andrea jung
When Avon looked to build a corporate portal aimed specifically at its half-million independent sales reps around the country, it first looked at building the capability in-house. "We looked at off-the-shelf software packages like Plumtree [Plumtree Corporate Portal]," said Tracy Wheeler, director of business affairs at Avon.com. "And we also researched partnerships with content providers, like Screaming Media and firms like that. But when we saw the amount of resources required to do something like this, we realized an outsourced solution would be more cost-effective." Avon began researching a sales rep portal early in the year, and announced the agreement with iBelong and its partners, Gateway and Covad/LaserLink.net, in April. The portal went live in June of this year. Motivation: Avon needed a better, more targeted way to communicate with its independent sales force, which numbers nearly one-half million. Current newsletter communications could not address all the needs of the salesforce. Objectives: Build a corporate portal targeted directly at sales reps, many of whom work from home and need dial-up access. Ensure the portal eases ongoing communications with the reps. Challenges and Goals: Find the right outsourcer to develop and deploy the portal. Ensure that Avon maintains control over targeted content and personalization. Make the portal the reps’ main site for doing business with Avon and over the Internet. Not just a transactional site Avon’s main focus in the beginning was to build a portal that would tie the sales representative closer to the company. "Avon had the option of just being a transactional site, where an Avon rep would go to fill in their orders and check on new products," explains Gifford West, vice president of iBelong. "Or they could try and win the war for their sales force’s desktop. And that’s a group that numbers half a million with a very high turnover rate." There is an estimated 5 million to 6 million former Avon reps in the U.S., he says. "Avon wanted to get as much as exposure to that community as possible." Current newsletter method is not enough. Currently, Avon communicates with its sales force primarily through a paper-based newsletter. "Right now, they do a once-a-month mailing to all of their active representatives, called The Rep Times," explains West. "The purpose of that mailing is to keep Avon in the front of their mind, to make sure they see new products, and that they understand what they’re doing." Need more of a dashboard approach.