DirectLine - Were They Threatened By Affiliate Sites?
Directline have gone all out on their latest TV campaign to slate comparison websites. Some say that comparison systems were really created by the affiliate community. DL warn consumers to be wary of these sites and branding them 'middle men'. Of course the comparison sites have hit back, with big players like moneysupermarket.com, confused.com and gocompare.com all commenting on the campaign.
(telegraph quote) Richard Mason, a director of moneysupermarket.com, says Direct Line's tactics smack of sour grapes. "Sites such as ours have changed the way people shop for insurance and as a result Direct Line has lost market share," he says, pointing out that websites such as moneysupermarket.com would be happy to include Direct Line's prices in their searches. "We have the technology to access a Direct Line quote for every consumer. But when we try to include them for comparative purposes we are threatened with legal action." He adds: "Consumers can draw their own conclusions about why Direct Line refuses to participate with the various comparison sites. It may be that they don't want consumers to see how uncompetitive their prices really are."
The simple fact is these sites help bring the majority of insurers into one search. The consumer has to then be savvy enough to contact the other insurers if necessary. Tigerstep recommend you shop around, check out the back of national newspapers, comparison sites and other known brands.
Directline conducted a survey which showed that 1/3rd of consumers did not realise that sites received a bounty payment for referring a consumer. Personally since its a comparison site, the owner cannot influence the quote price, in turn giving the customer what they want a comparison!
So will more insurance companies drop their partnerships with comparison based websites. As companies are forced to compete on price they may want to take it out of the public eye and move away from comparison sites. With most sites reliant on the bounty payment as revenue then this could bring the comparison market to a head very quickly.
I recall back to the days when affiliates were allowed opened bidding on brand names on paid search engines. Affiliates had a good run, but this came to a head quickly once big brand retailers realized the reality of the situation. This Directline example could be the start of a seachange in attitudes towards direct comparison sites. Only time will tell!
(telegraph quote) Richard Mason, a director of moneysupermarket.com, says Direct Line's tactics smack of sour grapes. "Sites such as ours have changed the way people shop for insurance and as a result Direct Line has lost market share," he says, pointing out that websites such as moneysupermarket.com would be happy to include Direct Line's prices in their searches. "We have the technology to access a Direct Line quote for every consumer. But when we try to include them for comparative purposes we are threatened with legal action." He adds: "Consumers can draw their own conclusions about why Direct Line refuses to participate with the various comparison sites. It may be that they don't want consumers to see how uncompetitive their prices really are."
The simple fact is these sites help bring the majority of insurers into one search. The consumer has to then be savvy enough to contact the other insurers if necessary. Tigerstep recommend you shop around, check out the back of national newspapers, comparison sites and other known brands.
Directline conducted a survey which showed that 1/3rd of consumers did not realise that sites received a bounty payment for referring a consumer. Personally since its a comparison site, the owner cannot influence the quote price, in turn giving the customer what they want a comparison!
So will more insurance companies drop their partnerships with comparison based websites. As companies are forced to compete on price they may want to take it out of the public eye and move away from comparison sites. With most sites reliant on the bounty payment as revenue then this could bring the comparison market to a head very quickly.
I recall back to the days when affiliates were allowed opened bidding on brand names on paid search engines. Affiliates had a good run, but this came to a head quickly once big brand retailers realized the reality of the situation. This Directline example could be the start of a seachange in attitudes towards direct comparison sites. Only time will tell!
Labels: comparison sites
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