Today there are thousands of Network Marketing companies operating throughout the United States‚ Canada‚ Mexico‚ South America‚ the United Kingdom‚ Europe‚ Australia‚ New Zealand‚ Japan and the Pacific Basin. Little Malaysia alone has more than 3000 active Network Marketing companies.
Network Marketing is reported to be a $100 billion dollar industry‚ internationally‚ made up of FORTUNE 500 and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) companies.
In 1993‚ Amway was the fastest growing foreign company in Japan with sales over $1 billion. Discovery Toys markets their products solely by Network Marketing‚ with sales figures in excess of $100 million. Sprint‚ MCI and AT&T make their long distance phone service available through Network Marketing companies. The A.L. Williams Company utilized Network Marketing and astounded the insurance industry by outselling Prudential‚ a giant in the industry‚ in four short years.
Traditional sales method companies such as Colgate-Palmolive and the Gillette Company have Network Marketing subsidiaries. Rexall Drug is now utilizing the Network Marketing method of distribution with its subsidiary‚ Rexall Showcase.
Network Marketing companies such as Melaleuca outperformed Liz Claiborne‚ The Limited and John Paul Mitchell while Nu Skin bested the likes of Maybelline‚ Dow Chemical and Matrix. Mary Kay is bigger than Johnson & Johnson‚ Amway is bigger than Revlon‚ and Avon is bigger than Estee Lauder. Sam Walton‚ the founder of Wal-Mart is quoted as saying‚ "I'd rather run a profitable business in an unconventional industry than an profitable business in a conventional industry."
Network Marketing has evolved in other ways‚ as well. Companies that began as direct selling companies are now utilizing networking marketing compensation plans. Some examples include Avon‚ the $3 billion cosmetic giant‚ Watkins Products‚ which had been direct selling for nearly 100 years before it converted to network marketing‚ and Encyclopedia Britannica.
One reason for the decline of direct selling is that beginning in the 1970's‚ distributors making calls on people found that no one was home. Women‚ long standing as the customer backbone of direct sales‚ had entered the work force‚ leaving few at home during the day. Companies watching these societal trends moved quickly to revise their marketing plans to network marketing‚ which allows for more informal methods of sales and greater compensation.
Network Marketing Companies have actually pioneered entire industries: natural vitamin supplements‚ nutrition and diet drinks‚ concentrated and environmentally friendly household cleaners. One network marketing company almost singlehandedly created the billion dollar home water filtration business.
The Company Wins‚ too why are so many companies utilizing network marketing as their chosen method of marketing? Simply stated‚ it's more efficient! They do not pay for marketing‚ distribution or sales until after the sale is made and the product is delivered.
Compare that to traditional marketing where a company can spend millions of dollars on advertising‚ as well as all costs associated with an employee based sales force‚ such as benefits‚ support staff‚ communication‚ travel and office‚ before any product is sold. charles Givens‚ financial expert and best selling author of Wealth Without Risk‚ points out that 80 percent of the cost of getting a product to consumers today is the result of marketing expenses. Companies are looking to move their cost as close to the point of sale as possible. Network Marketing companies replace traditional advertising and marketing costs with sales commissions to the independent representatives‚ paid after the product is sold.
Advertising Age magazine states that the recommendation from a friend is the most powerful form of advertising; that is what Network Marketing is all about. The changing work place has demonstrated that there is no security in the traditional corporate structure and career path. In the United States over 3‚100 jobs are lost each day due to downsizing. Automation and technological advances are streamlining business and changing entire industries. Millions of people will be out of work searching for the same kinds of jobs their former employers just eliminated‚ in another company that just hasn't yet streamlined.
This is postponing the inevitable; In fact‚ 47 percent of the companies that made up the Fortune 500 in 1980 are no longer in operation today‚ which represents a net loss of more than five million jobs!
Technological advances affect the work forces of entire industries. One example is the vinyl record business. In 1985‚ vinyl records supported a $24 billion a year industry. Today it is all but extinct‚ having been replaced with producers of cassettes tapes and compact discs. The steel and copper industries have suffered with the advent of new plastics and alloys. The functions computers are able to execute have caused the replacement of millions of workers. Robotic technology similarly has taken its toll in the workplace. One robot can replace twenty human workers and extinguishes the need for companies to pay exorbitant amounts in employee benefits. Man Power Inc.‚ a temporary service‚ is now one of the largest employers in the world because companies are finding it less expensive to hire temporary employees and thereby avoid paying benefits to permanent employees.
Marketing on a part-time effort can provide a financial cushion of residual income to protect oneself from such events. A recent Wall Street Journal survey found that 80 percent of the work force wants to own their own business and 40 percent surveyed would like to work at home. This is exactly what network marketing provides. People are searching for ways to build a future that develops leadership and provides a balance in their lives for their families and each other‚ without sacrificing their sanity in the process.