engleski

Challenges of direct selling in digital world: the case of Avon in Croatia

As a direct marketing technique, direct selling is used by both big global corporation and small and medium enterprises to reach their respective customers without the cost of intermediary services of wholesale and retail chains. Before the emergence of the internet, direct selling mostly relied on catalogue sales and interpersonal interaction between sales representatives and prospects in-person or over the telephone. Many companies applied this technique to market different types of goods and services, such as cookware, nutritionals, cosmetics and insurance. Some direct selling companies also offered individuals and small-scale entrepreneurs an opportunity to became part of their sales force network comprising of numerous locally focused sales representatives or sales consultants. Based on face-to-face discussions and product demonstrations, these sales representatives establish strong relationships with prospects and loyal customers. With the emergence of the internet, direct post and print catalogues became obsolete and replaced by direct emails and webshops. Furthermore, communication with prospects and regular customers reached another level with the usage of various social media platforms, which resulted with the birth of the social selling concept. While being explorative in its nature, this paper aims to shed some light on the Avon's direct selling business model in the context of the Croatian market. As one of the pioneers of direct selling in the US, Avon became a global player thanks to its well-developed sales force network. Avon entered the Croatian market in 1997 and managed to develop a network of around 15.000 sales representatives in the following years. Like in the rest of the world, the Avon's business model in Croatia is mainly based on door-to-door sales supported with multiple iterations of product catalogues. With the recruitment of millennials, Avon also put some focus on social selling but lacks to fully utilise the potential of various social media platforms. However, the recent COVID-19 pandemic had a catalytic impact on further digitalization of Avon's direct selling business model.

social selling ; Avon ; Croatia ; multi-level marketing ; direct selling ; COVID-19

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