In this weeks Network Marketing News, we are going to look at some Direct Selling companies who are helping to get the MLM community some great main stream press. Plus some Direct Selling News…
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Adapting to a New Era in Marketing: Why Social Media Managers Are Changing the Way Direct Selling Companies Operate
According to a recent report from Marketing Pilgrim, social media accounts for only 16 percent of customer engagement today. However, this number is expected to rise to 57 percent in just five years, making social media the second-most used channel for businesses and their customers, behind face-to-face interaction.
Recognizing that both customer engagement and field development are largely impacted by a company’s social media presence, many direct selling companies have established social media manager titles and similar positions tasked with monitoring, posting and measuring the effectiveness of outreach via platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Although these platforms were once considered personal-use-only, the rise in social media management titles reflects a shift in the understanding of how social networking sites serve as key resources for companies both big and small. (Read The Full Report)
Network Marketing Companies In The News
MountainWest Capital Network recently released its 2012 List of Utah’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies. Nu Skin and USANA were ranked in the Top 15 at Nos. 3 and 9 respectively, while LifeVantage and Supplier member Integracore appeared in the unranked Top 100. Listed on the unranked Utah Emerging Elite list is non-member Miche Bag. MountainWest Capital Network is a business networking organization dedicated to supporting entrepreneurial success in Utah.
AdvoCare will be receiving the Director’s Outstanding Business Award from Northwestern State University’s School of Business. The company’s founder, the late Charles Ragus, will be honored as a School of Business Distinction Recipient.
Amway recently sponsored a fall harvest party for 500 elementary school students in Grand Rapids, Mich. Fifty employees volunteered at the event where kids were able to do crafts, get their faces painted, go on a hayride and more.
In other company news, Amway Canada celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this month.
CieAura has concluded negotiations with Digital Media Group (DMG) whereby DMG has acquired certain operating assets of the direct selling company. Ken Rasner, Founder and CEO of CieAura, will assume the title of Chairman Emeritus and Paul Rogers, formerly COO of CieAura, will become the CEO of DMG.
The Fuller Brush Company’s consumer business has been purchased by Victory Park Capital (VPC). David Sabin has been named the new CEO of the company. VPC has been Fuller Brush’s lender since 2010, has a strong track record of successfully restructuring businesses and is deeply familiar with the company. David noted that he intends to introduce new products to re-establish Fuller and Stanley Home Products as premier brands in their markets. Founded in 1906, Fuller Brush filed for bankruptcy in February 2012.
The Herbalife Family Foundation, through its Casa Herbalife program, provided a $50,000 grant to foster youth at Koinonia Homes for Teens in Loomis, Calif. The donation will provide the teens with an upgraded kitchen, healthier meals and better therapy for eating disorders.
Medifast, parent company of Take Shape for Life, was recognized by Forbes Magazine as No. 10 out of 100 on its annual list of “Best Small Companies in America.” This is the third consecutive year Medifast was included in the ranking, previously ranked No. 12 in 2011 and No. 1 in 2010.
Scentsy recently donated more than $781,500 to the American Heart Association. The money was raised from sales of its “Heartfelt” charitable cause warmer and was the company’s largest cash donation to date. To celebrate, Scentsy hosted a fun run/walk for its consultants and employees at Kleiner Memorial Park in Meridian, Idaho.
Stanley Home Products recently celebrated its 81st anniversary.
Tupperware recently reported third-quarter 2012 sales and profit, with sales down 1 percent in dollars and up 6 percent in local currency. GAAP net income for the quarter was $47.5 million compared with 2011 third-quarter GAAP net income of $10.5 million, which included a non-cash impairment charge of $36.1 million. The company repurchased in the open market 469,000 shares for $25 million in the third quarter of 2012. Since 2007, the company has repurchased 14 million shares for $728 million and can repurchase additional shares worth up to $472 million under its current authorization that runs until Feb. 1, 2015. The company expects to repurchase $100 million worth of shares in the fourth quarter of 2012. View the full press release online.
USANA announced its financial performance for the third quarter of 2012. Net sales for the quarter increased by 15.1 percent to $165.2 million, compared with $143.5 million in the prior-year period. The growth in net sales was driven by increases in both the company’s Asia Pacific and North America/Europe regions. Changes in currency exchange rates reduced net sales by nearly $1 million. Net earnings for the third quarter increased to $17.5 million, an increase of 41.2 percent, compared with the prior-year period. Net sales in the Asia Pacific region increased by 21.6 percent to $102.7 million, compared with $84.5 million for the third quarter of the prior year. This improvement was due to strong sales growth in Southeast Asia/Pacific and Greater China. During the third quarter of 2012, net sales in the North America/Europe region increased by 5.9 percent to $62.5 million, compared with $59 million in the prior-year period. The number of active associates in North America/Europe declined modestly, compared with the third quarter of 2011. View the full press release online.
PRESS RELEASE
Oct 22,2012 Santa Monica, California
Shopping Sherlock announced that the 3 month growth in Alexa page views of 170% is the highest growth rate in the Direct Sales space as reported by Ted Nuyten’s leading MLM blog Businessforhome.org.
The rise in web traffic correlates with the increase in new distributors and Company revenues. New distributorships are up over 300% in that period and overall revenues are up over 50%.
Michael Wiedder, CEO of Shopping Sherlock stated that the growth is a direct correlation to the launch of new products and tools. “We released our Daily Deals platform in 12 countries and just recently launched Taiwan as well. With our platform you have access to the top Daily Deal Company’s worldwide and our distributors make affiliate income as people buy and use the same Daily Deals that they are currently buying.
In addition to seeing and buying the Daily Deals from our site, as people are searching for products and services on Google, Yahoo or Bing, our technology lets them know if there is a Daily Deal, or a coupon available for what they are searching for, right from the search engines. As our distributor’s share the Daily Deals or coupons via facebook or other social media , it tracks the sales right back to the distributor’s account, and they make money.”
Wiedder also shared that they are launching their new mobile application on November 1st. The mobile app will allow people to find Daily Deals and Coupons, wherever they are worldwide. It uses your smart phones geo-location feature to show you the Daily Deals and coupons that are available where you are and pays for using those deals and sharing the app with other’s.
In addition, Shopping Sherlock is launching a Social Media platform for their reps this week. Wiedder stated, “ The Social Media platform will give Shopping Sherlock reps, their own blogs that will integrate with all their social media accounts. This combined with the marketing system the distributors receive, gives them turnkey tools to help share and build their businesses.”
Wiedder’s goal is for Shopping Sherlock to be the place to go to find the best deals on products and services both on the Internet and on mobile devices. He believes that as people continue to give the product away for free and benefit as people save money, the Company will continue to duplicate the growth they have achieved in the last 90 days in customers, revenues and new distributors.
For additional info: michael@shoppingsherlock.com