Everyday
new products are launched and they flood the market. In a country where the
population is more than a billion its easy to make a profit and stay afloat in
the business. India is supposed to be a great market for foreign enterprises. They
see India as a huge market where gaining profit is a lot easier than the rest of
the world. In this time of fierce competition now a new strategy of direct
selling network is coming up. Here the products do not flood the shops or
market area but they meet direct clients who become a member of the company and
sell products among their friend circle. Today my blog is about these direct
selling companies.
Direct
selling refers to selling products directly to the consumer in a non-retail
environment. Instead, products go from manufacturer to the direct sales company,
to the distributor or rep, and to the consumer
.
It all started during the
nineties… as far as I know of. Tupperware was the first company that bought this
concept of direct selling. Every Monday there would be meeting and training
programs to train the new joining members and recruit them. It was compulsory to
place an order to rs 4500 and the company would gift kits of its own products
. This kit was used for demonstrating product features and utility. Soon it
became a hit and every household was using Tupperware products. Likewise, Amway, Oriflame, Avon, etc flooded the
market.
This new marketing
concept worked on the concept that the margin the shopkeeper was getting was
cut off and the company sold it's good to direct to consumers. This made the product
cheaper. Secondly, these companies did not spend money on advertisement instead
their market was captured with the word of mouth. Since most of the members
were housewives who were targetted by the company the word from the mouth not
only make them believe in the product but also increased the sale.
There is always a saturation
point and the market slowly forgets these companies but a company is always ready to
take its place. Many companies come, conquered and left. New companies are always
waiting for their turn to conquer the market and fill the vacuum.
Reshma, in her early twenties, had
ventured out from to rule the world with her ambitions and desires. By accident, she met one of these direct selling companies and now she desired was to rule
the sector of direct selling. She worked hard and her labor also bore
fruits. She became successful in no time. Direct selling bought her fame and
money. After some time she reached her saturation point and started finding this
work boring and she no longer took interest in her work. Slowly her companion
took over her and Reshma disappeared in thin air.
There was also Sumana who was a different story to tell. She never could to the top in this field of
direct selling. She worked with a company for five years and slowly she small
amounted cheques began to dry up and finally the company was declared bankrupt
and all Sumana's dreams were crushed.
So these direct selling
companies you never know when it is going to flourish and for how long. However, a new company
is always emerging to spend no time in joining it and continue as you have always
worked. With the right attitude and skills, you never know where it can take you
as we know the sky is always the limit.
