Having just spent two days ill, stuck in front of daytime TV I feel like the world is coming to an end. Every programme was just predicting doom and gloom. It’s been pitched as the worst financial week since 1929, but really! I don’t think it’s all bad.
Lehmans Brother shutting up shop, well actually they haven’t completely shut down. One of my friends still has the pleasure of going to work everyday along with everyone else that wants paying for September. The likes of BarclaysCapital are licking their lips at the chance of picking up some fantastic pieces of business from Lehmans. The North West division being the first to be picked up, and I’m sure plenty of clients have already started moving their business directly across to Barclays. Then there’s the staff, headhunters are already flocking round their building and people are being snapped up. Yes there will be lots of redundancies and yes silly bonus season will end – is it really bad that people won’t walk away with millions in bonuses? People will just have to raise their game to be employed, that’s good for the economy. Why are Lehman’s in this trouble? Well they borrowed too much money and couldn’t service their debt.
AIG going under now this would have been a nightmare, it’s not until you start looking that you realise how much money you spend with them. My annual insure and go policy renewal arrived yesterday, an AIG product. The US Government has put their hand in their pocket to save this, but again it’s a good business with too much debt.
What is becoming very clear is that too much of the economy is funded on debt and that people hadn’t planned for the worst. Don’t think people have noticed that the economy has peaks and troughs, always make sure you’re covered for when the trough hits. Debt is great but use it wisely. XL would still be flying and taking people today, they had a great business model, however they borrowed too much money and couldn’t service the debt. Had that all been wiped out they’d have been able to trade successfully.
Can you pay the mortgage, eat, and pay the gas bill if your income suddenly dried up? Too many people simply can’t, now’s a good time to start planning for a rainy day.
Woolworths is such a shame when they finally die, but is anyone really surprised? They have just failed miserable to understand the 21st century. Does anyone actually shop there anymore? There are so many successful businesses out there that ‘get’ the world we live in, how many affiliates regret selling their ASOS shares at 7p!
Affiliate world is actually one of the best places to be in now the credit crunch is killing the world! Firstly networks are protecting affiliates, networks are paying commissions even when companies go under. We’ve probably seen well on the way to 100 accounts close due to liquidation on AffiliateFuture over the last 12 months. Not one of our affiliates has been affected yet.
Shopping trends are changing, the high street is really struggling for a couple of reasons. Firstly people are being careful with their money, a trip to the high street and you come back with extra goods. Two, it’s cheaper to shop online and it’s much easier to shop around. Thirdly we’re busy people, I don’t have the time to go down the high street. Fourth, the internet is full of offers and incentives, the savvy shopper is winning. All four of those points above lead to more online transactions and affiliate marketing will always generate a chunk of these transactions.
And in case you’re worried about the recent econsultancy report, don’t be affiliate marketing is a seriously good marketing channel, I’m yet to find someone with a well run programme who was actually involved! However it’s those that are doing it properly that are benefiting, I’ll post my thoughts on it in the next few days about it.
