Abstract
For the distribution of renewable energy (RE) products (e.g., green power, heat from RE) direct selling is a very suitable strategy, especially as an element of multichannel distribution. Both product criteria (necessity of explanation, emotionality) and the business model (viability for sales commissions, win–win–win constellation) play a role in the choice of distribution model. Door-to-door selling, a very common classic sales technique, will be applied here—with good reason. The argument is supported by an example (green power) to illustrate how this can be implemented in practice.
A previous version of this chapter has been published in Herbes, C.; Friege, Chr. (Hrsg): Marketing Erneuerbarer Energien. Grundlagen, Geschäftsmodelle, Fallbeispiele, 2015, Springer Gabler.
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Notes
- 1.
The German company Vorwerk is a pioneer in direct selling. “Vorwerk’s core business is the worldwide direct selling of high-quality products.…When Vorwerk invented the Kobold hand-held vacuum cleaner in 1929, it was a technical sensation.…Thanks to (direct) selling, the Kobold was soon a roaring success in Germany—so much so, in fact, that by 1936, Vorwerk was ready to set up its first international subsidiary: Vorwerk Folletto in Italy. Today, the turnover generated outside Germany was 66 percent, in direct sales it was even as much as 79 percent” (Vorwerk 2016).
- 2.
LichtBlick was a pioneer in the market in 1998 and today is Germany’s largest independent green energy retailer (Lichtblick 2016).
- 3.
Bofrost and Eismann have been leading the German market for direct distribution of frozen food to the home for decades. Both are also active in other European countries.
- 4.
Often also referred to as multilevel marketing (MLM).
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Friege, C. (2017). Direct Selling of Renewable Energy Products. In: Herbes, C., Friege, C. (eds) Marketing Renewable Energy. Management for Professionals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46427-5_4
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