As the NBA playoff roles through the final round, I am reminded of the old basketball adage, “always feed the hot shooter.” The idea is that when a player is shooting well, you will score more points by going to the hot hand than by arbitrarily passing scoring opportunities around the entire team.
This adage is also valuable advice for publishers as they consider a product linking service. One thing a publisher should internalize is that not all retailers shoot the same percentage. Measuring retailers by the sales dollars they generate per lead, the simple truth is that some retailers are many multiples more productive that even their closest competitors. There are a number of issues that likely drive this difference; including price, availability, selection, and service but that is a subject for another post. In short, the best retailers have created a formula that better meets the customer’s needs and customers respond with their wallet.
Regardless of the reason, this state of affairs has a number for implications for publishers:
· For publishers with a vested interest in generating product sales, where you send your traffic impacts your top line. Any product linking decision which does not use sales per lead as a key component of determining the order in which to render retailers, costs you sales. If you purposely or accidently bury your hot merchants for too long, it could cost you the ballgame. Organizations may choose to accept this cost but they should do so with eyes wide open as to the very real and immediate impact of such decisions.
· For publishers who focus on their end-user’s experience, the implication is similar. Like fans attending a game, customers show support with their purchases. A high sales value per lead over time reflects the retailer’s winning formula. Rendering winning retailers higher on the page helps ensure that a publisher’s end-users will have a positive buying experience.
Feed the hot retailer or be ready to end the game with fewer sales and less satisfied users.
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