Of course the tale wouldn’t be as sweet without a heroine. Enter: Loren. JR’s wife, a marketing maven in her own right, appropriately poised, and possessing all the qualities one only vies for: beauty, strength, sky-high cheek bones, and the nurturing flame that kept JR lit. It wasn’t easy; it never is. But together, along with Loren’s brother, Marc Ashley, the group built a brand from the bottom up—way up. And while the onset was met with struggle, the team endured; and today, citizens of the world benefit in big ways.
MARKET, SHARE
Aptly described by its creators as a business “built on product, powered by people,” Market America is combination online shopping experience and entrepreneurial system. Offering some 40 million products and services in virtually every industry through partnerships with more than 3,500 retailers, including Apple, Target, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Travelocity, as well as access to email, news, entertainment, social networking, and more, all in one location. Market America is a portal, a gateway if you will, to anything and everything you could want at one URL, www.marketamerica.com. Far from your ordinary e-commerce outlet, the site approaches online shopping from a social perspective, allowing customers to enjoy an interactive experience that not only gives them what they need, but rewards them for spreading the word. Thus the “powered by people” component.
Their version of a personal shopper, a shop consultant, is assigned upon registration, to guide them through the purchasing process, providing peace of mind while facilitating the experience for all involved. Aside from extreme convenience, the Ridinger’s ma Cash Back program makes it enticing, allowing every participant to make money; get this, while they shop. In fact, when a purchase is made online at Market America, the buyer can expect to automatically receive anywhere between two and fifty percent cash back. And just like JR’s initial intention, rooted in the idea of spreading the wealth, ma Cash Back employs the help of a sophisticated tracking system to ensure shoppers receive an additional half-percent cash back on every purchase made by anyone they refer. This proven “pay people to shop” model, despite the state of the global financial system, has allowed Market America to create its own recession-proof business. It is JR’s first big idea, actualized.
Loren puts it in perspective: “People have things that they need to buy, no matter what, so why not get cash back for your purchases?” It’s brilliant really; customers get paid to shop while avoiding lines, pushy sales people, and arriving just to find out they don’t have your size. And numbers don’t lie; statistics show that by 2013 a whopping 50 percent of shopping will be done completely online, revolutionizing the retail experience as we know it.
Since the company is built upon the mutual success of everyone involved, it has bred a utopian environment where all reap the benefits. “The whole plan is designed around cooperation rather than competition…In Market America, the more you help people, the more successful you are. I don’t know another business model in the world that operates like that,” JR says.
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