More sales is not always the ideal
Managing your traffic and sales online is not as clear as generating sales and being happy with it. Knowing who drives these sales and creating a mutually beneficially relationship (good consumer experience and protecting your brand) was the driving reason behind creating our own affiliate network at PHD.
This warning from Easyjet to Expedia and other sites who “scrape” the flight details and sell direct to consumers from their site is a great example that more sales channels you cannot control are not the way forward. Likely increased process and prices for a more complicated booking experience are not in the consumer or brand interest.
You can argue that a sale is a sale, but considering your brand experience is seen in the deal between 02 being the preferred sales partner of iPhone, undoubtedly there would have been more sales of iPhone if it was broadened to other retailers. The insistence from Easyjet that sales should come from their site gives them sight of their own consumers and allows them to manage the dialogue. Taking a short term view you may find that it’s your partners who end up having the conversation, which effectively commoditises the purchase process and leaves you unable to add value via your brand.
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