White label – A re-branded version of a product or service designed and delivered by one company and promoted as their own by another.

There are many successful white label propositions working for both partners successfully.  It makes sense for an online pet store to partner with an insurance company to offer a re-branded pet insurance, or an advice site on bringing up children to partner with a company selling sticker charts and re-brand them as their own.

However, there is another breed of white label producers that are approaching companies with large databases (typically those not currently commercialising their databases) and offering them opportunities to make lots of money from their white label proposition.

Things to double-check before entering into these agreements:-

• Do the commercials add up?  Ask to see examples of conversion rates with other partners, speak to other people running the partnerships (and ask them if it is working to the levels promised).
• Is there a minimum commitment to promote the product and service?  If this involves getting a minimum number of individuals to click on the product (avoid) as this could lead to you committing to sending multiple emails.
• Ultimately, you will be emailing your members with a third-party offer (despite it having your branding).

a)  Do you have the correct permissions to do this?
b)  Will the users be happy to receive it? If not, there could be a negative impact on your key product or service.
c) Does it make commercial sense? Work out you ROI or equivalent value per 1000 emails sent.
d) Will it have a negative impact on your deliverability?

• Does the company have a viable business model that is working independently? If not, what does your company have that will make it a success?  If it is a close alliance with complementary products and services, then it may be worth exploring further. However if it is a large database, then it might be that the company offering the white label is seeing it as an option to promote what they have to sell cheaply, with no risk to themselves.

If you are considering alternative ways to generate income for your business, then don’t discount monetising your database, but approach it like all good business decisions by gathering all the facts , exploring the options and considering more than one option.  Don’t be drawn into promises of large amounts of money (with no guarantee) in return for damaging your client database.

Sara Watts – Data Media and Research