As we step into 2025 digital platforms will continue to reshape the direct selling landscape. Online sales have witnessed an accelerated shift thanks to the pandemic. Most consumers today are happier using e-commerce platforms, social media, and live-streaming events. Therefore, this is the right time to accelerate and strengthen your digital efforts. You should learn the art of selling through various social media channels. An established marketing consultant can add significant direction to your efforts. The key trends to watch out for are:-
AI-assisted selling
The perceived fear of AI replacing humans is diminishing and many people are seeing the value AI brings to enhance the manner in which we work and live. Consequently, more and more salespeople are embracing AI and AI-assisted selling is helping them strengthen relationships with customers, use their time more productively, and close more deals. Sales managers and sellers are therefore seeing AI as a useful tool to enhance the whole selling process.
Integrating social commerce
There are multiple ways to integrate your selling strategy with social commerce to drive sales and gain from a more engaging shopping experience. Focusing on user-generated content, influencer marketing, engaging users through optimized content, social checkout through intelligent bot checkouts, and engaging via Facebook Messenger are some of the ways you integrate social commerce with your sales strategy.
Focus on sustainable products
When you focus on selling sustainable products, it is essential to remember that environmental or social benefits will not be uppermost in the minds of customers. Customer decisions will look at the basic attributes of the product before taking a ‘buy’ decision. But, when sustainability is important to a customer he will first look for a product that offers environmental or social benefits in addition to the basic attributes of the product. For instance, no one would buy an electric car to address climate change. A customer buys a car for transportation and a lower carbon footprint is only an ancillary consideration.
Mobile first platforms
Your mobile-first design should be easy for the user on his/her smartphone, loading fast and more efficiently compared to mobile-friendly designs. The primary platform should be mobile devices for your mobile-first strategy to be successful in enhancing the customer experience for the brand you are promoting. Ensure that your design layout is optimized for the smaller screen of mobile devices making it easier to use on smart phones. Similarly, you should also incorporate features like location-based services and touch gestures that are mobile-specific. To enhance organic traffic and visibility the SEO focus should be for mobile devices.
Personalized customer experiences
Personalized customer experiences can be a very useful and effective marketing tool to pep us sales through:-
Enhanced customer loyalty
When your customers feel special, they are more likely to be loyal and be interested in repeat purchases.
Enhanced trust and brand awareness
Personalization is the way to enhance trust and brand awareness since they will feel more connected to the brand.
Implementing direct selling strategies
Right implementation is the way to ensure that your direct selling strategy is lucrative.
- Knowing where your ideal customers are and connecting with them
- Build a strong network locally and work on strategic partnerships
- Extensively use social media and understand how powerful the social media is
- Highlight the testimonials and reviews you have received
- Be persistent and committed
- Follow up with prospects regularly
- Free samples – Give extras and free samples to potential customers
Do understand that there are different types of direct selling like single-level sales, multi-level sales, direct-to-customer sales, and host/party plans for example.