Andrea Jung opens up on how technology is shaping the new Avon

In recent years it is undoubtedly technology that has had the biggest impact on the way the 125 year-old business is operated. In her talk, Jung highlighted the fact that social media and Twitter are having a significant impact on the way Avon products are marketed.

A quick search on Facebook testifies to millions of Avon fans spread across scores of pages in just about every country in the world, while the company’s 20 Twitter feeds have an estimated two million followers.

Internet has created online businesses for the workforce​

Likewise, the internet and e-tools are helping the company’s all-important sales force to structure and optimize their businesses in a way that would have been hard to achieve previously, creating independent profit centers that are driven by more comprehensive incentives schemes.

For Avon representatives, Jung explained how this means online ‘stores’ that can be adapted to each sales representative's personal business goals, in turn allowing them to market their products through email or social media websites such as Facebook.

As testimony to this drive, the company claims that 70 percent of its direct sales workforce now does its business online.

“Technology is undoubtedly the biggest enabler we have today. Getting our representatives to convert to this technology has made a big impact on our business as well helping our represents to get online and get proficient with the online community, something that is particularly pertinent in places where there is low internet connectivity,”​ Jung said.

Running the company for 12 years​

Jung has been at the helm of one of the world’s top cosmetics companies since 1999, a tenure almost unheard of in the fast-paced executive world, where the average length of service at the top lasts around three years.

Jung also explained that her long stay in the job has not been driven by the fact that she has a workforce of over six million people, or that she is one of only 12 female CEOs currently serving in the current Fortune 500 rankings.

In fact she cites that the reason for holding on to the position isprimarily down to the fact she considers it is a role where she feels her influence goes beyonds the realm of the business world.

“When I graduated from Princeton in 1979 I originally wanted to go into the non-profit sector and work in the peace corp,”​ she said. “I really wanted to find a career whereby I could make a difference to society.”​

Progressing from retail to cosmetics​​

However, the reality turned out to be a little different, and Jung got her start in the retail segment, working for Bloomingdales. By 1994 she made the transition into the cosmetics world, when she was appointed president of product marketing at Avon.

“Finally I felt that I had found a company where I thought I could see that there were opportunities to follow my original goals,”​ she stated.

Jung went on to highlight work with breast cancer charities, campaigns to help battered and abused women as well as the most important area, employment women as Avon representatives, giving them the earnings potential, in turn fostering independence and ultimately empowerment.

“I have been lucky enough to be in a role that is influential. I hope that in post business life I can maintain this,”​ she said as her talk drew to a close.