Door-to-door (D2D) selling is a term for contracts that are concluded in certain situations, mainly during a visit to a representative (see direct sales, itinerant trade, commercial agents, travellers and peddlers). It is called off-premises sales when it comes to doorstep selling, is a prospecting marketing technique consisting of the direct solicitation of a person (on the telephone or at his home) to offer him/her the purchase, sale, rental, hire-purchase or rental with option to buy of goods or the provision of services.
When it is made by telephone (i.e. telemarketing), the call is most often made from a call centre. By telephone, this makes it possible to establish a first link with the customer and to know if he is interested in the products/services. Subsequently, physical contact can be scheduled to conclude a sale. As abusive telephone solicitation is frequent, there are laws specific to restrict calls.
Today, there are trainings, exercises and studies around door-to-door methodologies which allow you to give advice and learn the stages of door-to-door marketing or selling.
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Door-to-door marketing or selling offers a commercial service not solicited by the customer. This can take place at home (physical presence, telephone call or sending e-mails or spam), in the workplace or any other place not specifically envisaged for commercial activities. Doorstep selling can put the client in a vulnerable situation. It is regulated in many countries to protect consumers as individuals, in their private lives and to avoid many abuses (abuse of weakness, scam etc.).
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Role of Door-to-door Sales and Marketing in Mobile Internet Era
Selling door-to-door involves several stages which are superior and more cost-effective than digital campaigns:
- The process of searching for new potential customers does not involve the knowledge of complex technical and graphical resources.
- Identifying the customer need helps to offer a particular service or model
- Pitching and argument is interactive
- Asking the customer to buy the product or order a service may not involve a credit card or digital payment system
- The customers can be provided support and servicing which increases the brand value of the product
How Door-to-door Sales and Marketing Originated
Peddlers or hawkers are door-to-door traders. In contrast to commercial agents or travelling salesmen who are travelling on behalf of a company, they offer their range of goods on their account. This ancient model of trading is used by traditional businesses in door-to-door sales and marketing.
The disadvantage for the customers is that they have to let the unknown representative into their home, they may feel pressured or may not be able to easily contact a contact person in the event of problems with the purchased goods.
Why is Door-to-Door Sales Still Effective?
The advantage for the customer is the circumvention of the retail trade (saving the profit margin) as well as the demonstration of new products in their own home with the possibility of testing. Today, people are disliking advertisements, they often turn them off or ignore them which makes the reach quite difficult.
Also, certain products are suitable to demonstrate at home to attract the customers.
