Final answer:
Companies employing salespeople to visit customers directly engage in direct selling, a practice with historical roots in traveling salesmanship but evolved to protect brand reputation and customer trust. Correct option is direct.
Step-by-step explanation:
Companies that send salespeople to customers' homes or places of work are making use of direct selling. This business strategy has evolved from the days of traveling salesmen, who played a crucial role in the extension of national markets for a variety of products, from food items like Crisco and Quaker Oats to vacuum cleaners and life insurance policies. Due to the potential for miscommunication and fraud - exemplified by salesmen diluting Pabst's beer to increase profit - strict corporate guidelines emerged to preserve brand integrity and ensure a consistent product. These corporate sales methods helped brands build nationally recognized reputations, thus protecting consumers from potential scams and ensuring brand loyalty.
In the historical context, companies rapidly expanded and executives at distant home offices could hardly do more than establish general guidelines for their sales forces. Those reputable companies that delivered consistent products and shielded their brands from greedy practices managed to develop significant national reputations and long-lasting customer trust.