Retail Redefined

CONNECTING THE DOTS

With so much coming down the pipeline at once, one wonders how Loren manages to spread the word so well. It seems news of her latest ventures almost always goes viral before they’ve even come to fruition. Turns out, Loren equates a lot of the attention to social media, a tool she uses actively in her daily life to reach an unprecedented amount of potential new clients. Actually, Market America as a whole is leading a social media revolution by harnessing the power of the Internet and social media platforms. “For me social media is critical,” she states matter-of-factly. “I’ve used it to build my brand.” With almost 100,000 followers on Twitter, and another 150,000 over five Facebook accounts, Loren has employed the help of these resources to reach an audience completely aside from that which she reaches internally through Market America. “It’s a way for me to reach new markets, new people, a new audience.”

There is a method behind the madness, however. “I tease [my followers], I ask them questions; a lot of the products that we’re launching come from the audiences’ requests. I ask people, ‘What do you want, what would you like to see developed?’” The genius behind that kind of one-to-one interaction is the automatic sell that ensues when what you’re delivering is exactly what people want. “I get probably 180 new customers a month personally just by a little one-line sentence about a new product I’m doing; I’ve used social media to build that and find those people. Anybody can do it!”

CHECK MATE

The far-reaching arm that is Market America and its creators only continues to grow. Most recently, news of MA’s acquisition of top comparison-shopping site, Shop.com has swarmed, and with good reason. On a live interview for Bloomberg television, JR spoke to the power force that MarketAmerica.com and Shop.com will be once unified. “The billion-dollar roll,” he called it. Explaining that the acquisition will allow for the combining of the most valuable parts of each of the sites for an unmatched online shopping experience.

“Other than the Paid to Shop program, the acquisition of Shop.com has been the biggest thing that MA has ever done in its history,” says Loren. The name alone, Shop.com is striking to Loren who wonders if there is a better name to own on the internet; but it’s the technology that she explains is of most value. “The review system, the ratings, the comparative shopping…When combined with the power of people that MA offers and the Paid to Shop program, it’s a powerhouse.” A powerhouse indeed, as she predicts the acquisition will catapult them to the billion-dollar mark within the next 14 or 16 months. “It kind of feels like the beginning of MA all over again for me right now; so much excitement and so much to look forward to. It’s just the right time. I keep telling everybody, if you’re not a preferred customer yet, now is the time to become one, because we are really going to change the way people shop.”

Timing was a major factor for JR as well who refers to the here and now as an occurring “paradigm shift in the way people approach online shopping and social shopping.” Loren agrees: “People are realizing that this is the way the world is shifting and I think its better to be ahead of the trend. Not only will we do it successfully, we will hopefully be the number one retailer in the world online. It really amazes me why people are still shopping at Amazon.com and not getting paid for their purchases…I think the future will speak for itself. I think it’s going to take us to a whole new level and we will be the first company to ever take on Amazon. Nobody ever talks about taking on Amazon, but I think MA is now in prime position to do just that.”

Along with the nearly five-fold increase in traffic that the acquisition promises to provide, so too will the marriage play a major role in MA’s global expansion. “With the acquisition of Shop.com, we now have an office in the UK,” explains Loren. This translates to open season for Market America throughout all of Europe, adding to the monster presence that the site already has in places like Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. “Asian markets are huge for us, we do tremendously well there. Shop.com is very successful in the UK, so we’re going to pick up where they are now and hit the fast track to develop the UK and Europe.” An exciting venture considering that Loren says, “People are very much used to shopping online in the UK and are very much with the program.”

IN THE BLOOD

A far cry from where they started out, Market America has blossomed, to say the least, but the fundamentals are still in place. JR and Loren drive this well oiled machine with the help of the people who work daily to make it all possible—many of which are the family members who were there from the get go. “I’m incredibly blessed…or maybe my husband is, that he married a family of entrepreneurs. Like JR and myself, my mother always made us believe that we could do anything we wanted to do, but we had to work hard for it. I think each one of us is uniquely different.” Loren breaks down each member’s function, stressing all along how integral a part of the operation each person is: “Marc does everything; we couldn’t exist or function without him—he’s the main artery making it work every day.” Loren’s other brother, Steve, is also on board; as is her sister, Brandi. “Steve is Vice President of Internet Marketing; and Brandi likes to be more behind-the scenes, she’s Vice President of Operations. I’m lucky that I get to work with my family every day and that I’m so close to them. Most people don’t have that; and the fact that we do and everybody’s good at what they do, I feel so blessed.”

Anyone who may want to scream nepotism would be quickly swayed by learning just how hard each one of them works. “My husband would be the first to say it’s not nepotism. He’d say ‘my wife really does work hard’; I’d say they probably work harder than me—and I work hard!”