Benedetto Conversano: Opening up Avon’s digital revolution

Avon’s digital revolution is led by the people at the heart of this business; beauty entrepreneurs. Discover how Benedetto, Chief Digital Officer is opening up Avon with a fast, agile and personal service that customers and Representatives will benefit from

The digital revolution at the world’s most well-known direct selling beauty company is as much about the people, our beauty entrepreneurs, as it is about the technology itself. That’s why I’m so excited to be working at Avon as we open up to the future.

At the core of Avon’s business model is the opportunity for women to earn an income, develop business skills and be part of a network – in a way that works flexibly for them to succeed on their own terms. This kind of flexibility is vital, as it means our independent beauty entrepreneurs can work around their family and other commitments. Creating an inclusive, inspiring, welcoming and positive working environment is key to our success.

I’ve always been fascinated by business turnarounds. Look at Apple, at IBM, at Fiat. You don’t get many opportunities in life to be part of something like this. As we transform Avon, I am excited about how we unleash the power of our 6 million micro-entrepreneurs through technology. At Avon we have some of the e-commerce capability we need, and already sell online in many countries. But now we are starting to unlock the potential of what we already have, whilst building for the future by adapting our business to become multi-channel. It’s time to put the gas in the car and go!

We are starting with the customer and the Representative and re-engineering backwards through our entire value chain to deliver, meet and exceed her future expectations. By offering a portfolio of multi-channel services, the customer can choose how to meet her needs – with scalable service options. Avon’s point of difference is that the customer will always be able to benefit from the added value that our Representatives bring – personal recommendation, delivery, and beauty expertise.

Technology only truly matters if we start with the problem we are trying to solve for the person using it. It starts with her – our customer and our Avon beauty entrepreneur. Being obsessed with her needs is at the heart of how we’ll leverage technology to enable our beauty entrepreneurs across the world to build successful businesses.