Reinventing, redefining and reimagining direct selling in the new norms

KUALA LUMPUR: The new normal has made many players in the direct selling industry realise the need to improvise by reinventing, redefining and reimagining in order to exploit and excel to thrive.

Direct Selling Association of Malaysia (DSAM) president Datuk Tan Chong Guan said with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and implementation of the Movement Control Order, many distributors had to improvise and increase their knowledge in online tools to continue to keep in touch with their customers and network of business builders.

“The industry reinvented itself. The direct selling companies quickly moved their activities and events online and managed to continue to support the distributors,” he said in a statement.

According to the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, the direct selling industry is on track, despite the current pandemic, to hit RM20 billion in revenue for 2020, an increase of RM2.1 billion from last year’s RM17.9 billion. Tan said as the heart of direct selling has always been on relationship building, the industry had to redefine its core values to remain relevant with the global winds of change.

“We have to embrace the technology to use it as an effective and efficient tool of communication to reach out to the consumers. Where in the past, one can only visit a limited number of customers in a day, now one can reach out to hundreds of people in their network using online social media tools,” he said.

In addition, Tan said, direct selling distributors who are able to play their role in the new norm continue to break new grounds and prosper.

“With better awareness on the need for an additional income stream, the industry has created a reimagining of what working from home means with a direct selling business,” he added. — Bernama