DealGroup Media and Paid On Results to Merge? Could It Just Work?
posted in Affiliate Marketing |
At the moment it’s just a pie in the sky thought, but I had the notion that the concept of a merger between DealGroup Media (DGM) and Paid On Results (POR) might be quite successful.
In a nutshell, with POR’s technology & DGM’s sales staff for recruiting merchants & affiliate support, it might just actually work.
Paid On Results overall has the following plus points:
- Trust – POR is highly respected in the affiliate marketplace amongst affiliates. POR really do “get it” & are trusted by affiliates to do the right thing.
- Technology – Excellent interface and technical ability.
- Innovation – Great understanding of the market and willing to lead the way in different areas (voucher stuff is a recent example). Plus they are continually developing neat little tools.
- Reliable Interface – An impressive user interface affiliates & merchants to use.
- Support – Able to deal with issues and get them resolved to the benefit of everyone and not simply role over to merchants / affiliates.
- Reliability – Tracking & reporting considered amongst the best in the industry.
- Flexibility & robustness to expand.
- Promote content affiliates by providing support and tools while still carting for PPC and Cashback sites by providing the tools they need also
- Don’t like brand bidding groups (BBGs)
We have the unsung hero at POR who is Graeme, the tech whizzkid, an absolute genius & a guy who as even helps with support at unearthly hours of the night without expectation to resolve any minor issues, who with the right team underneath him & under his guidance could perform further & bigger wonders.
The main problem is Paid On Results don’t blow their own trumpet, too humble / modest maybe, thus not assertive in bringing the so called larger merchants onboard to look impressive on their portfolio & consequently sometimes getting overlooked by merchants / agencies when they shouldn’t be. What you see is what you get with POR, no hollow promises & false assurances or aggressive sales techniques when pitching to clients, but honesty & integrity who have the trust & respect of the industry as a whole.
They currently don’t seem to have enough sales staff or an abundance of resources that they could direct in affiliate development and maybe it would be beneficial to have some more technical staff that Graeme could direct on what to do. Yet POR still manage to provide better interface & tools than most other networks who have an abundance of staff.
It’s that last sentence where DGM could potentially fill the void. With the pros & cons of each network these could mesh quite neatly/snuggly. Firstly DGM would need to oust the BBGs they currently have within their network, it’s a disease & a tag they need to lift & get rid off quickly & in a lengthy previous conversation with one of their directors earlier this year, this hasn’t seemed to have materialised yet. I don’t think going it alone as they are will quite work.
Let’s be frank, DGM will never really have the technology to compete with their fairly inflexible interface, a subject of ridicule in the past, which is maybe the only tangible thing that separates them as being a network from a management agency to bring clients onboard i.e. the “clincher”. I would also need to ascertain if senior management / directors whoever they are have the “mind set of” affiliates to bring them forward in the correct capacity.
For they have had more lives than a cat & at this moment in time are possibly one down in the bottom of the ninth innings with two outs & need a big play (baseball if you were unsure) .. “babe ruth” style as they take to the plate & point to the stand signifying the next ball is a home run.
Before, someone from DGM picks up the blower to moan at me, hear me out. I think there is the sincerity at DGM to do the right thing, I don’t know if there is anything inhibiting that at the moment, but they have an opportunity for a big play. Some of the bad elements (not all “were” bad eggs) within the company have gone onto pastures new (some of the respected ones gone onto where the grass is greener). There are some very pleasant & proactive staff on the affiliate side trying to offer good support & be proactive in the community. They have a sizeable sales team to prospect for clients too, but don’t have the technology to back them up. Their reasonable client base would compliment POR’s quite well & with Clarke “Legend” Duncan & Graeme from POR together with some of DGM’s team under their guidance they could develop quality API tools to compete with the impressive ShopWindow at Affiliate Window. To do this you need the volume of merchants.
From chatting with a few affiliate peers, I also get the impression that they actually want to see DGM do better, a kind of big uncle / aunty fostering mentality, wishing them to eventually succeed.
Where POR maybe lacks is an assertive sales team, fancy sales presentations & resources. DGM would compliment it. Both networks need something to boost them further into the spotlight of prospective clients & forefront of affiliates minds, it will just mean DGM relinquishing their visibly poor platform & interface, but they mustn’t hang onto their apron strings forever.
It could be a synergy that might just work? What do you think?
Okay, I’ve sowed the seeds, it’s up to the others to explore the possible opportunities whether they agree or disagree in public, but wish both well and it’s food for thought.
