AVON.

COM CASE STUDY – ISABEL RIVERO ALCORTA

Avon was the world's largest direct seller of beauty products and ranked among the top five
beauty companies overall, with annual sales of more than five billion dollars. Avon's U.S.
products were designed to appeal to the mass market of some 25 million U.S. women between
the ages of 25 and 50 with average or below-average household incomes. The company's goal
was to offer its customers high quality, highly innovative products at a very reasonable price.
The advancement of technology led Avon CEO Len Edwards to create a website to target a
broader market of customers.

Following Len Edwards' idea of creating a website to target a wider market of customers, Avon's
problems began. The biggest problem with this change was managing commissions, marketing,
product and shipping. Prior to the technological evolution, Avon used sales representatives. In
fact, in the 1980s, 12% of women did not buy Avon, 18% bought but not via a sales rep, and
70% bought via a sales rep. This shift in sales led Avon, specifically the website: avon.com, to
make two decisions related to how Avon would use the web in its business-to-consumer (B2C)
and business-to-business (B2B) relationships. The involvement of representatives in avon.com
an important decision, as they questioned whether a representative should be charged if their
customer purchased from the website, how they would market the website to people, and what
products would be sold from the website.

Having read the case, I think my recommendation for Avon is that you don't close yourself off to
just one type of selling, either in person or online. It is true that nowadays technology is more
and more present in our lives, but that does not mean that all customers will want to buy online. I
think Avon needs to strike a balance between the sales reps and the website. The value that the
sales rep brings to the company is key, and should be maintained. I would also recommend Avon
to improve even more technologically by offering an online sales rep service. In this way, both
the sales rep and the customer would benefit. I also believe that Avon should hire influencers to
attract younger customers. The growth of social networks such as Instagram has led many brands
to sponsor themselves via that social network. By offering a discount code, it is possible that
more people will try the product and end up becoming a loyal customer.

All in all, Avon is a successful company with minor problems when it comes to the web. It is
important that Avon knows how to make the right balance between sales managers and the
online point of sale. Each customer is different, moreover, each one is looking for a certain type
of service or attention. By offering the possibility of having a personal service or an online
service, Avon can reach a larger clientele. Adapting to new technologies is nowadays key to a
successful future for a company. By combining its already developed strengths with the
technology it has in development, I am confident that Avon will go far in the beauty products
industry.