Expected sponsor response time?

[PR_Tom]

To say the larger programs dont have to give a damn is really out of left field to my ears

When your program gets huge, are you saying you'll flip a switch and stop with your great affiliate and customer support? 'Course not, it just doesnt make common sense. It's like saying rich people don't save money, but I think you'll find that they're some of the tightest penny pinchers and smart investors out there.

I spent about 4 hours one day a few months ago with a brand spanking new newbie. He knew html and some design already, so I suggested some things he could build right away. (niched pages with niche ads and niche fhg's along with relevant text and site reviews, all interlinked.) A few weeks ago he messaged me and has #2 on MSN for a very big niche term and is making sales. I dont really think the result would be much different with any program with a dedicated affiliate support person, or plenty of time to invest.

I'm not sure, but it might actually argue that a small site without a dedicated support person might not have the time for that sort of thing? I seriously doubt thats true either; good support is absolutely critical regardless of size. Poor response will hurt any sized program

Just seems to me that there is no threshold beyond which you can stop responding or helping people out of all sizes and experiences. I think it's just too temptingly easy to say, but it doesnt bear out in my personal experience.

[LB]

Originally Posted by PR_Tom

To say the larger programs dont have to give a damn is really out of left field to my ears

When your program gets huge, are you saying you'll flip a switch and stop with your great affiliate and customer support? 'Course not, it just doesnt make common sense. It's like saying rich people don't save money, but I think you'll find that they're some of the tightest penny pinchers and smart investors out there.

I spent about 4 hours one day a few months ago with a brand spanking new newbie. He knew html and some design already, so I suggested some things he could build right away. (niched pages with niche ads and niche fhg's along with relevant text and site reviews, all interlinked.) A few weeks ago he messaged me and has #2 on MSN for a very big niche term and is making sales. I dont really think the result would be much different with any program with a dedicated affiliate support person, or plenty of time to invest.

I'm not sure, but it might actually argue that a small site without a dedicated support person might not have the time for that sort of thing? I seriously doubt thats true either; good support is absolutely critical regardless of size. Poor response will hurt any sized program

Just seems to me that there is no threshold beyond which you can stop responding or helping people out of all sizes and experiences. I think it's just too temptingly easy to say, but it doesnt bear out in my personal experience.

Was just speaking from my experience.

They don't have to give a damn, but many still do. However its my experience that the larger programs look after the whales, but can really neglect the bottom of the pool. With 5000+ affiliates they might not have the resources to handle everything.

Case and point ... I joined a very popular dating site sponsor recently, sent around 40 sales in a week to test them out, and then emailed them some questions. Took almost 1.5 weeks and a follow up email to get a response.

Then again to be fair I have programs like pussycash where adam hits me up almost weekly to see if everything is ok and if theres anything I need from them.

One of the main gripes I think I have is internext and other trade shows. Some sponsors almost cease to exist during those periods, and if you need support you are just going to have to wait a week until they all get back to work. I have two sponsors which do very well for me, but I just switch traffic off over the 2 weeks around internext because in the past when things have gone wrong there was noone home.

[basschick]

ars used to (and may still) have superlative reps. emails were answered the same day and we had phone numbers to call for almost everyone in the company. i don't know if ars still offers this level of support, but their rewards person is still really fast.

last year, my stats for a big program stopped working - just as i started a new campaign. not only did not new stats show, but my old hits and sales disappeared. i emailed my rep, and didn't hear back for around 5 days. she said she'd contact technical support. a week later i still had no hits or sales showing, and tried to contact her again. i had already turned off my google hits, but was hoping to get something going again.

i heard back from her - she forgot to contact the techs but said she would do so. a week later, after not hearing anything and still having no stats, i wrote to someone higher up in the company wondering if anyone else was having this stats program and hoping our problem could be fixed. i heard from our rep again, angry i had gone over her head.

not long afterward, another sponsor was proud to announce she had moved to their program.

so i'm thrilled to pieces when i can find a company that communicates within 24 hours and actually tries to help.