How Avon Has Changed in the Last 25 Years

When I joined Avon back in 1996 so much about the business was very different from what it is today. Overall the changes have made being an Avon Representative easier than I could have ever dreamed it being when I first started

The Avon Online Store

When I first started, Avon was just transitioning out of the days of territories. For the first 100 years or so Avon Representatives had specific homes they were responsible for servicing, usually their own neighborhood or one nearby. I remember helping my mom when she was a representative and her territory was our apartment complex.

Even though territories were gone in my area by the time I started, I was still limited in who I sold to by who I could personally delivery too. So I started with my apartment complex, and my local friends, family and co-workers, slowly expanding into nearby neighborhoods.

Then in 2006 Avon launched our online store and my “territory” opened up to be anyone I knew, anywhere in the country. We could now have customers shop with us and have it shipped directly to their home. This allowed me to sell to friends an family who were scattered across the country.

The Digital Avon Brochure

The availability of online shopping has brought about another big shift in how Avon Representatives work their business. Initially shopping the Avon online store was pretty much like shopping any other online retailer. You browsed the site to find products you might like. This was very different from the traditional way of shopping with Avon which was by browsing the iconic Avon Brochure.

As great as the brochure is, it can be a challenge to get a brochure to customers if you aren’t seeing them regularly. And as you were meeting new people in your community you would have to be sure that you always had a brochure to share.

Enter the Digital Avon Brochure. A more recent addition to our online stores is the familiar brochure in digital form. So now Representatives can easily share the brochure with anyone, anywhere and the customer can instantly “flip” through the brochure right in the palm of their hand on their mobile device, or on their computer screen.

Customers no longer have to wait for their Representative to drop off the brochure. They also don’t have to worry about where their brochure getting misplaced. They can use the digital brochure link to see the current brochure any time.

Social Media

Just like so many areas of our life Social Media has really changed the way Avon Representatives work. In the world of offline selling most representatives were limited to promoting their business to people they saw during their daily routine. They would often have to take a direct approach to offering Avon. This could feel awkward, or for some representatives even confrontational. And it could make any rejection feel very personal, like they were rejecting you rather than just saying no to the brochure.

Social Media has given us whole new ways to connect with people and introduce them to Avon. Not only has social media expanded our social circles to include people we may never have encountered in person, it has also given us a way to share Avon with the people we do see in person that doesn’t have the same potential to feel as pushy or awkward as having to ask them face to face if they want to shop our store.

Demonstrating and Sampling Products

For about the first 15 years I was a Representative, I had to spend a lot of time face to face with my customers. I’d drop off an order or a brochure and visit with my customer while sharing demos and samples of products. It was the only way I could share new products with them other than pictures and descriptions in the brochure.

With social media, text and email I can now use pictures and videos to demonstrate products. Demoing products virtually allows me to reach more customers than I could before. We even have a virtual try on tool on our online store so customers can try all the latest lipstick shades, not just the ones I have samples for.

Greater Variety of Products

In 1996 I had a great products to offer my customers, but the selection was a bit limited. For example, we had 2 or 3 lipstick formulas. If a customer didn’t like one of those, then they would go somewhere else for their lipstick. Same with our skin care and bath and body lines.

Fast forward to today and we have so many more products. Not only have we expanded our legacy Avon brands like Anew and Skin So Soft we now have access to the LG H&H family of brands. LG H&H makes some of the top beauty products worldwide and we can now offer them at Avon.

This allows Avon representatives to offer more solutions to customers needs. It also means that we have product lines for almost any budget. It’s definitely not just your Grandmother’s Avon. It’s your Grandmother’s Avon and so much more. We’ve even expanded our product selection to include home care products, oral care and an expanded selection of hair care.

Easier to Manage Business

In addition to all the ways it’s easier to build an Avon business, it’s also much easier to manage the business. In the 90s, placing an Avon order meant filling in bubbles on a purchase order that looked a lot like test sheets in school. That purchase order would have to be mailed in and then I had to wait until my order arrived to know if everything my customers ordered was available. I had to write up receipts by hand and keeping track of my customers meant paper records.

I can now place orders from where ever I may be right from my phone and I know right away if something isn’t available and can easily look for an alternative. And my customer’s order history is all online so I can easily look up what face cream they ordered when they ask me what eye cream they should get to go with it.

Instead of having to remember every product we have, I now have access to all the products at my fingertips. And I have more information about the products that when everything had to be in the brochure.

Keeping in touch with customers meant a LOT of time on the phone. And networking with other representatives meant going to in person meetings. Now we have all the modern forms of communication that help us stay connected with our customers and the nationwide community of representatives.

And Ways That it’s Stayed the Same

Even with all the changes in how we promote and manage our business, the core of being an Avon Representative is the same.

It’s about building relationships with our customers and team members. It’s sharing products we love and believe in to help find solutions to make our customer’s lives better in some way. And It’s still about having flexibility to fit your Avon business around whatever else is important in your life.

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Last Updated on March 11, 2023 by avonladychris