Frequently Asked Questions

Customer Experience

• Will I have control over the design of my product catalog, shopping cart and confirmation page?

  With cleverbridge, you have complete control over all aspects of the shopping experience. Our team works with you to customize the product catalog, shopping cart and confirmation page to your exact specifications.

• Does cleverbridge support one-to-one marketing promotions?

  With the cleverbridge platform, you can create and track one-to-many promotions and one-to-one promotions.

• How many currencies does cleverbridge support?

  cleverbridge supports customer payment in 29 currencies, representing 75 percent of the world’s population.

Distribution

• How fast do you recommend delivering license keys to customers?

  In this digital world, your customers expect immediate product delivery. We recommend and support the ability for you to deliver license keys as soon as payment is confirmed.

• Does cleverbridge have the infrastructure to support high-volume trial downloads?

  Locating our servers in globally recognized data centers and using content delivery networks ensure that your products are always delivered quickly and reliably.

• Can I identify which of my key accounts or resellers I want to buy with purchase orders?

  Yes, you can choose individual customers or customer groups to generate price quotes and purchase your products with purchase orders.

• Can I choose the billing interval for each of my products?

  cleverbridge offers billing cycles annually, quarterly, monthly, weekly and anything in between for each of your products.

• What quality are the CDs and DVDs that cleverbridge uses?

  We believe that only the highest quality media and designs achieve the level of satisfaction and perception of value for the customers and our clients.

Integration

• What happens to my integration if cleverbridge changes its XML data feed?

  We maintain previous versions of our XML data feed structure, which allows you to update the integration at your convenience.

• How does cleverbridge automatically bill my customers based on usage?

  We automatically call your usage database to acquire to latest billable amount based on the most up-to-date usage information. With this method, you always have control over all of your data.

• Do you require my customers to create a new user name and password to access your system?

  We prefer to utilize a single-sign-on integration so your customers can log in through your interface and are never required log in through a cleverbridge interface.

• Do I need to open local bank accounts or sign credit card contracts in order to use the cleverbridge platform?

  No, cleverbridge handles all legal, financial and operations requirements to integrate all payment methods and currencies.

E-commerce

• Do I have the ability to add products and change product prices without contacting cleverbridge?

  With our flexible management tool you can make these changes yourself. However, we also have experienced, dedicated people available to do this for you if you prefer.

• How long do I have to wait before I have access to information from today’s sales?

  All sales made through the cleverbridge platform are available in real time via the Commerce Assistant, nearly real time in your integrated internal systems and within a minute through our Business Intelligence tool.

• Am I able to see which sales are coming from each affiliate?

  Using our Affiliate Center, you have access to this information and more. Our system provides a variety of ways for you to enhance interaction with your affiliates.

• What do I need to do to prevent fraudulent orders using cleverbridge?

  You do not need to do anything. We have extensive automated fraud protection built into our platform and anti-fraud experts monitoring your orders 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

• How can I keep my email lists clean from invalid email addresses?

  Our email platform offers a double opt-in process for newsletter registrations that requires the subscriber to confirm his/her email address. As an additional measure, our system automatically removes hard bounces from the system.

• What can I do to grow our marketing database?

  cleverbridge Message Direct Clients can take advantage of our platform integration by adding newsletter registration fields in the shopping cart check-out process.

Pricing

• Does cleverbridge outsource its order-related support?

  No. We believe that the best customer service is possible by offering in-house customer service representatives who are trained by, evaluated by and a part of the cleverbridge team.

• What if I want to try the cleverbridge platform before deciding to migrate my business?

  We don't offer a self-service sign-up option – we prefer a personal introduction to our system so we can tailor the solution to your needs. Please contact our sales team to set up a demonstration.

• If I only want to sign a six-month contract, is that possible?

  We are flexible with the contract length term. But in every case, our contracts are not exclusive – so that you can leave at any time. We are able to do this because we are so confident with our platform's performance and our outstanding service will well exceed your satisfaction level.

• Will I experience hidden charges with cleverbridge?

  We have built our reputation on providing a world-class e-commerce platform combined with quality service and honesty. Our client base is our best referral and will gladly tell you about the glaring lack of hidden charges. Of course, there may be new or special features that require additional fees, but this is communicated in advance so that there is no surprise.

Infrastructure

• What types of servers do I need in order to use the cleverbridge e-commerce platform?

  You don't need any servers because we host the platform on high-performance, redundant servers in our state-of-the-art data centers.

• Does cleverbridge use the same processes globally to handle customers who call in looking for order-related support?

  There are definitely some regional differences that require us to have slightly different processes in order to provide the best local service possible.

• What hours of coverage does cleverbridge have for data center issues?

  cleverbridge has local network administrators that monitor the data centers and servers 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

Security

• How extensive is cleverbridge's compliance with PCI-DSS?

  All of our offices and data centers are included in our annual PCI-DSS compliance report in order to ensure that no stones are left unturned in the compliance review process.

• Who does cleverbridge use for the annual SAS70 audit?

  cleverbridge uses PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Dusseldorf, Germany and Chicago, USA for all financial audits, including SAS70.

Industry Partners

• Everyone says that they are a Microsoft partner, but what does that mean to you?

  We extensively use Microsoft technology to power our highly available e-commerce platform and downloadable management application, the Commerce Assistant.

• How does cleverbridge choose the data centers that are currently in production?

  In order to be chosen by cleverbridge, a data center must have an extensive track record of safety, stability and security that matches our goal of 99.99 percent uptime.

About cleverbridge

• How much support will I receive during the transition process to cleverbridge?

  We have years of experience transitioning companies from both in-house and out-sourced e-commerce systems to our world-class platform. Therefore, we recommend that you let us lead the integration project to ensure that the business goals you are trying to achieve correspond with the proper technology options available. Beyond your launch date, we continue to consult with you as new APIs and features become available so you are never left on your own.

• I am looking for a company that won't sell me one thing and deliver something else. How does cleverbridge prevent such a situation from occurring?

  We only work with companies that will benefit from our powerful platform and all-inclusive service offerings. We will choose to work with a company only if it makes sense for both of us. Therefore, we have fewer than 500 clients and our accounts team is filled with people who are passionate about e-commerce and have years of experience with cleverbridge.

• I'm thinking about offering a SaaS version of my product. How can cleverbridge support me?

  cleverbridge is able to fully support your SaaS needs. We are always scouting new industry trends to identify opportunities for us to offer additional value. Our platform is an integrated offering where new trends and features don't require you to pay for the privilege or deal with the hassle of migrating to a new platform every few years. SaaS is one of those trends that we identified, integrated and released support for during the last few years.

Management

• How does cleverbridge maintain a multi-lingual organization along with multiple regional offices?

  We believe that the best way to build an organization is from the ground up and that requires personal relationships between the employees. We fund an extensive exchange program that brings together employees from different offices to do more than put a face to a name, but rather to create long lasting friendships.

Partners

• Will I receive a dedicated account manager with cleverbridge?

  Before you even become a client of ours, we assign a dedicated account manager to answer all of your questions. You have the opportunity to get to know your account manager and his/her capabilities during the sales process. Our account managers have an average of at least four years of e-commerce experience.

• Can cleverbridge create more than one look and feel for my customer-facing components (product catalog, shopping cart and checkout process)?

  Yes, our platform is flexible enough to support many different configurations, which can include a variety of styles and elements, within a single client account. This is extremely useful for companies with multiple brands and when running multi-variate tests.

• Once I switch to cleverbridge, do I have the option to pick and choose which of your marketing and affiliate management services I want to use?

  Based on your needs, you can choose which services you would like to take advantage of. You always have the option to add or remove services in the future.

• I don't think that I have enough time to attend a cleverbridge Networking Event. Why should I choose to drop something else to attend this event?

  Our Networking Event is truly is a unique experience. It’s unlike any other conference or event you’ve attended. We consistently receive feedback from attendees about how much they appreciate leaving the day-to-day of their office and spending time in a relaxing environment in order to learn new things. There is no better way to build lasting business relationships than over dinner or a drink in a mutual experience.

• Will I simply be one of many at the event and forgotten once I arrive?

  Absolutely not. We take a proactive approach to ensure that you are personally introduced to relevant attendees who you want to meet or who we think you have something in common with. Our events are by invitation only to maintain this personal touch.

News

• I am looking for a quote from cleverbridge for an article that I’m writing, what’s the best way to approach this?

  Go ahead and submit your request through the contact form and address the message to “I'm from the press...”

• How do I receive the latest news sent directly to me?

  You can follow us on Twitter (@cleverbridge), like us on Facebook or tell us to add you to our email newsletter list by submitting an inquiry through our contact form.

Careers

• What kind of environment is it to work at cleverbridge?

  We pride ourselves on offering a “work hard, play harder” environment. Please take a look at our Flickr page and our Facebook page to see behind the scenes at cleverbridge.

Sellers

• How do I supply campaign-specific content for quarterly promotions?

  Through our Affiliate Center interface, you can provide a variety of promotional content that your affiliates can select from.

• Can I see the names and email addresses of affiliates that sign up using the cleverbridge Affiliate Program?

  You have 24x7 access to all affiliate information. We believe that in order to have a successful affiliate program, you must build relationships directly with your affiliates – and our system provides you all of the tools to do that.

• How many banners can I upload to the Affiliate Center?

  An unlimited amount of banners and text ads can be uploaded into the Affiliate Center.

• If our affiliates use Paid Search, how are conversions tracked?

  Within the Affiliate Center, affiliates can easily add Third Party Tracking to a seller’s “thank you” page.

• What assistance does cleverbridge provide for optimizing my affiliate program?

  We have experienced affiliate managers who draw upon their real-world success to provide analysis and input about your program. It is unrealistic to expect that a short-term consultant will dramatically change the trajectory of your results. A long-term partnership is required to have a lasting impact.

Affiliates

• If I have a problem, who do I contact?

  The cleverbridge Affiliate Team is always available to answer questions about the platform, reporting or your payouts. Feel free to contact them at am@cleverbridge.com.

• How do affiliates know when they referred a sale?

  Affiliates are sent confirmation emails for each sale. This provides the order reference number, date & time of order, commission earned, etc. Reports are also available in the Affiliate Center.

• What commission rate do affiliates earn?

  Commission rates are defined by the product seller. It is displayed in the Affiliate Center for each product.

• What is the payment frequency?

  On the 16th of each month affiliates will be paid their commission for the previous month, provided the account balance has reached the minimum amount of 100 EUR/USD/GBP required for payment. cleverbridge offers payment by ACH payment, PayPal, Check (US Only), and wire transfer.

• Are Paid Search campaigns tracked?

  Microsoft AdCenter, Google Adwords, Adcell, and Yahoo conversions can be tracked through the cleverbridge Affiliate Center.