Direct selling is a unique business model that eliminates intermediaries in the supply chain. Many companies adopt this model and grow their sales and revenue significantly by building a skilled set of distributors. These individual sales representatives of direct selling companies promote products and services by making direct relationships with customers.

The latest technological advancements and changing customer behaviors are causing functional shifts in the direct selling business. These transformations can change the way the direct selling business operates today. In this article, we will explore the major functional shifts that are reformulating direct selling business operations.

Transformations in direct selling business

Business resilience
Business resilience refers to the ability of the organization to act quickly, adapt to changes, and overcome the obstacles deriving from uncertain events. The operations of direct selling businesses are influenced by many factors, such as economic, environmental, technical, political, etc. These factors affect business operations either positively or negatively. Companies need to prepare for uncertain events that harm business performance to survive in the dynamic market. Often, adapting to the changes quickly and overcoming obstacles with effective strategies paves the path to success.

One of the best ways to build resilience in the direct selling business is training distributors effectively. Distributors are the core elements of business,they help to generate sales and revenue. Upskilling distributors with relevant training to thrive in adverse conditions is important to success. Effective training enables distributors to work collaboratively and reformulate their strategies to meet the challenges and obstacles successfully. Which ultimately helps direct selling business to increase the overall performance of the organization.

Automation and Artificial Intelligence
Automation is the process of using various technologies and software to streamline a process to operate automatically or with minimal human intervention. Direct selling businesses can save lots of time and effort by automating various processes like distributor onboarding, distributor training, market research, commission calculation, and more.

Artificial intelligence plays an important role in direct selling business today, those who strategically leverage this technology can able to edge over their competitors. Artificial intelligence mimics the decision-making and problem-solving capacity of human intelligence by using computer systems and machines. Besides automation, direct selling businesses can use artificial intelligence technologies to process data and derive meaningful insights from that and engage with their customers.

Identifying needs and wants
Customers are the lifeblood of any direct selling business. Satisfying their needs and wants with quality products or services is essential to business success. Many companies are starting to shift their focus to customer-centricity. Prioritizing customers' preferences first help direct selling business build a good brand image among customers. Many companies use customer acquisition and retention strategies to generate new customers and keep them happy with the brand for a long period. Among these strategies, the loyalty and rewards program is an effective one, which incentivizes customers with rewards and benefits for their purchases. Customers perceive these rewards as high value and it make them happy and satisfied with the brands. Which helps direct selling companies to satisfy their customers by delivering additional value beyond purchases.