Telephone Tracking

One continual bone of contention in the Affiliate Marketing arena is the use of prominent telephone numbers on Merchant websites, some Merchants however have addressed the problem by putting in place systems to track affiliate sales via the telephone. So how can it be done?

1) Use a Cookie to display an Affiliate reference number

The cookie is traditionally used for tracking but its power doesn’t have to end when the telephone is used. A merchant can use a cookie to display an affiliate ID number to the customer. This affiliate ID number is a ‘Quote Reference’ that the customer needs to use when phoning in an order. An ideal way to publish the number on a web page is in the following format.

Telephone: 0871 000 000 Quote reference: AC1111

In order to track the sale telephone staff need to be trained to ask for the reference number, the installation of a dedicated phone line solely for Affiliate generated orders will help ensure ALL orders are tracked correctly.

2) Use a ‘Phone back’ Form

Another method of tracking the affiliate sale is to use a ‘phone back’ form which enables the merchant to phone customers back. In this form the affiliate ID is included as a hidden field, so when the form is received it is obvious if they’ve been referred by an affiliate or not.

A leading independent travel merchant uses method one, with a dedicated phone line, to track affiliate sales on the telephone and prides itself in the fact that the system is almost watertight.