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Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they generate, but also for the sales of the other salespeople that they recruit. This recruited sales force is referred to as the participant's "downline", and can provide multiple levels of compensation. Other terms used for MLM include pyramid selling, network marketing,〔 and referral marketing.〔 According to the US FTC, some MLM companies constitute illegal pyramid schemes which exploit members of the organization.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher= FTC )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher= FTC )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher= FTC, Bureau of Consumer Protection )〕 MLM is one type of direct selling. Most commonly, the salespeople are expected to sell products directly to consumers by means of relationship referrals and word of mouth marketing. MLM salespeople not only sell the company's products but also encourage others to join the company as a distributor.〔〔〔 Companies that use MLM models for compensation have been a frequent subject of criticism and lawsuits. Criticism has focused on their similarity to illegal pyramid schemes, price fixing of products, high initial entry costs (for marketing kit and first products), emphasis on recruitment of others over actual sales, encouraging if not requiring members to purchase and use the company's products, exploitation of personal relationships as both sales and recruiting targets, complex and exaggerated compensation schemes, the company and/or leading distributors making major money off training events and materials, and cult-like techniques which some groups use to enhance their members' enthusiasm and devotion.〔〔 ==Direct selling, network marketing, and multi-level marketing== Network marketing and multi-level marketing have been described by author Dominique Xardel as being synonymous, and as methods of direct selling.〔 According to Xardel, direct selling and network marketing refer to the distribution system, while the term "multi-level marketing" describes the compensation plan.〔 Other terms that are sometimes used to describe multi-level marketing include "word-of-mouth marketing", "interactive distribution", and "relationship marketing". Critics have argued that the use of different terms and "buzzwords" is an effort to distinguish multi-level marketing from illegal Ponzi schemes, chain letters, and consumer fraud scams. Some sources classify multi-level marketing as a form of direct selling rather than ''being'' direct selling. The Direct Selling Association (DSA), a lobbying group for the multi-level marketing industry, reported that in 1990 twenty-five percent of members used MLM, growing to 77.3 percent in 1999.〔 (citing Neil Offen, president of the Direct Selling Association)〕 By 2009, 94.2% of DSA members were using MLM, accounting for 99.6% of sellers, and 97.1% of sales. Companies such as Avon, Electrolux, Tupperware, and Kirby all originally used single level marketing to sell their goods and later introduced multi-level compensation plans.〔 The DSA has approximately 200 members 〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Direct Selling Organization Membership )〕 while it is estimated there are over 1,000 firms using multi-level marketing in the United States alone. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Multi-level marketing」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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