Herbalife Price Advertising Rules
Herbalife Imposes Restrictions on Websites Selling Herbalife
Over the past 2 years or so, Herbalife has been imposing numerous restrictions on distributors who operate e-commerce websites selling Herbalife products online. When these rules and regulations concerning Herbalife websites and internet marketing were first adopted, it made sense for most distributors. However they have become more and more restrictive, and with some new rules that may be implemented, it will become even more difficult for Herbalife distributors selling on the internet to generate new business.
Although these regulations are not limited to websites selling Herbalife, distributors who generate the bulk of their income from online sales will be hardest hit.
Herbalife Price Advertising Rules
Most of these rules revolve around product pricing. Herbalife Distributors are independent business people and may sell Herbalife products at any price they choose. However, current rules state that it is prohibited to advertise prices or pricing information using such terms as “special offer,” “____% off,” “free shipping” or “special discounts” to the public. The public is further defined as people who have not had prior personal contact, related to the Herbalife products or opportunity, with the Distributor placing the advertisement. In other words, from an e-commerce standpoint, those customers who came to the site either from a web search, or having clicked on a paid internet ad, and have had no prior personal contact with the distributor running the website.
What started to happen was that certain over zealous distributors who operated websites selling Herbalife, began implementing some very aggressive pricing practices. Retail customers were lured to their online stores with such terms as “Free Shipping,” “30% off,” “Lowest Prices Guaranteed,” etc. This made it extremely difficult for distributors whose income came predominantly from “face to face” contact with customers, to maintain their sales volume, and receive repeat orders.
Depending on who you ask, there are those who would both agree and disagree with these rules. It may make sense to create a level playing field and extreme price discounting should be discouraged. For many, this rule made a lot of sense, and any action taken by Herbalife has been to simply protect the businesses and reputation of other Distributors, as well as the goodwill and reputation of Herbalife worldwide.
Further, Herbalife believes that the advertisement of prices or use of price related terms in advertisements undermines the relationship that distributors can potentially build with their customers, which prevents the ability for future sales.
Recently, distributors with websites selling Herbalife had to remove pricing from pages that were directly accessible from the search engines or paid ads, and in place of pricing a hyperlink with the text “for product prices and pricing information, click here” was put in place.
Herbalife’s Philosophy
In order to make sense of this approach, and certainly to set the stage for the possible new restrictions, it’s important to understand the philosophy behind these decisions. Herbalife predates the internet. At least the internet it its current form. The real crux of the matter relates to personal contact with customers. From the very beginning, Herbalife, and the direct selling model by which Herbalife products are distributed, has always emphasized the value which is delivered to consumers through personal relationships and customer service. According to the pricing guidelines, “These are the most important components of the business and the foundation of the stable, long-term retail business which must be and is the foundation of each Distributorship.”
With the explosion of online business, many tech-savvy Herbalife distributors were quick to set up online stores selling Herbalife products. The very nature of online shopping is not only contrary to the Philosophy behind Herbalife’s one-on-one customer service, but it goes completely against the grain. Online shoppers are looking for the best price, want to make a quick purchase, and be done. There is little, or no contact between the online shopper and the distributor. This simply does not sit well with Herbalife. They believe the very nature of the business is to connect personally with the customer, especially given the fact that the core line of products is weight loss. To maximize success, a weight loss coach is necessary for support and encouragement. There is the likelihood that you lose that when buying Herbalife online.
So What’s the Big Deal?
“So what?” you may be asking. If someone wants to purchase their Herbalife products online, why the need for this constant one-on-one contact. Let consumers purchase what they want, and be done. Major online retailers could not conduct an efficient business if they had to have direct personal contact with each and every one of their customers who place an online order for the first time. Surely the customer should be given a choice. If they wanted to speak with the distributor directly, then they can call the toll free number on the site. Should the Herbalife distributor lose a sale simply because they did not have an initial contact with the customer?
On the other hand, many traditional distributors who build their business offline, have been experiencing challenges when they invest time and effort into a new client, only to lose them on repeat orders because the client goes online and purchases their products at discounted prices. For the most part, these clients are willing to sacrifice personal attention for saving money.
New Regulations
Taking the price advertising rules a step further, certain new regulations launched in Europe about a year ago, and which may now be instituted in the USA will require customers who wish to both view prices, and make a purchase online, to first log into the website or provide some type of password. This is designed to force the potential customer to at least have some type of initial contact with the distributor before making a purchase.
This really only relates to that brand new customer, and not necessarily to existing customer who distributors may already be servicing.
This rather extreme measure will only compel distributors who generate the majority of their business from online sales, to figure out ways to automate the process of allowing access to first time shoppers. Either way, it will make the process of ordering online that much more difficult for people and may certainly have a negative impact on sales.
For the ethical distributors out there who run websites, this could mean a dramatic reduction in their income. There are likely certain distributors who are high up in the company as a result of huge monthly volume generated entirely from their websites. Is Herbalife discriminating against a loyal, ethical distributor base who choose to conduct their business online, as opposed to the traditional way of one-on-one contact?
There are those who applaud these new regulations and will argue that such measures are a boon to their traditional, non-internet Herbalife business.
Share Your Opinion
Tell us what you think in the comments below. If you’re one of the distributors in Europe who have been subject to these regulations, let us know if this has impacted your online business.
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I think that alot of opinions about how to sell Herbalife might vary. I think alot of it depends on how you are recruited.
I have a back bedroom full of the stuff and have not been successful selling it face to face. As a matter of respect to my customer, why would I not want to sell it online? And, I’ve already paid thousands of dollars for the product. Why, let it go to waste? I also have not been as successful as other individuals in losing all the weight I want to, so why should I let the way I look affect whether or not someone wants to try the program? Just because I have challenges with it doesn’t mean the next person will. And, I know it works. I’m just not at a time in my life where I want to be so strict with myself regarding my food eating habits.
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I thought about selling online, but seeing the competition of the E-stores and even Herbalife being sold through Amazon turns me off.
I am all for selling online, but it should all be priced the same with no discounts.
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As a person who has been buying herbalife for over 15 years, I actually prefer to buy what I want instead of beng given lengthy lecture on what I need. Personal contact is all well and good but I think it serves another function too; time invested telling someone about all the wonderful products will make the customer more likely to buy more. I hate milkshake type things. I repeatedly told this to my distributer over and over and she ‘conveniently’ forgets it all the time and goes into her pitch. To be honest I would love to just be able to buy stuff and be done with it. If I need advice, I need to be able to ring someone and ask for it.
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The discount practice on the websites must be eliminated because sometimes when you invite a customer to joint herbalife and sell at 25% they simply tell you why to join if a can buy a 50% and sell at a price between 25 and 50% discount, this is one of the reason it very hard to bring new distribuitors to herbalife and this is affecting thousands of distributor, you can find websites like herbalwell and herbalsoft where they offers discount like theses 20% on product, 15% on shipping and and additional 15% for the month, who would like to enter the herbalife business for 25% if they can buy from these websites with 50% discount?, the discount practice must be eliminated in order to bring more people to the herbalife business
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