Direct Selling Business today has developed a lot in the world. Direct Selling Business is considered to be a new revolution all over the world. According to an estimate, today, more than 40 million freedoms have become in the whole world. Direct Marketing is worth more than 200 billion. Selling a large number of products and services through Direct Selling.
The terms direct marketing and direct selling are frequently used interchangeably. However, both terms are, in fact, very different from each other, and a clear understanding of their differences will help direct selling retain its unique identity.
The difference between both methods lies in the means by which a firm generates publicity awareness in the market. While Direct Marketing uses several advertising channels, Direct Selling relies on direct contact with the consumer to generate a specific response that can be measured.
In direct marketing, companies communicate directly with their customers through media such as text messages, direct mail, telemarketing, and online advertisements. The direct selling method is the process of marketing and demonstrating goods or services directly to the consumer through direct contact with the salesperson.
The first consultant of Avon joined in 1886, Mrs P.F.E. Albee. Avon was one of the first direct sales companies to offer fully coordinated earnings opportunities. When she started her career, she sold perfume door-to-door. The industry is dynamic today with the support of the internet and technology, and it continues to grow and thrive in many ways.
Eventually, in 1910, the first Direct Selling Association (DSA) was established in the United States to oversee new companies. This organization was called the Agents Credit Association. Stanley Home Products developed a Party Plan Method – often referred to as the Hostess Reward System – in 1930.
In 1951, Tupperware entered the retail world through both the retail channel and the Party Plan. Due to the success of in-home demonstrations, the company stopped selling to retailers and began exclusively selling to consumers through direct sales.
When Mary Kay Ash founded Mary Kay in 1963, she invested her life savings in launching a company that thrived on a positive culture of inspiration and rewards. The direct selling industry experienced a boom during this period, with many incredible companies entering the field.
Virtual direct selling ignited in 1991, the year that the internet became fully accessible to the world. The National Science Foundation permits commercial use of the internet for the first time.
It was approximately 1995 when some of the international players, such as Sweden-based companies, entered India. There were a few companies already operating in India. Others then began their business in India.
In the year 1995, Direct Selling Business arrived in India, and business activities began in 1998. Arjun Pandit was responsible for bringing the Direct Selling business into India.
In the beginning, people in India liked direct sales very much. Still, because there were no government regulations on direct selling, many fraud companies lured people into this business, robbing them of their money, which is why this is such a popular business in India today. Having been infamous in India, the direct selling company continued to do business there, but due to fraud, the company was confronted with many problems. So, going forward in India, a guideline was developed regarding direct selling businesses.
When Amway first came to India on 5th May 1998, the Indian people didn’t know much about network marketing. Slowly, the concept of network marketing took hold, and everyone started to understand how it worked and how it could help them make money.
Amway was first a distributor of the company, offering a kit that cost Rs 45000. In the kit, there were several home care and personal care products. Many people joined Amway, earning money, then slowly became aware of the concept of network marketing.
IDSA (Foundation of Indian Direct Selling Association)
Several good direct selling firms were subjected to a lot of trouble because of schemes, scams, and scandals, because of which all the companies formed IDSA, which we now call the Indian direct selling association.
In India, IDSA is a consortium of all direct selling companies that establish guidelines and prepare rules and regulations for all direct selling companies. If an organization fails to follow these guidelines, they are denied IDSA recognition.
QNET became the first company to integrate face-to-face direct sales with online ordering in 1998 when it launched an international direct sales company with an emphasis on e-commerce. When the company expanded across borders, it offered products and services to customers around the world seamlessly.
Founded in Hong Kong in 2000, QNET has offices in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Russia, and the CIS region. QNET’s Indian subsidiary, Vihaan Direct Selling (India) Pvt Ltd, is registered in Bengaluru. The company touched the lives of thousands of people across India since it was founded in 2001. Through QNET, people can live healthier, focus on their personal development, enhance their relationships with their friends and family, and plan for a better future, which improves the quality of their lives.
Women contributed over 58.3% in 2013-14, according to the Annual Survey Report. “Women make up a substantial portion of direct sellers, and their numbers are predicted to expand at an annual rate of 8%, reaching a total of 55,07,820 employed women by 2025,” said IDSA’s secretary-general.
Through recognition and support of their mutual interests, DSA has been able to mobilize many different types of companies. As Mario says, DSA can ensure an open and fair market by acting on behalf of companies and individual sellers. Our ability to defeat legislation that would harm direct sellers is nearly unblemished since we decide our course of action based on merit and not on special interests. In addition to providing assistance to legislators in identifying and prosecuting pyramid schemes, we have also worked diligently with many states in enacting legislation to protect legitimate businesses.
