There was another thread on this forum that asked the question of how do you choose your sponsor? (http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/threads/how-do-you-choose-your-sponsor.12256/) As I read everyone's post, I thought enough was said on that subject. Although I have my on opinion, I thought I would ask another question, like how important is it to you that your company advertise? What sparked a thought in my mind was, believe it or not, watching the Daytona 500 this past Sunday. I saw that Trevor Bayne was driver the #6 car for Rousch/Fenway Racing, sponsored by AdvoCare. If I've never heard of AdvoCare before, I probably would have been on Google to learn more about that company. It wouldn't have taken me long to see that AdvoCare is a network marketing company. I've noticed that several network marketing companies are going along with this type of sponsorship/advertising, take the Amway Arena, for example. So, is it important to you, as a distributor or as someone looking to get into network marketing, that your company advertise? If so, in your mind, what type of advertising works the best?
Whether your business is network marketing, web design or the corner store, advertising plays an important role in its growth. If you have the best product or marketing plan and no one else knows about it, you really don't have a business. Advertising is about getting the right people to know about your company, product or service and then letting them know how they can acquire it and benefit. The particular type of advertising that works best will be different for different companies because their markets, products, objectives, budgets and other considerations will be different. The advertising that works the best is the one that delivers the maximum results... whatever form that happens to take. Hermas
Thanks Hermas. I'm sure there's a lot of "market research" that goes into each every advertising campaign, so they can optimize their ROI. I just wonder, if at times, if the advertisers don't just wander into different markets to see if they can get results. After all, how do they know if their products will sell within a certain demographic if they don't try? On the other hand, network marketing companies are traditionally "word of mouth" companies, when it comes to advertising. Why do you think they would venture out in to an unknown area of advertising? I know times may be changing, but don't you find it interesting that some of these "word of mouth" companies are plastering their names on arenas, ball parks and race cars?
Hi Robsan40, Since MLM companies main means of advertising is "word-of-mouth", I don't like to see them advertising either. That money, as you said, should be for distributors' commissions. However, I think they spend that money advertising to bring in more distributors, which in turn, will bring in more revenue. I'm not so sure they are "competing against their distributors for prospects", because when someone signups at the corporate site they would be placed in one of the top distributors' downline. Looking at the AdvoCare corporate site, someone can signup and "pick" a distributor in their own area. Amway, on the other hand, looks like they just assign the new independent business owner (IBO) to a distributor of their choice. This leads to another question, one where the issue of competition comes into play. Since both websites, in the examples above, offer the sale of their products, who gets the commission on those products? Disclaimer: This is NOT a promotion of any MLM company listed above, but rather for discussion purposes.
Totally agree with Robsan40 on this one. MLM or Network marketing is an already saturated with competition from other marketers, having the companies then advertise only stiffens that competition by both the company themselves, and now there would be even more marketers jumping on board. I truly enjoy finding those brand new opportunities that just launch, through content management and link distribution, a good marketer can jump out there and dominate before anyone else even knows about it. Huge advantage to the "sneak attack."
Hi, I am new to the forum, but an old hand in the online arena. Advertising is the lifeblood of any business, more especially any online business. The internet by its very nature is a huge communication device, delivering your product, persona and opportunities to billions of potential interested parties. Whether it be MLM, Affiliate Marketing, Own product sales, etc etc etc. If no one knows it exists, no one buys into it.
