[Linda Buquet]

Wow Gregory you guys really have it covered.

You brought up something I wanted to bring up but didn't have a chance to - the HUMAN element of phone tracking. Even once you get the code working next the phone #, (if you do it that way) the rep has to ask, and/or the customer has to offer the aff ID. Not only that, but then someone has to collect all the sale/affiliate id data and at some point manually enter into the tracking solution/network. With one company I implemented phone tracking on, the tech part was pretty easy but the human part was a mess and as an outsourced manager I could not be there onsight in the phone room cracking the whip to be sure affiliate ids were input - it was a constant battle and I wasn't the boss. Very frustrating.

So what you're doing really helps take the human part out of the pic and make the whole thing much more automatic. I must say though that for the "average" merchant who only has an "average" commitment to the affiliate channel, that may be more cost/time/effort than they are willing to devote. Which is part of what makes affiliate-centered programs like yours stand out from the pack.