v • d • e This article is within the scope of WikiProject Business , a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Business on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.
Percent of Marketing Industry
I have family member that has currently fallen victim to one of these schemes and is telling me numbers that I believe to be inaccurate, "That there are more millionaires in MLM or Network Marketing than in any other industry in the USA" Can we please put up some actual numbers on the article that are sourced.
Compensation
Unilevel compensation is not the same as Stair-Step Breakaway. I fixed this by removing Unilevel from the Stair-step area and adding a Unilevel explanation. Also, the explanation of stair-step breakaway seems to be related to a particular company, not a true definition of the plan. I will fix this when I get time.
I added Hybrid compensation plans to the article today. Would it help if I cited particular companies and documents that showed examples of these plans? Djglove (talk) 16:23, 22 April 2008 (UTC)
Different meanings UK/USA
MLM in the UK has a completely different meaning; maybe that should be mentioned in the article...
I would also add that the two terms are not interchangeable. Network marketing is about the structure which is created. Multilevel refers to the commissions paid on more than one level in the structure. It is quite normal for a company to have many, many levels in it's network but only to pay the independent contractors/distributors on one level. Therefore I move that we do NOT merge the two categories. (Credentials: full time network marketer for 13 years, and paid multi-level! lol)
Redundant categories
I am removing the most redundant categories:
- Category:Marketing (Category:Multi-level marketing and Category:Direct marketing are already subcategories of Category:Marketing)
- Category:Promotion and marketing communications (Category:Direct marketing is already a subcategory of Category:Promotion and marketing communications)
- Category:Business (Category:Business models is already a subcategory of Category:Business)
See Wikipedia:Categorization#Creating subcategories: “A good general rule is that articles should be placed in the most specific categories they reasonably fit in. For example, Queen Elizabeth should not be listed directly under People, but Queens of England might be a good place for her.” Rafał Pocztarski 08:34, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)
POV? and a position on the categories argument
"Multi-level marketing (MLM) (also called network marketing (NM)) exhibits a business model which exemplifies direct marketing." (italics added) -- Sounds like POV to me. As far as I can see, multi-level marketing isn't even mentioned on the "direct marketing" page, why not if it exemplifies it. I'm not really sure that it neatly fits into traditional direct marketing.
As for the categories, I tend to agree with the multi-category organization and the point that this is not heirarchal -- DH 2005.04.07
I removed the NPOV tag as from what I read here, none of the complaints about the page are still extant. Grackle 22:44, 3 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Knverma deletes information and put following on my talk page
Companies, Notable or not??
I'm removing the "notable" word under Multi-level_marketing#Companies section. Until we encourage more wikipedians to add companies, we cannot grow this topic and be comprehensive. If this list grows too long we can start a "List of Multi-level marketing companies" topic or category. Of course affiliate links and referral codes must be prohibited. If you are adding companies, then keep the list alphabetized and wikify it (i.e., write, ). --Perfecto 01:08, 8 August 2005 (UTC)
We could have saved ourselves a bit of time. I just noticed that List_of_network_marketing_companies already exists. Edwardian 05:48, 13 August 2005 (UTC)
External links, stay or go?
Recently, Tregoweth removed the entire External Links section, citing " (cleaning up external links (Wikipedia is not a link repository; linking to totally-pro and totally-con sites not really helpful)) ." Well, anonymous visitors have been making edits again that are nothing but added HTML links. We got part of this issue cured when we spun off List of network marketing companies. My question is, do we want an External Links section or ban it altogether?
- If it stays, then what's our acceptance criteria?
- If it goes, then how do we encourage these (presumably) siteowners to add NPOV content instead?
--Perfecto 02:41, 12 October 2005 (UTC)
Independent Business Owner
Right now Independent Business Owner is redlinked. Is there an article that explains this term and terms like downline and other Amway type terms? Perhaps it could be called List of Multi-level marketing terms MPS 14:53, 31 October 2005 (UTC)
Question: Does "Independent Business Owner" have a unique meaning in MLM? It seems to be a self-explanatory term. tregoweth 16:51, 31 October 2005 (UTC)
AFAIK only A/Q use the acronym " IBO " -- try searching without the acronym. The term really just means that the sales representatives (agents) of a given firm are independent contractors and not employes. AFAIK, all independent contractors (e.g., some plumbers, real estate agents and sculptors) are, for tax purposes of many countries, self-employed business owners. IANAL or an accountant, though. -- Perfecto
02:25, 1 November 2005 (UTC)
Response: What if the requirement is just corporate sites only? Not the Associates/Distributors. Its fairly easy to tell these days if its the main site or not.removed section
I removed the section below:
This was added by User:219.75.98.205 whose only other contributions were spam links. It doesn't seem to me that it adds much to this article, doesn't cite its sources, and is a thinly-veiled advertisement for the empowerism and trafficforless links. --AbsolutDan (talk) 02:36, 24 May 2006 (UTC)
Father of Network Marketing speaks...
Self promoting post deleted by USER MPS
Criticism of MLM
An anonIP editor has taken to removing per se , even though Amway had made deceptive and illegal claims from the sentence in the criticism section which reads
- Amway in particular is a frequent target for critics for generating considerable revenues from selling instructional and motivational materials to its participants. The FTC issued a decision, In re. Amway Corp. in 1976, which indicated that multi-level marketing was not illegal per se , even though Amway had made deceptive and illegal claims.
Please don't remove this information again. It is important to state, in a section on criticisms of MLM, that while MLM itself was not ruled illegal, that the biggest MLM company was found guilty of fraudulent behavior. I also reverted the paragraph about some small MLM company going bankrupt, leaving its distributors unpaid. With just the information stated, that's not a problem with MLM - lots of businesses go bankrupt, leaving creditors unpaid. Argyriou 18:44, 20 October 2006 (UTC)
The portion of criticism related to market saturation is simply an opinion. (now removed) There is no evidence suggesting that any product line being sold through Network Marketing has ever reached market saturation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.170.107.32 (talk • contribs) 19:10, 24 March 2008
Semi-protect?
Should we request semi-protection for this article? Most of the spamlinks being added are added by anonymous users; semi-protection should cut down significantly on the problem. 23 of 24 of the most recent spamlink additions were done by anonIPs. Argyriou 19:30, 8 November 2006 (UTC)
- That's probably not a bad idea; if some more people agree, I'll be happy to semi-protect it. —tregoweth ( talk ) 19:38, 8 November 2006 (UTC)
XanGo, Noni
I'm arguing with several XanGo distributors at that article, and could use some input. For one thing, the MLMers are indignant that they don't get to use the article for marketing, whereas the Tahitian Noni company has taken over the Noni article and no one h
dummy definition - Small Business Computing Online Dictionary of IT ...
Small Business Computing is the online resource for informative ... reviews, e-commerce tools, tricks of the online marketing ... A dummy variable , for example, is a variable that ...
Targeting small business: Marketing tips
No-one likes to feel like a dummy and a new prospect is less likely ... Printed from: http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/p246391246_Marketing-tips-for-targeting-small-business.html
Small Business TV Marketing
You know me as the author of The Small Business Marketing Bible and Instant Referral Systems, or as ... Your “dummy’s guide” to prep for shooting on location or in the studio.
Amazon.com: Small Business Marketing for Dummies (0785555046740 ...
As a card-carrying dummy, I opened "Small Business Marketing for Dummies" with high hopes. I wasn't disappointed: in great detail and in plain English, Barbara Findlay Schenck has ...
Documents Tagged with small business marketing | Scribd
In this article Small Business Dummy Marketing are some tips given by Lyndon David to help all small business owners and operators
Small Business Dummy Marketing - Video
http://www.asmallbusinessmarketingtool.comImportant Basics pertaining to Small Business Dummy Marketing.Please pause each page of information to t. Watch Video about Small,Business ...
Amazon.com: Small Business Marketing for Dummies, Second Edition ...
Small Business Marketing For Dummies, Second Edition is updated from the original version that won ... 5.0 out of 5 stars Take it from a dummy: This book works!, April 25, 2001
Basics of small business dummy marketing
Basics of small business dummy marketing Lyndon David http://www.asmallbusinessmarketingtool.com/ 1
How To Stand Out In Any Crowd | Small Business Marketing Blog from ...
Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing ... I’m not suggesting she’s made it dummy proof, but she has created a ...
Website Development - Page 3 - Small Business Ideas Forum
Topics include small business marketing, generating revenue and small business computing. ... DIY Help For Dummy