Is Network Marketing Immune From Recession?

Network marketers like to tell people that their business is immune from recession. But is this really true?

Longaberger announced yesterday that it was laying off another 300 workers due to soft sales they attribute to the current economic conditions. This brings their employee count down below 1500 employees from their peak of 8000 just a few years ago. Company executives will also be taking pay cuts to help the company weather the storm.

The reality is that Longaberger’s product, like many network marketing company products, is not an essential for customers. In a time where everyone seems to be cutting expenses, luxury items and those products easily replaced with cheaper version are the first to go.

What can a network marketer do to deal with this?

In a post today titled, “PR And Today's Social Marketing Media Frenzy,” Glenn Burks points out that customer service has become a lost art. With Wal-Marts and chain stores driving out traditional local stores, business has gotten more impersonal.

Oh sure there is the trained friendliness when you walk into a Bath and Bodyworks but that’s no substitute for a shopkeeper that actually knows you. Bath and Bodyworks is rumored to be headquartered in my hometown of New Albany OH – the quintessential mid-west upscale small town. The back of every bottle says so! Only problem is that that the address used does not have an actual building! There isn’t even a Bath and Bodyworks store in New Albany!

Today’s customer is craving real interaction and genuine customer service – not a façade built on the input of marketing research and focus groups. We all want the real thing. And network marketing can deliver that better today than any other business. Too bad most networking companies don’t mention it – much less train their people in exemplary customer service.