Distributors are clamoring for better replicated websites, and it’s causing a shift in the MLM industry norms. But let me step back…

Whenever a related set of products or services begins to gain mass adoption and end-users really see the value, the component parts usually start to splinter, becoming more and more specialized, resulting in a fragmented supplier landscape.

For example, remember back in the late ’90s when the Internet was just starting to gain mainstream popularity? If you wanted a website, you could easily do everything through one full-service vendor, from registering the domain to having your site designed, built and optimized.

But soon the web started to mature, businesses started gaining more and more value from their websites, and as a result vendors became more specialized, carving out their own niches in the market. This caused a great deal of fragmentation, and now when you need a professional website, you’ll often use different vendors for each part of the process – domain registration, website design, copywriting, development, search engine optimization, PPC, etc.

The same splintering effect has occurred in a number of disparate market areas, ranging from home repairs to retail shopping to graphic design.

And now it’s starting to happen in the network marketing back-office software space with replicated websites.

Currently, there are a number of full service back-office software suppliers catering to the MLM industry, and almost all of them provide basic replicated websites. But the end users of replicated websites – direst sales distributors – are upset with the tools they’ve been given, because they’re completely ineffective. Distributors are publicly voicing their discontent online, and seeking out other ways to make their mark and utilize the web for sales and enrollment.

Actual distributor video footage

Answering the market demands we’ve seen from distributors, we’re staking a claim for replicated sites as a solution category that can and should stand out on its own. Not to say that replicated websites should exist in a silo, because they need to integrate with several back-office functions as well.

However, the importance of distributors having personalized sites for lead generation has grown dramatically over the past few years in direct selling, and the obsolete solutions on the market just aren’t making the grade anymore.

It’s time for the back-office software suite to cut loose the replicated websites of yesterday that the industry has clearly outgrown, and make way for truly specialized services like Empowerkit that actually meet the needs of distributors and direct selling companies.

Actual distributor video footage

Do you agree or disagree? What do you predict the future of replicated websites will look like? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

Image credits: Ian Sane (train tracks) Doug Wilson (newspaper bins)