Dhanesh Haridas

During the COVID period, many people grew more and more concerned about their health and safety. As a result, those in the industry-related health and wellness industry saw an increase in sales. The pandemic was unprecedented and left a deep impact on the world economy. It led to global economic deflation of 4.4% in 2020, according to IMF estimates. This research explores how COVID-19 affected direct selling brands and its impact on the network marketing companies themselves as well as their customers during this period. The research also covers a comparison of search popularity between different brands, with some seeing an increased growth rate in terms of revenue while others struggled to sustain it due to lack of demand for products etc.
https://www.epixelmlmsoftware.com/blog/direct-selling-brand-search-trends-covid

The COVID pandemic caused a sharp increase in people’s search for products and services related to health and wellness. In the research, it is found that some of the direct selling companies saw their sales shoot up during this period. Of all the companies studied, those with higher search volume have increased growth rates in terms of revenue.

Amway, a well-known brand of household and personal care products, has reported an increase in sales despite the COVID pandemic. In 2019, Amway had annual retail sales of $8.4 billion by 2020, this number increased to $8.5 billion(https://www.directsellingnews.com/amway-reports-2020-sales-of-8-5-billion/ ). This slight increase in net revenue is also reflected in the search volume for the company with 1.5 million searches before COVID and 2.24 million within the pandemic.

Another direct selling company, Natura & Co(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natura_%26_Co ), a Brazilian cosmetics company has seen its growth increase by 22.4% from the pre-COVID period, with search volume surpassing $7.16 billion in 2020, according to research The report states that Natura’s retail sales increased by 96% in comparison to 2019 and reached having high sales revenue.

Health and Wellness With Direct Sales is Growing

In recent years, the health and wellness industry has experienced growth. This is due to the increased number of people in need of healthy living products. The direct sales sector would continue to grow surpassing higher numbers in revenue. Direct sales companies provide several health and wellness products(https://www.epixelmlmsoftware.com/blog/wellness-growth-with-direct-sales ) to their customers. Consumers are exposed to a wide range of health and wellness products from vitamins to fitness equipment as well as clothing that promotes healthy living. Let us analyze some stats of the top direct selling companies in the recent past.

Top direct selling companies from the health and wellness sector had experienced a considerable increase in their revenue, in recent times. These companies include Amway, Tupperware, Herbalife Nutrition, Nature’s Sunshine, Nu Skin, and Medifast. In the United States alone more than 40 million people are involved with direct sales(https://www.statista.com/statistics/874793/number-of-people-involved-in-direct-selling-us/ ) for health and wellness.

In Q1, 2021, Herbalife reported net sales of $1.5 billion which is 18.9% higher than their net sales in the first quarter of 2020.
The net sales of Nature’s Sunshine increased 7% to $102.4 million in Q1, 2021.
Nu Skin reached $677 million in Q1, 2021, a 31% increase from that of last year.
The Q1 revenue in 2021 of Medifast, increased by 90.9% over the prior year, to $340.7 million, and net income increased 122.2% to $41.1 million between Q1, 2020 and Q1, 2021.

With the rising need for good quality health care products, direct sales companies have delivered the best products and services. Health and wellness are one of the fastest-growing industries in direct sales. People are always looking for new ways to improve their health(https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rise-health-conscious-consumer-tara-quick/ ), whether it be by purchasing healthy food or using natural supplements like vitamins.

Direct Selling Industry Researches And Interesting Studies in the Year 2021

The direct selling industry has grown by 12% since 2016. In spite of the economic turbulence, this industry has seen accelerated growth in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down. In 2021, the direct selling industry stood strong to face any adverse situation(https://www.epixelmlmsoftware.com/blog/direct-selling-industry-2021 ) and even saw an increase in its revenue. In 2021, direct selling companies across the globe were awarded many accolades for their outstanding contribution, innovation, and commitment in various fields.

Sales, revenue(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue ), and recognitions apart, 2021 also witnessed some outstanding industry research and studies that are intended to provide actionable insights for businesses and demand great appreciation.

1. DSA Growth and Outlook Survey
The study by the U.S. Direct Selling Association predicted a 4-7% growth for the direct distribution channel in 2021. On the basis of this forecast, the direct selling retail sales are expected to rise between $41.7 billion and $42.9 billion.

2. Search Popularity of Top Direct Selling Brands
Recent research by Epixel analyzed the search popularity of the top 50 direct selling brands. Based on the data from Google Trends(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Trends ), the study uncovered interesting insights on the search popularity of direct selling brands around the world.

3. The Medifast Study on Consumer Health Priorities
Medifast, the direct selling organization OPTAVIA’s parent organization conducted a study on the health priorities of U.S. adults. It says that 93% of U.S. adults have adopted health and wellness goals with 84% actively working to achieve them. 76% of U.S. adults prioritized their health solely to enhance their physical and mental well-being. Whereas, 67% are motivated by the fact that having more energy helps reduce stress and anxiety.

4. Young Living Wellness Survey
The survey conducted on 5000 adults across the world determined the wellness habits of consumers and the impact of COVID-19 in the changing attitudes of people on personal well-being. 48% of respondents are making wellness and self-care a top priority.

Different studies conducted by different associations have helped the industry as a whole to understand varying trends and how they could influence the industry, especially post-pandemic.

Customer Relationship in Direct Selling - Know How!

Engaging your customers in the right way is as important as making profits. Subscriptions and loyalty programs are an indirect way of telling your customers that you value them or they are your premium customer. Customer engagement paired with loyal strategies is aiming at relationships at a more personal level than the usual business relationship. This is one of the key strategies of a direct selling e-commerce business (https://www.epixelmlmsoftware.com/blog/ecommerce-direct-selling-tips ). Be its a cashback feature or a scratch card or a prime subscription feature, this brings customers closer by building their trust and relationship with the brand.

These reward programs while making purchase and delivery give added advantage to the customers and at the same time brings revenue to the company. $478.2 billion is the approximate revenue expected to be generated through subscriptions by 2025. This also helps with retaining great customer relationship management.

Recent research has shown that companies that engaged with their B2B customers managed to reduce customer loss by 63% (https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2019/09/24/50-stats-that-prove-the-value-of-customer-experience ). This has resulted in increased wallet share by 55% and productivity boost by 50%. Direct Selling being the most customer-centric industry, the strategy can do wonders to create customer connections at more intelligent levels.

It is important to identify your customers accurately and understand their needs and preferences. Various social media platforms, website forms, polls, and questionnaires could be used to extract the right data (https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-data-collection ). Online paid surveys are yet another tool to get a detailed understanding because people tend to share their personal information when they are incentivized.

Ultimately, you should stay honest with your customers and deliver what it promised to them. Loyal customers tend to forgive even if the company makes a mistake in unforeseen circumstances and that depends upon the relationship that is built with them. Ideally, the goal is to build a business with increased retention rates and positive feedback. Word of mouth does matter a lot, and you decide on what your customers should speak about you through your business.

MLM Compensation Plans: Why They're So Important


Direct selling is a large industry with millions working across the world. Multi-level marketing thrives on direct selling and recruiting others into the business opportunity. It operates by having distributors sell its products or services. Keeping the distributors anchored with the business is a really important task. They should feel on board with the business plan and be compensated fairly for their efforts. Compensation plans signify the nature of an MLM business. MLM compensation plans ( https://www.epixelmlmsoftware.com/blog/types-of-mlm-compensation-plans ) are the way that direct sales companies reward their distributors for their sales and business efforts. Distributors generally look for an ideal compensation plan where they can improve their career growth. Follow are popular compensation plans in network marketing:

1. Unilevel MLM Plan
2. Binary MLM Plan
3. Matrix MLM Plan
4. Stairstep Breakaway MLM Plan
5. Board MLM Plan
6. Generation MLM Plan
7. Monoline MLM Plan
8. Other Hybrid MLM Plans

MLM organizations should consider several factors prior to choosing their compensation plan. Type of the product or service, price of the products, business goals, total payout volume, payout distribution, business capital, etc. are some of the factors to consider while opting for a compensation plan for your MLM business.

The MLM ( https://www.thebalancesmb.com/mutli-level-marketing-mlm-1794427 ) compensation plan is a fundamental part of the direct selling business. A well-thought-out and executed compensation plan can have a significant impact on the success of an MLM company. A good compensation plan will incentivize distributors with multiple streams of income: commissions on product sales, bonuses from recruitment efforts, and commissions on purchases made by team members, etc. The best plans offer stability for both distributors ( https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-to-find-a-wholesale-distributor-2531713 ) and organizations by ensuring that all participants in the system are rewarded for their efforts.

MLM compensation plans are often an important decision for any direct selling company. Understanding the pros and cons of each type of plan is key to choosing the right one for your business.

Prevent Overpayment of Commission in Your Binary MLM Business

Binary MLM plan is one of the most desirable compensation plans (https://www.epixelmlmsoftware.com/blog/binary-mlm-plan-most-suited-for-business ) in the network marketing industry. It has attracted the attention of prospects and entrepreneurs alike, with its simple structure and flexible nature. As much as it is important to incentivize your distributors adequately, you must also pay attention to how ideal your payout distribution is. Overcompensation can be big trouble if left unnoticed by the organization. This can be controlled by commission capping and flushing, to an extent. Let us understand some ways to prevent the overpayment of commissions.

- Instead of paying a percentage of all weaker leg sales, pay bonuses by weaker leg sales volumes in cycles.
- Flush out the sales in stronger legs after a specific value, so that it is not carried over to the next sales cycle.
- Certain commissions in a binary MLM plan can cause overpay. Identify these and devise capping plans to prevent overpayment.
- Identify the inactive distributors in the tree and stop paying them for their downline sales and or previous sales after a specific time period.
- Analyze your total payout volume for each sales cycle and make necessary changes to your binary MLM plan.

The process of setting a value for sales volume (https://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-sales-sales-volume-22452.html ) for processing commissions is called capping. This assures financial stability as it helps in simple weekly payouts and flushing out excess sales volume.

If you are new to the binary MLM plan, it is important to understand how it works. You will need to know about your compensation and break-even point before deciding if this business opportunity is right for you. This type of business can be successful if you understand how to create a productive business model with the binary MLM compensation plan. Understand the ups and downs of the compensation plans (https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15831-create-compensation-plan.html ) and choose the right one for you.

Effective Distributor Onboarding is Crucial for the Success of Your Network Marketing Business

Onboarding is the process of familiarizing a newcomer to a new environment. This is very important in a work environment. The effectiveness of onboarding strategies determines how productively your distributors would start their careers. The onboarding process is a great opportunity for distributors to learn and familiarize themselves with the strategies and leaders of the business. This creates a sense of confidence and knowledge within them, which is very important in their productivity and long-term retention. Following are some of the ways to empower your distributor onboarding process in direct sales(https://www.epixelmlmsoftware.com/blog/distributor-onboarding-direct-selling ):

- Make distributors understand the purpose of the organization and their role in it. Walk them through every process and benefit of this business. Make them practice with your supervision. This helps you to correct them and improve their direct selling skills.

- Make them customer-ready, rather than business-ready. They need to establish positive relationships rather than just selling products. This is the very spirit of direct selling: customer-centricity(https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/client-centric.asp ). Keep them updated with the trends in the industry for a better understanding of their purpose.

- Make more efforts into improving their products such as interactive training sessions, rewards and recognition programs, gamification of routine activities, etc. This keeps them motivated and improves their satisfaction and productivity.

- Improve the involvement of sponsors throughout the onboarding process. Make sponsor-led training programs, community events, etc. This exposure with leaders improves the confidence of the distributors.

The first step in a distributor's journey is their onboarding. Effective onboarding will help your network marketing(https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/network-marketing.asp )business succeed. Many companies use ineffective techniques that only give the appearance of being successful. These tactics don't allow distributors to see the benefits of joining your company and they are left feeling unimportant, discouraged, and frustrated with no desire to work for you or buy products from you. Effective distributor onboarding is crucial for the success of your network marketing business.

US DSA Awards - Giving Direct Selling Companies the Spotlight They Deserve

In the world of direct selling, there are many companies that have made significant contributions to the industry. The US Direct Selling Association (DSA) annual awards honor their member companies and their achievements. DSA awards of 2021(https://www.epixelmlmsoftware.com/industry-news/us-dsa-awards-2021 )were held on November 2nd, 2021 and many personalities attended this event in person in New Orleans and also virtually.

The Direct Selling Association (DSA)(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Selling_Association )is dedicated to promoting and protecting the ethical interests of direct selling companies. The DSA awards function recognized the contributions of the 25 largest of its member companies to the industry with prestigious honors for their achievements in various fields. The event also introduces innovative methods for reshaping the current direct selling industry.

The awards and the winners are listed below:

Excellence in Business --- Scentsy Inc. (Quick Pivots)
Technology Innovation --- Saladmaster (Saladmaster VX)
Marketing/Sales Campaigns --- Scentsy Inc. (Bring Back My Buddy)
Product Innovation --- USANA Health Sciences (Mood and Relaxation Products)
Vision for Tomorrow --- USANA Health Sciences (USANA Kids Eat)
Partnership --- PayQuicker

The DSA awards ceremony is one of the most anticipated events in the direct selling industry. It honors some of the most deserving individuals in this thriving industry and gives a sense of appreciation to those who have worked hard for years to make it what it is today. The 2021 Hall of Fame award was presented to Heidi & Orville Thompson of Scentsy, Inc based on their contributions to DSA and DSEF(https://www.dsa.org/about/direct-selling-education-foundation ).

The ceremony announced the 25 largest direct selling companies in the United States based on their contribution to the direct selling industry. The companies included in this category were, 4Life, Ambit Energy, Amway, Arbonne International LLC, CUTCO/Vector Marketing Corporation, Herbalife Nutrition, Isagenix International, LifeVantage, Mary Kay Inc., Medifast, Melaleuca Inc., Modere, Nu Skin Enterprises, Pampered Chef, Princess House Inc, Scentsy Inc, SeneGence International, Shaklee Corporation, The Avon Company, The Juice Plus+ Company LLC, Thirty-One Gifts, USANA Health Sciences Inc., Xyngular, Young Living, and Younique LLC.

Direct selling brands are becoming more and more popular across the world. With a rise in technology, these direct selling companies have taken on new forms to cater to their ever-changing customer base. Direct selling is an excellent way to make an income, with many people joining these companies because they are looking for more flexibility in their lives. Research has been conducted and found the top direct selling brands and the countries where they are most popular. Let’s discuss some of them.
https://www.epixelmlmsoftware.com/blog/direct-selling-brand-search-trends

Trends in Europe:
The leading markets in Europe are not one-sided. They each have their own different product categories that they are popular for, but when it comes to search trends, wellness and personal care products dominate the searches in Europe. The leading markets in Europe are Germany ranking first, followed by France at second place.


Trends in South America:
O Boticário(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Boticário ), the largest cosmetic company, has been famous in Brazil for the past 5 years and still continuing. For Hinode cosmetics, Alto Paraná in Paraguay is the top city. DXN has been trending in search in Bolivia, followed by Mauritania in second place. Lyconet has been dominating the search trends for 3 consecutive years and its products have been distributed worldwide. It is most popular in the city of Strumitsa.

Trends in North America:
North America holds generates 50% of revenue in the global market for direct selling(https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/337579 ). The direct selling market in North America is the largest in the world and has witnessed considerable growth over recent years with companies across a multitude of industries establishing their presence here. In US, Exp Realty is the most searched direct selling brand with its second-most popularity across Canada.

Any organization would want their leads to be excited about their products. Generating that interest across leads requires the delivery of relevant content at the right time. In the right way. Every business needs a strong marketing strategy to be successful. One of the most important aspects of any company's marketing plan is lead generation (https://www.epixelmlmsoftware.com/blog/mlm-lead-generation-ideas). Leads are people who have shown interest in your product or service and may be looking for more information on it. Generating leads can be difficult, but there are plenty of platforms that can help you do so with ease!

Leads are spread across a wide range of online platforms. There are plenty of ways to get their attention with minimum time and effort. Let us understand some of the ways to make the lead generation process effective.

Podcasts: Podcasts can be customized with content leads would normally search for. Product information, business events, promotions, FAQ, etc can be discussed on podcasts (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast ). Leads are generally convinced by the interest you show in answering their questions.

Landing pages: These are the windows through which leads look at your brand for the first time. So it is imperative to have your landing pages customized with relevant information, attractively. Landing pages provide greater opportunities for interactive content like sign-up forms and newsletter subscriptions.

Email campaigns: Send emails at ideal intervals to grab leads’ attention with promotions, exclusive offers, newsletters, etc. Grow your prospects' interests with compelling content. Emails are a less bothersome way to approach new leads when done at the right frequency (https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/benefits-of-email-marketing ).

Chatbots: Use intelligent chatbots to make an impression on the leads that visit your website. Use simple language and interactive conversations to engage prospects with key information.

There are many ways to generate interest in leads for your direct selling business. Using the right tools and platforms can be an effective way to help you grow your sales by generating interest across all of your marketing channels.