy and integrate a pixel tracking, co-reg/lead gen management, registration path, and suppression list system? Select a comprehensive platform that has with everything you need. This can dramatically simplify your campaign setup and increase company and employee productivity. In addition, you won’t have to troubleshoot integration issues between systems and listen to several tech support reps telling you the issue is the other guy’s fault.

5) Real Support - Whether your campaign has a problem during business hours or in the middle of the night, make sure you can talk to a real person who can fix it fast. There is nothing worse then watching a problem knowing you can’t do anything about it. If you are going to have your own employee manage the system, make sure your platform provider includes initial training and ongoing basic support. Often, smaller companies who specialize in this area can provide far better support then a comparable publicly traded company. Don’t have the man power to dedicate someone to managing the system? Arrange to have your account managed for you by your platform provider. There will most likely be an extra fee, but it may make sense.

The bottom line is that the platform you select will become an extension of your company. Put more effort into finding the right match then you would in hiring a new employee because once you fully embrace to a system, it can be extremely difficult and costly to leave.

By: Bret Grow, Co-founder and Vice President, Burstabit Media, Inc.

© 2007 The Coreg Insider