Research Overview

Surveys and Studies

• Growth & Outlook Survey

  

   

  The purpose of our Growth & Outlook (G&O) Survey is to better understand the current size and scope of the direct selling industry in the United States, view trends and provide direct selling companies’ operating benchmarks to help them measure their effectiveness in the marketplace. All direct selling companies are eligible to participate. The survey is conducted each year from January to March.

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• National Salesforce Study

  The purpose of the study is to learn about the demographics, motivations and experiences of the people involved in direct selling. The study is designed to better understand current salesforce members’ attitudes and opinions toward the direct selling channel.

• Consumer Trends Impacting the Direct Selling Industry

  This study presents key consumer trends and their implications for the direct selling industry including:

  • Current and future shopping experience
  • Workforce trends & earning opportunities
  • Demographic and economic landscape shifts
  • Innovation & consumer lifestyle needs
  • Communications, interactivity and education

  Click here for infographic; here for DSA members to access the report; and here for information on how to receive a 20% DSA-member discount on a new GfK research subscription.

• Consumer Attitudes Benchmarking Surveys

  This series of research reports explores the public’s experiences with and attitudes toward direct selling. Some reports cover the general public while others cover specific segments of the U.S. population.

• DataTracker Service

  This quarterly service is designed to provide participating direct selling companies with timely, up-to-date information on how they and their peer groups are performing in the marketplace. It measures Key Performance Indicators such as net sales, new recruits, order size and number of orders processed each quarter and year-to-date. It assesses quarterly changes in salesforce dropout rate and salesforce productivity, and reports on companies’ sales expectations for the upcoming quarter.  

  DSA members can participate in any quarter DataTracker in the six weeks following the close of each quarter.

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• QuickPoll Service

   

  Our QuickPoll Service is available exclusively to members. It provides a snap-shot of how other direct selling companies handle day-to-day operating issues, offering focused answers for solving a company's operating challenges. Members submit questions which we distribute on a quarterly basis in conjunction with the queries of one or two other companies.

  Both the companies submitting questions and those responding to the poll will receive a full report.

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• Management Compensation Study

  DSA's Management Compensation Study reports compensation, benefits and best practices in HR, including those specific to the direct selling industry. The Survey offers direct selling companies a unique opportunity to gauge the effectiveness of their compensation programs for executive and management positions that have a special impact on direct selling companies.

• Web Presence and Technology Systems Survey

   

  DSA’s Managing Your Company’s Web Presence and Technology Systems Surveys organizations’ use of websites, their interactions with back-end systems, as well as Internet advertising, email marketing and social networking activities.  This Survey will generate data and insights that can be used for benchmarking and to uncover best practices in the web presence/ technology realm of direct selling.
  
  

• Sales Strategy Survey

  The Sales Strategy Survey reports on the person-to-person and party plan sales approaches and their roles in direct selling.