The Success Factors

for
Direct Selling Business

Der-Fa Robert Chen,

Shu-Yin Wang, Shiuh-Tarng Cheng
Department of Business Management
National Sun Yat-Sen University
Tel: 07-525-2000 ext.4621
Fax:07-525-4695
derfa@bm.nsysu.edu.tw

The Success Factors for Multi-level Marketing Business

Abstract
According to the survey conducted by the Fair Trade Commission (1997), by the
end of 1996, the number of registered multi-level marketing (network marketing)
enterprises operated in Taiwan has increased to758, the total population participating
in direct selling has reached 2.36 million, and the industry has amusingly created a
total annual sale of NT$ 40.8 billion.

From the figures above, it may be hard to

believe that it was just 16 years ago when Amway, an American multi-level marketing
company, started its direct sales operation in Taiwan.

Today, with its excellent

performance, the direct selling industry have not only shaken off the negative image of
money-sucking schemes, but also successfully proven itself to be an innovative,
formidable marketing channel.
Examining its success factors, we found out that the multi-level marketing
industry is very keen at exploring marketing niches in a changing society and at
developing strategies that utilize its existing channel advantages, unique product
characteristics, effective information flows, innovative benefit offerings, and all-out
corporate efforts to achieve its current market dominance.
In probing the industrys future development, several trends are worth noticing.
That includes the extension of targeted segments, the market demands for innovative
products and services, the needs to widen and deepen the product mixes, the
supplementary sales efforts, new products for leisure-related and female-oriented
market opportunities, and finally, the development of company image and public
relations strategies.

All these areas require special attention and devoted marketing

efforts by multi-level marketing companies who want to maintain their competitiveness

and continue to excel in tomorrows market place.

Key Words: Direct Selling, Multi-level Marketing, Success Factors, Consumers

Behavior, Environmental Factors.
1

1. Introduction
Multi-level marketing is one of the direct selling methods. According to Fair
Trade Laws, multi-level marketing(MLM) is defined as marketing activities in which
participants pay a certain amount of fees in order to gain the membership from a sales
or promotional organization who grant its members the right to sell/distribute the
product and service, to recruit other new members, and to obtain economic rewards.
From data released by the Fair Trade Commission, in 1997, the total number of
registered MLM enterprises has increased to 758, the total participants has reached 2.36
million and the total sales revenue of the industry was estimated to be NT$ 40.8 billion.
Known by its unique way of connecting the end user and the producer, todays MLM
industry has not only won increased acceptance among general public but also made
itself an innovative, powerful marketing channel that generates robust revenue growth.
It was just about 16 years ago when Amway, a well-established American
household product producer, started its multi-level marketing operation in Taiwan.
And since then, the multi-level marketing industry has firmly rooted itself in this island
and flourished in an amusing speed.

This paper is aimed at examining all the factors

that contribute to the industrys success with a special focus on product-related

determinants.

The structure of this paper is in the following sequences: First, an

academic overview of consumer behavior theories and the impacts of environmental

factors on purchasing decisions are presented.

Second, several important

environmental factors affecting todays multi-level marketing industry are investigated.

Third, the success attributes and causing factors of multi-level marketing companies are
analyzed.

Finally, suggestions are proposed based on future trends.

2. Literature Review
The success of a marketing strategy depends largely upon a companys ability to
effectively utilize its organizational and human resources toward the goal of fulfilling
the needs of its target customers in a dynamic environment.

And through repeating

this process in an innovative way, a company can create a dominant market presence,
customer loyalty and satisfaction.
practitioners.

This is much the same for the direct selling

Before studying the success factors for the industry, we first focus

briefly on purchasing behavior theories and external factors affecting buying decisions
which would lay the groundwork for the further discussion.
Theories of consumer behaviors provide useful insights for explaining the
consumers evaluation process as well as predicting purchasing behaviors.

For

example, The Black Box Theory (Jung Tai-Sheng, 1991) views a customer as an entity
that receives external stimuli which provokes evaluation processes and generates
responses.

The theory stresses a persons motivations, family influence, cultural

background, attitude, and social class as factors that affect ones buying decision.
Additionally, according to Philip Kotlers(1995) view, a purchasing decision is mainly
determined by the consumers personal traits and evaluation process, along with stimuli
from the external environment.

Since various economic, social, cultural, political, and

technological factors can all have different degree of influences on consumers buying
decisions, studying each of these factors individually are crucial for understanding their
possible impacts on the market success of an industry as well as for forming an effective
marketing strategy.

3. The Changes of the Consuming Environment

The consuming environment in Taiwan has had significant changes in the past 20
years.

A successful business must have realized the change and adapted a policy to

meet it.

In this section, we start with the discussion and analysis of the external

environment changes, followed by the discussion of the consumers behavior changes.

3.1 The analysis of external environment factors
The population and demographic factor, economic factor, natural factor,
technological factor, legal and political factor, and cultural/social factor are six
important external environment stimuli to the consumers purchasing behavior(Kotler,
1995, Keegan, 1995).

Their changes in the past 20 years in Taiwan are discussed and

analyzed in this section, respectively.

3.1.1 The population and demographic factor
(1) The increased educational level of general public in recent years, as a result of the
implementation of the nine-year civil obligatory education program, has positively
changed consumers attitude and perception toward products having a complex nature.
In addition, as a result of the rapid development of the mass media, the free flow of new
product information has made todays consumers more knowledgeable than ever before
and therefore, has enhanced their ability to make a good judgement.

This is especially

evidenced by the increasing acceptance of consumers toward non-traditional marketing

method such as direct selling as well as their knowledge to distinguish between
legitimate multi-level marketing operation and the illegal pyramid schemes.
(2) The coming of an aging society has increased the needs for health care products.
According to the data released by the Ministry of Interior, as of 1994, the total retired
4

population in Taiwan has accounted for 4% of the entire population.

This trend is

reflected by the increasing market demands for health-related products such as nutrition
supplement and health-enhancing/fitness equipment.

Additionally, more and more

people in their young age have realized the importance of preventing illness from
happening in the first place.

They too are taking measures to maintain a good health,

especially for those who live a busy lifestyle.

(3) Taking a sociological approach, the changing family structure of the society could
also be a good predictor for possible changes in purchasing patterns and behaviors (Yu
Su-Chu 1995).

Families in different stages of social development usually have

different needs to be fulfilled.

For instance, the small size families with little children

spend a big proportion of their money on educational goods and basic necessities for the
children.

As the small size families constitute the majority of the society, two trends

of consumer behaviors are worth noticing:

First, parents are paying more and more

attention on their childrens intellectual as well as physical development.

their spending on the children will increase dramatically.

As a result,

Second, as many elderly

people no longer live with their offspring under the same roof, their daily needs of
health care are calling for a well-round social welfare system and a comfortable health
care providing environment.
(4) In the traditional job market, male has always played the role of bread-earner.
However, as the society evolves and the long-existing gap between two sexes narrows,
females participation in the job market are taking a big leap.

Considering the increase

of the percentage of double-income families, which has sharply jumped to 30.42% in

1993, up from 7.62% in 1948, there is no doubt that the merging female workforce will
have a profound impact on the consumer market.
5

On the other hand, while the buying

power increases, the time available for house works will be shortened. All these
effects induce demands for more time-saving products and efficient shopping methods.
3.1.2 The economic factor
The average annual income per capita in Taiwan has reached US$12,439 in 1995.
This will lead to a bigger share of consumer spending on high quality and luxury
items.

In addition, as the society matures, people tend to place more emphasis on

their leisure needs.

This can be seen from the booming of overseas travelling and

the mushrooming urban and rural recreational facilities built in recent years.
Balancing a fast-pace lifestyle in a dynamic economic environment, innovative
products and services that provide consumers with desired convenience and
benefits will certainly take a big lead in the market place.
3.1.3. The natural factor
The excessive pursuit of economic glory has taken its toll on the nature
environment.

As incomes and education level increase, people nowadays are less

tolerate toward the polluted air, piggish environment, and the overly-used artificial
ingredients in the things they consume.

As a result, the rising environment

consciousness and concerns for the nature will promote more nature-friendly
materials used in producing and packaging goods on the store shelves.
3.1.4 The technological factor
In the last two decades, the successfully commercialized applications of many
modern technologies have significantly changed the patterns of market competition.
Three major effects brought by advanced technologies are observed:

First, the life

cycle of a product is shortened as a result of abundant market supply and enhanced

R&D capacity.

In order to compete for bigger market share, product attributes

6

that stress certain uniqueness are often added by manufacturers to increase

consumers perceived product value.

Second, as the market competition

intensifies, companies are now narrowing the market focus on well-defined

segments and developing strategies exclusively aimed at cultivating their targeted
customers.

One example of this development is the various usage applications of

cosmetic products developed and marketed to different age groups of consumers.

Third, the widely-applied modern technologies have also made a profound impact
on conventional marketing channels.

Equipped with state-of-the-art computer

devices, companies who practicing direct marketing, direct selling, home

purchasing and electronic shopping are reaping big success in the market.

Whats

more, as the boundaries of information flows collapse, the effectiveness of

communication channels is no longer defined by coverage but by to what degree
the message is digested by the targeted market segments.

To ensure the

effectiveness of the communication flows, face-to-face selling that provides

advantages such as direct customer contact and market information feedback are
regaining its popularity.
3.1.5 The legal and political factor
The growing power of consumerism in the last decade has also produced a great
influence on both market place and government regulation.

For manufacturers,

safety designs and features of a product have become a standard offering.

For

different

and

channel

members,

hassle-free

shopping

atmosphere

no-question-to-ask refund policy have also become a promotional weapon.

For

government, the establishment of the Consumer Protection Foundation and the birth
of Consumer Protection Laws have set a milestone not only in promoting fair trade
7

concepts but in guarding consumers with protective measures.

3.1.6 The cultural/social factor
Influenced by the waves of global economy, consumers nowadays are more
receptive and adaptable in new concepts and trends.
behavior is more than a way of satisfying needs.

For many, purchasing

It has also become an expression

of ones social background, status, and personal values.

For instance, many

consumers today may place the same importance upon the overall image and
reputation of a company they are buying from and the product and service it
provides.

A healthy public image is specially important for companies who want

to build a long-term relationship with their customers.

3.2 The analysis of consumers behavior changes
3.2.1 Trends in purchasing consideration
According to the latest market researches (Hsieh Pang-Chang, 1995), todays
consumers value convenience above many other purchasing consideration and
prefer products that contains multiple attributes to those perform only few functions.
This is especially true when the market is overwhelmingly flown with various new
products and inventions.

Since most consumers perceive the multi-attribute

products deliver more values for their money, adding attributes desirable by the
consumers are becoming another market imperative.
3.2.2 Social influence factors
Reference groups have always been a major determinant influencing purchasing
behaviors.

While advertising is loosing its magic in an information over-flown

market place, the word-of-mouth reputation is gaining its importance.

As

consumers become more educated and sophisticated, they consult the opinions of
8

experts and the experienced product users around them when making the decision.
Moreover, using the product demonstration to prove its effectiveness has become a
useful way in increasing creditability and persuading consumers.

Combined with

a sound word-of-mouth reputation, effective product display and demonstration can

be used as a great tool for achieving market success.
Facing a rich supply of product information, the channels of information flows
which consumers have access to influence the buying decision in many ways.
From a psychological point of view, people are often consciously aware of his or
her own status in relation to others.

In making efforts to form the group

conformity, consumers obtain new product information not only for satisfying their
own needs but also for fulfilling expectations from others.

Since todays

consumers are often time-deprived, a well-informed product consultant could be an

influential member in their reference circle.

4. The Key Success Factors of Multi-Level Marketing Business

As the society and market mature, the needs of consumers become more and more
diverse.

For companies who want to gain an edge over competition, studies of

consumer tastes, needs, purchasing habits, and changing market trends are critically
important.

In the last 16 years, the development of the MLM industry, with its

immense organizational and sales growth, has undoubtedly been proven to be a huge
market success.

The success reflects peoples increasing acceptance to buying MLM

products as well as participating in its marketing and selling process.

Through close

examination, we discover a linkage between the industrys success and its very ability
to seize the merging opportunities in a changing social and economic environment.
The following analyses details four major contributing factors to the success of the
9

industry.
4.1 Attributes that meet needs
In selling, the attributes of a product and/or service are the most essential part of
the offering.

Based on researches done by the Fair Trade Commission and some

academic researchers (Fu Hsien-Fang, Lee Yueh, 1993), eight special

characteristics of directing selling products were discovered.
A. High Quality Level
Since the previous usage experience and the products effectiveness are still a
major concern for buying decisions, a superior level of product quality has
uniformly become a must-have for direct selling products.

A favorable

word-of-mouth reputation would not only enhance customer loyalty but also
encourage the first time customers.

To establish a sound brand name reputation,

the importance of maintaining an above-standard product quality can never be

over-emphasized.
With the rising level of living standards and purchasing power, consumers today
acknowledge products that deliver promised values and are more willing to pay for
the premium.

Even more, for many time-short working population, a good

word-of-mouth reputation is usually the best time-saving buying guideline.

B. Ease of Use and Operation
Products that are easy to use, operate, and demonstrate have a merit for attracting
customers.

Using water filtering machines as an example, the demonstration of

the machine provides a great opportunity not only for showing prospective
customers how the machine operates but also for instructing consumers the proper
operation.
10

C. Health-oriented Nature
According to a survey conducted by the Fair Trade Commission(1997), the top
three

categories

of

direct

selling

products

are:

health

and

nutrition

products(42.15%), cosmetic products(16.89%), and health-enhancing and fitness

equipment(14.35%).

Accounting for roughly 73 percent of the total sales volume,

products containing health-oriented nature have clearly reflected the societys

demands for maintaining a balanced, healthy lifestyle as well as the anxiety for
coping with the aging trend.
D. Concerns for Natural Environment
The rising voice for natural preservation and environment protection in recent
years has also made products made from natural ingredients a big star in the market
place.

To accommodate this trend, many companies are rushing to developing

natural-based, ecological-concerned health foods, cosmetic products, and fitness

equipment to capture this market opportunity.
E. Well-thought-out After Sales Service
The rise of consumerism has inevitably changed the attitude and expectation of
consumers.

Not only do factors such as product safety and effectiveness become a

basic consideration for purchasing decisions, a well-thought-out after sales service

package and refund policy are also becoming a standard buying offer.
As mandated clearly in the Fair Trade Laws, legitimate MLM companies are all
obligated to provide their customers with adequate after-sales service as well as
refund policies.

Since this kind of services can often be performed by the direct

selling agents at the customers house, it largely eliminates the customer travelling
11

time and efforts and at the same time, reduces the consumers perceived buying
risks.
F. The Multi-Functional Nature of the Product
Facing abundant new product offerings and market information, the total value of
a product has become a often-used criterion in the consumers decision making.
Compared with multi-functional ones, products that perform only limited functions
are destined to be less competitive.

In an attempt to cultivate this market

opportunity, many MLM companies are adding product features desired by

consumers to make their offerings more appealing.
G. Ease of Carrying
Living a busy lifestyle, effective time management has its very importance.
When it comes to the product design, the concept of keeping it light, thin, short,
and small, that frees consumers from both space and time limitation, has somehow
become a main stream.

For products that can be used frequently, the easy-to-carry

design can even lead to an increase in product usage.

This is also why most direct

selling companies accompany their products with easy-to-carry packs.

H. Nature of Repurchasing
Distributors and sales volumes of all levels are essential working elements
for a multi-level marketing organization.

To maintain a sustainable long term

growth, repeat consumption made by customers plays a vital role.

For this

reason, the non-durable products, which contains unlimited potentials for

repurchasing, have been the major items sold by most direct sales companies.
This can especially be seen from the top selling items of the industry such as
skin-care, health, and cleaning products that require frequent uses.
12

4.2 An effective information provider

Face-to-face communication between a direct sales person and his/her clients
provides many advantages that the conventional marketing endeavors such as
product designing, flexible pricing, and market segmenting can not easily match.
Among all others, three distinct advantages of face-to-face selling are worth of
discussing:
A.

Meeting Consumers Thirst for New Product Information

As the society turning multi-faced, consumers nowadays are more aware of
knowledge concerning new inventions, technologies, and trends.

Through

proper training, multi-level companies can made their sales people

well-prepared in informing their clients the latest product-related trends as well
as answering their questions.
B.

Gathering Market Feedback

By using face-to-face communication, companies can know more about how
the customer respond to their offerings and can also find out the causes for
their dissatisfaction.

And through the feedback made by the field sales, MLM

companies can use these first hand market information for strategic decision
making in the area of production, pricing, quality control, and after sales
service.
C.

Providing Purchasing Consultation

Occupied by busy work schedules and family activities, most consumers
have only limited time left for gathering the product information they need.
Under such conditions, a real life consultant who offers a wide range of
product-related advice can save consumers tremendous time and efforts.
13

In

the direct selling business, this merging role of product consultant is normally
assumed by the field distributor in serving his or her busy customers.
4.3 The innovative benefits of direct selling
While the term marketing channels has been redefined by rapid technological
and economic development, various channel inventions have also been putting into
practice.

With its unique nature, the multi-level marketing industry is especially

seen as an effective marketing channel. Thanks to the rise in educational level

and the wide media coverage, the industry has gradually detached itself from the
negative image of the so-called pyramid scheme and developed into a
multi-billion-dollars-in-sales giant.

The followings are the analysis of

contributing factors for its success.

A. Efficient Shopping Pattern
Since direct sales people usually serve the clients at the clients house, they
provide a time-efficient way of satisfying needs.

Moreover, by serving the

client at home, the direct sales people have the opportunity to explain the
benefits of their offerings thoroughly and could also reduce the clients
inconvenience for after sales service.

Compared with traditional market

channels, the shopping pattern of direct sales products is far more

time-efficient and flexible.
B. Long-term Relationship Building
Through continuous sales and service contacting, the direct sales people can
establish

long-term

relationship

with

their

clients.

And

this

long-time-cultivated relationship will be a valuable asset for generating future

sales.

Even when the client is unsatisfied with the product or the level of
14

service, direct contacts can be a very productive way in diminishing the clients
discontent.
C. Quick Response Marketing Mechanism
Resulting form the progresses in new technologies and mass media, the
current consumer market is greatly shaped by manifold demands and supplies
in the market place.

To sustain the market competitiveness, tasks involving

assessing the changing needs and demands of consumers have become

crucially important.

Compared with traditional marketing methods which rely

largely on using questionnaires to gain market feedback, direct customer

approach provides a far more effective, accurate information stream for
strategic decision making.
D. Narrowing the Distance Between People
Acting out the belief of sharing good things with good friends, direct sales
people are often eager to introduce well-reputed products to those around them.
This unique channel of business transaction provides not only various benefits
associated with better products and services, but also much-needed
interpersonal ties in the modern society.
E. Turning Passive to Active
Conventional marketing channels generally rely on fixed locations for
product distribution.

Under such systems, the interaction between a company

and its customers is passive in nature.

In direct selling, however, the field

sales people need to adopt a more aggressive method in approaching their

prospective customers.

This push approach will undoubtedly widen the

client base of a company and contributes to the increase in sales performance.

15

4.4 The combined strategies for achieving success

In addition to factors mentioned above, strategies used by companies to achieve
synergy of their every marketing effort should not be ignored.

To gain an edge

over fierce competition, it is very advisable for companies to measure their success
not only in the area of sales and profits, but in their employee training, public
relations, and promotional management.

Only through a balanced strategy

forming and implementing, can a multi-level marketing enterprise ensure a

sustainable long-term success.

5. The Future Trends of Direct Selling Products

To succeed in the market place, companies of any industry must have a clear
market-driven focus and always keep a constant touch with changes in its operating
environment.

To a large extent, the success of the multi-level marketing industry lies

on its ability to match the needs arise from a changing society with its every strength.
Nevertheless,

facing

with

the

increasing

competitive

pressure

from

both

newly-developed and conventional market sectors, todays accomplishment will not

guarantee tomorrows prosperity.

To conquer the challenges ahead, strategies should

be developed to further discover those under-served market opportunities.

The

followings are areas that are currently under-cultivated and deserve more attention.
5.1 The extension of target markets
Based on survey done to the top-10 MLM companies (The Fair Trade
Commission, 1997), the cluster of the main target segments are most commonly
aimed at adult customers.

Nevertheless, as small size families become a norm in

the society, parents are investing more in their children.

16

This would leads to

opportunities for expanding sales volume as well as distribution networks.

Through using the corporate and training resources more productively, multi-level
marketing companies should start to cultivate the hidden potentials of the
expanding market segments.
5.2 Developing innovative products and services
According to the Fair Trade Commission(1997), during the period of 1993 to
1996, health-related products have topped the sales rank among other categories. These
data clearly indicate the concern for better health has its irreplaceable importance for
local consumers.

Further, with the increased income, educational level and medical

awareness, we can predict that the market demands for health-related products will
grow even greater.

In addition to the already existed health foods, nutritional

supplement, and fitness equipment, the health checkup service is also getting its
popularity.

Providing its members with a warm ambience, privacy, and professional

caretakers, health care service providers create a comfortable medical environment.

In

addition, through cooperating with local medical care institutes, multi-level marketing
companies can even take a further step in developing themselves into professional
health care consulting agents that benefit a wide range of people.
5.3 Developing the width and depth of product mix
Due to rapid technological advancement, the life cycle of new products has been
dramatically shortened.

To maintain market competitiveness, companies need to

have a system that enables them to adjust their offerings precisely to meet the
merging demands.
much truth.

For multi-level marketing companies, the above statement has

In order to accommodate the diverse demands of the modern

consumers, MLM companies should develop strategies to broaden both the width
17

and depth of their competitive offerings.

Even more, efforts devoted to create a

professional brand name image and investment made to enhance the productivity of
human resources will all play crucial roles in tomorrows success.
5.4 The use of intelligent marketing database
To effectively broaden customer base and expand marketing network, many
companies are now taking advantage of the use of the intelligent market
information database.

This advanced data collecting system can yield many

benefits from facilitating sales transaction, making performance prediction, to

supporting field sales efforts.
5.5 Opportunities for leisure-oriented product and service
With the rise in living standards, consumers nowadays place more emphasis on
leisure needs and personal privacy.

This is especially evidenced by the increasing

demands for recreational activities in recent years.

marketing

resources,

multi-level

marketing

While utilizing their existing

companies

can

incorporate

leisure-oriented products and services such as vacation-center chains, travel

planning service, and health clubs that can be fit easily into their current operations.
5.6 The growing importance of sound pubic relations
The development of corporate image and PR efforts have long been put in the
back burner for the sake of pursuing short-term profits.

However, todays

consumers have more to ask than simply have their needs satisfied.

In the eyes of

sophisticated consumers, a healthy company image, measured by both social and

environmental aspects, has been seen as important as the products themselves.

To

flow with this trend, multi-level marketing companies should involve themselves in
activities that promote better social welfare and environmental concerns.
18

5.7 Products for Female Consumers

In the process of purchase evaluation, female consumers generally tend to rely
more on reference groups around them (Kuo Kun-Mo, 1991).
easy to be affected by certain outside stimuli.

They are also more

Even though over the years the

female consumers have form a representing voice in the market place, finding out
their exact needs and tailoring marketing programs to serve them is no easy task.
However, the rewards should outweigh the efforts in the long run.

6. Conclusion
It was just 16 years ago when Amway set up its multi-level marketing operation
in Taiwan.

Today, with more than 2.3 million participants, the multi-level marketing

enterprises has flourished into a NT$ 40.8 billion in sales industry.

After studying

factors that contribute to its amusing rate of growth, we conclude that the industry has
succeeded in finding niches characterized by changes in the society and in developing
strategies that incorporate genuine market and customer focuses with relentless
entrepreneurial spirits.

With prompt government guidance, the multi-level marketing

industry has successfully reborn from the image of ill-reputed money-sucking schemes
and proven itself to be an innovative, powerful marketing force.
Despite its formidable market presence, the industry is also facing challenges of
coping with the intensifying competitive pressures in its operating environment.

To

gain an edge over competition, the concrete efforts made to find out the needs of
consumers and to serve the target segments at an exceptional level will make a big
difference.
Putting them into practices, companies should cautiously tailor strategies aimed
to widening the customer reach, broadening the product line, developing the winning
19

product mix, supporting field sales efforts, cultivating leisure and female-oriented
market opportunities, and building up the companys public image.
In Japan, the annual sales generated by a direct sales person is approximately ten
times of those in Taiwan.
growth.

The figure is a clear indication that there is still room for

As the industry moving into a mature stage, how to reinvent itself and remain

competitive is a challenging task.

To ensure future survival, multi-level marketing

companies have a lot more to do than just boosting their bottom-lines.

More

importantly, they need to take concrete cooperative and constructive steps in

establishing industrial norms, enforcing their own business conducts, and assisting
regulatory agencies in streamlining the direct selling operation that would benefit the
society as a whole.

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