Press ReleasesHere at CJ we like to work extremely closely with our affiliates. Sometimes we like to have a catch up with them to discuss the industry in general. These conversations often shed some great insight on current industry trends which are great to share here. So please meet Simon Bird, Managing Director of Savoo the site for savvy shoppers.
Tell us a bit about Savoo….
Savoo promotes savvy shopping, deals and discount codes and is the international arm of the US deals giant Savings.com. Savoo.co.uk, launched in 2009, is dedicated to offering consumers the best user experience while working closely with merchants and agencies to promote deals in a controlled and transparent way.
Recent examples of consumer driven innovation from Savoo include launching Savoo Personalisation where consumers complete a short wizard about their shopping preferences, and in return get their own personalised deal feed offering deals on exactly what they like. Other recent innovations include Savoo Local, which features local restaurant deals, and Savoo Compare offering mobile, broadband and, soon to be launched, holiday and flight comparison.
And what is your roll within the company?
I’m the GM which basically means I manage the UK P&L, recruit and retain staff. I also work with HQ in LA to implement successful US products and innovations. On a day to day basis I meet and work with networks and merchants to help them maximise their ability to reach and optimise; I also work with our marketing team to grow our UK consumer reach and ultimately become a savvy shopping destination site.
What do you think are the most important factors facing publishers in the affiliate marketing space at the moment?
The major one for me is Google rankings and SEO – PANDA – and attempting to build a web presence that does not rely solely on Google is the ultimate challenge. We always want to prove the worth of our business models to merchants – working to increase merchant spend. As we are working on performance we want to become a higher % of their spend as we grow and move forward. Innovation is key and we can’t rest on our laurels – as the market becomes more competitive we must ensure that we continue to innovate to stand out. The other issue facing us is in the deal space, ensuring affiliates are mindful of deal overload and deal fatigue – guaranteeing consumers receive relevant and timely deals.
Are you investing in or pioneering any new technologies with Savoo?
New technology is always at the front of our minds at Savoo and Savings and we are currently working on a number of new products. Right now though we are looking to continue the success of personalisation and refining e-mail communication. We also want to build on our local service pushing restaurants and promoting regional merchants. We are lucky in that we have started to build a great community of what we call DealPros and we want to expand on that and we also want to successfully launch our new holiday and flight comparison service.
I know Savoo has strong US heritage; do you think we’re developing into a global economy and does this help or hinder an affiliate site?
Yes I think we are developing into more of a global economy – e.g depending on exchange rates consumers are buying from other countries and I think it helps. As sites operating from different companies start to receive traffic from other countries it’s important to work with affiliate or ad networks to geo target offers to that consumer. However, at the same time it can be challenging – if your site does not offer relevant content to that individual it affects site stats like bounce rates which can adversely affect SEO.
Do you notice any huge differences between the US market and the UK market?
Yes we do – the UK seems to be more regulated and merchants are more distributed across a wider number of networks. In the UK it’s easier to meet and network due to less of a geographical divide whereas more deals done over the phone in the US. One obvious detail is that the US is a much bigger market where the volumes are huge. In the deal space the US is far more centric towards grocery deals – in the US consumers grew up on cutting out coupons from newspapers, therefore it’s a cultural norm in the US to save money using coupons – it’s growing in the UK, however.
You’re one of the big publishers in the UK, what advice do you cherish that helped Savoo make its way in the market?
There’s a lot! But make sure whatever you do, you think about what your USP is of your product or service to both consumers and merchants. How are you actually adding value? As you are their sales person, get under the skin of merchants – find out what they want to sell more of, and where are their margins? Help make them look good! In the deal space – don’t constantly nag the merchant for an exclusive deal. Put yourself in their shoes and realise they are working with other deal sites too – what makes you special? Why do you deserve that exclusive code or CPA increase?
The new EU cookie legislation is slowly being implemented in the UK, what impact do you think this might have on the affiliate industry?
It depends on the final ruling which I don’t think will be as vigilant as what was embraced by the Netherlands which was actual consent (quite intrusive web pop-ups where consumers confirm cookies from the website). Assuming the UK adopts informed consent versus actual consent, then affiliates need to work with the guidance provided by the IAB/ AMC. Overall it shouldn’t be as significant an impact as we all initially thought.
What changes would you like to see within the affiliate industry?
I think we need more transparency from affiliates and merchants alike. I’m a firm believer that the reason why merchants sometimes don’t hold the affiliate channel in high esteem (compared to other channels) is that affiliates aren’t being transparent enough with them. Affiliates need to work closely with merchants to share what’s happening on their landing pages to help to optimise the overall consumer journey. More networks should be facilitating hybrid tenancy/ display deals – most merchants don’t take into consideration the power of all the millions/ billions of free impressions their affiliate channel drives them. Don’t dismiss this free exposure – work with key affiliates to encourage more brand building activities.
