How has the Corona Virus issue changed your business?

[CallAffiliate.com]

I would really like to hear from everyone on this. We can help each other.

So our businesses focuses on pay per call only. While the profit margins could be higher than standard affiliate marketing - the overhead is higher as so many people are involved.

-Software company and their techs, customer support
-Advertisers and their decision makers, their inbound call reps
-Publishers and their marketing efforts
-Our role coordinating the day to day process

Everything has been turned upside down. With the help of Xanax (I am kidding) we have been able to adjust to the changes.

Some of the changes:

We have lost 11 offers to companies who could either no longer take the volume of calls due to the limited amount of call reps allowed in the offices - or worse - everyone is working from home and they are not properly managed and the conversions have dropped. It has been hell. To have to email dozens of publishers who have been making a living off offers that are no longer worthwhile has not been fun. As I type this message a Skype note came in telling me that the company could not provide us with a promised offer simply "due to the corona".

On a positive note we have brought on a dozen newer offers, these offers focus around the ever changing environment we are all dealing with - like getting a degree at home. Many of these offers are from companies who are actually identical to companies who have folded up - they are just bigger and better companies.

So we will see. Too many people are sick.............. but for business, for those who stick with it and hammer it out - it could be a blessing.

The majority of our publishers have been very supportive and optimistic.

CallAffiliate.com

 

[customy]

Its effecting my business in terms of shifting search trends, traffic is really going low these days! but i'm sure all things going to be fine soon.

 

[CallAffiliate.com]

Soon? Going to be another month. 22 million ADDITIONAL people are out of work.

It sure is easier to find people on upwork to make banners, craigslist to do gigs.

 

[Graybeard]

Adapt or die.
General business will be disrupted at least until mid-summer at best.
People are not buying things they don't absolutely need. If they live in an area with a real corona crisis; they are not working, they are adapting to the new situations of getting life's necessities.

A lot this depends on the local areas and the infection rates in that area --that is the psyche you are dealing with.

If you are using call centers in India --you are dead in the water --India is in the middle of a nationwide lockdown.

Most, if not all CPL, is not considered 'essential' and exempt from governmental lock-down orders. Food, medical is the majority of street traffic in the USA now and in many other countries experiencing mandated lock-downs.
Airline reservations have dropped 86% I read, Lawyers are non-essential right now, Insurers are not accepting applications in may cases --there are no personnel in the office to even review them.

US stats
Local Matters a lot right now

I can buy geo segmented and geo-fenced advertising by zip codes (US Postal) also.
For smaller countries https://coronavirus-19-api.herokuapp.com/countries this may give you some clues as where to target ...
Some items are digital and can be used from home, if and only if; people have the money to spend on these things RIGHT HERE AND NOW.

I have been working all week on a database to use to advertise into areas what are not getting hit bad that have good metrics I can use. I am sure that as soon as I have modeled this database I will have to update the stats --the base I am using is 4/12/2020 which has become very outdated. The situation is very fluid --EVERYWHERE affected.

I think there is still money to be made but what worked for you 3 months ago is probably not working well today.

 

[azgold]

Thanks for sharing your challenges, it's a bad time for an awful lot of people, for sure.

Is there government help for small-medium businesses (assuming that's what you are) where you live? Interest-free with partial non-repayable loans to keep the doors open, something like that?

Is there any chance to target specific geos with lower illness rates, as Graybeard suggested? Or any other metric?

 

[azgold]

I saw somewhere earlier today that Yemen had pretty much zero, or nearly zero cases.

Nunavit (in the NWT) won't likely ever get any cases, as they have blocked it off. They are a particularly vulnerable population and won't let any of the rest of us in there. So far, it's working for them.

 

[Graybeard]

Here's some GEOs that are not worried so far ...

 

[azgold]

Rocket launchers might sell well

Not sure what you would sell to Nunavit, either but they do have things they don't or can't get from the land, just not sure about internet up there. I've never seen CPA offers for that geo.

 

[Gabrielmf]

I would really like to hear from everyone on this. We can help each other.

So our businesses focuses on pay per call only. While the profit margins could be higher than standard affiliate marketing - the overhead is higher as so many people are involved.

-Software company and their techs, customer support
-Advertisers and their decision makers, their inbound call reps
-Publishers and their marketing efforts
-Our role coordinating the day to day process

Everything has been turned upside down. With the help of Xanax (I am kidding) we have been able to adjust to the changes.

Some of the changes:

We have lost 11 offers to companies who could either no longer take the volume of calls due to the limited amount of call reps allowed in the offices - or worse - everyone is working from home and they are not properly managed and the conversions have dropped. It has been hell. To have to email dozens of publishers who have been making a living off offers that are no longer worthwhile has not been fun. As I type this message a Skype note came in telling me that the company could not provide us with a promised offer simply "due to the corona".

On a positive note we have brought on a dozen newer offers, these offers focus around the ever changing environment we are all dealing with - like getting a degree at home. Many of these offers are from companies who are actually identical to companies who have folded up - they are just bigger and better companies.

So we will see. Too many people are sick.............. but for business, for those who stick with it and hammer it out - it could be a blessing.

The majority of our publishers have been very supportive and optimistic.

CallAffiliate.com

One thing is clear. Telewroking has been too much set up in many companies due to covid-19. Teleworking process, that was going to be set up in a few years, has been imposied in only a few months.

 

[Graybeard]

I doubt Yemen is much of a digital market these days ...
Rocket launchers might sell well

 

[Graybeard]

What it means: More than two-thirds of that cash—more than $11 trillion—is owned by the richest 10% of American families, and they aren’t in any rush to spend it or invest it productively. In 2020, Americans acquired $3.3 trillion in financial assets, but very little was used to buy corporate equities, mutual funds or bonds, according to the Fed’s data. Most of it just went into the bank.

The bottom 50% of the population has just a sliver of these liquid savings—a little more than $500 billion as of the end of the third quarter, or about 3% of the total.

Today’s Big Number reveals where all the money went last year

Strange election year economy in the USA Covid Pandemic

 

[Graybeard]

Off location or remote working, now that we see both it's efficiencies and deficits in production; Is going to alter real estate values immensely and affect many other services and products.

Transportation, clothing, restaurants and bars(pups) that get substantial revenue that is related to work-lunches, after work social gathering. In time the office furniture sellers will need to adapt.

Property values in business districts will be change --right now much office space is unused --while leases run their course and expire --not renewed or the space leased as replacement much less.

Home office equipment and software as well as new business management software is a bright spot. AI that is business related is booming.

The Pandemic will be seen possibly as historically disruptive --time will tell