Multi-Level Marketing JM 310 Editorial and Article Writing Group Members 1. Benyapha Chooligorn 2. Phassaphoo Apissirirat 3. Patcharapa Rerkchavee 4. Penny Watcharasin 5. Bharun Seyayongka 6. Yonlaphat Bonsusakul 7. Rungsima Lertruchtkul 8. Watcharakorn Asawawuthivekin 5507640364 5507640471 5507640497 5507640521 5507640554 5507640638 5507640687 5507640729 Topic - Multi-Level Marketing business – trickery or real business? Unicity International, Amway and similar multilevel marketing businesses - Are they fraudulent pyramid schemes? What is multi-level marketing? It is a kind of marketing strategy. It allows anyone with potentially no resources to start business with no limit on their success. What is multi-level marketing? It involves selling via personal recommendation endorsement of representatives. How does MLM work? Upline: independent representative who sponsors other subrepresentatives. Downline: sub-representatives who are recruited and sponsored by the other upline. How does MLM work? - Upline generate income from retailing product and service - And also for the sales of downline. - So, upline must find plans to get someone to be their downlines. Example: Amway Amway ( American Way) - an American company - primarily sell health, beauty, and home care product. Example: Amway Business Model: Independent Business Owners (IBOs) direct selling + multi-level marketing People may become Amway member , so they can buy products at discounted prices. Example: Amway Approaching Techniques - promises successful and better life - uses parents royalty & religion - offers insurance in life Example: Amway Approaching Techniques - travelling package Example: Amway Approaching Techniques - scares people using AEC and dynamic world uses a lot of jargon and hard English word shows quality of product shows successful people as motivation uses quotation from famous people Example: Giffarine Giffarine - a Thai MLM company - founded by a group of doctors and pharmacists Example: Giffarine Product : cosmetics skincare, body care, hair care, and etc. food supplements Example: Giffarine Business Model: Stair Step + Unilevel Giffarine’s upline get the compensation from the whole network, even though their downlines are in the higher ranks Example: Giffarine Approaching Techniques - Thai people should make an effort to support Thai company offers new opportunity for everyone gentleness, mercy, warmth and sincerity easy and simple to understand gives people encouragement plays with emotion Example: Giffarine Approaching Techniques -Keeps calling everyone, who joins them, business owner -Shows pictures of successful people with big house and expensive car Example: Unicity International Unicity -A multi-level marketing company -products are primarily in dietary supplement product Example: Unicity International Business Model: Upline + Downline joining Unicity Business Opportunity = you will become a “Franchise Partner” As a Franchise Partner you have the opportunity to earn from eight different income streams Example: Unicity International As a Franchise Partner you have the opportunity to earn from eight different income streams 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Reatail profits Personal rebate Fast start bonus Director Lifestyle bonus Infinity bonus Presidents Club bonus Additional franchise positions Chairman’s Club bonus Example: Unicity International Approaching Techniques - shows company’s stability - shows technology and innovation - small investment, big profit - uses people’s belief and family to convey people Example: Unicity International Approaching Techniques - uses sympathy - uses celebrity - uses expensive cars & luxury houses - travelling package Article ** Technique used -started with anecdote “Unicity, Unicity, Unicity!” participants of all ages at the Unicity Kash Camp were increasingly louder and potent every time they called out the company’s name. Some people were even screaming and shed tears of joy as they believed that Unicity was their new hope which could change their lives forever. Surprisingly, the event which aimed to be powerful turned out to be frightening for Supisara Kuenghakit, 20, a student from Bangkok University who joined the Unicity Kash Camp in 2013. At that moment, she realized that everyone there was so engrossed in the business and has such vehement beliefs. It seems to her that Unicity is not a business anymore, but a dogma.” Article ** Technique used - Question “But what really is a Multi-Level Marketing business?” - Classes of the MLM business “The business can be categorized into high, middle, or even lower classes by the product prices and the way each company creates its brand images and uses the sale distributors’ lifestyles as the incentives such as the cars they use, the trip they take, the activities they do, etc.” Article ** Technique used - High class company “The high class Multi-Level Marketing businesses brands mostly aim to focus on the luxurious rewards and success that business people will reap from being a part of the brand. Unicity, for example, is an example of a high class Multi-Level Marketing businesses brand that focuses on attaining success in their lives within a short period of time by using the “luxurious rewards” strategy.” Article ** Technique used - middle to upper class “Among the middle to upper class Multi-Level Marketing businesses, Amway is perceived as one of the most popular companies available for those who are in search of opportunities. This American business possesses different approaches which emphasizes on the independent lifestyles to the public than the other class of businesses. The main technique Amway uses is to provide information about the company’s capability and scale.” Article ** Technique used - The middle to lower class “The middle to lower or more local class of MultiLevel Marketing businesses brands mostly aim to focus on the nationalistic and conservative aspects. The example of the middle class of Multi-Level Marketing business is Giffarine Company. Because it is a Thai company, Giffarine uses the psychological techniques of “Thai supports Thai” to persuade people to be a part of Giffarine and become its customers as well.” Article ** Technique used • The lower or more local class • “The lower or more local class of Multi-Level Marketing business brands also has similar approaching techniques and strategies of nationalistic and conservative aspects. “If Thais doesn’t support Thais, who else will support us,” said the user in Oknation website who is an Aim Star member. • Aim Star Network Corporation is a Multi-Level Marketing business which intends to build an exceptional network marketing organization and to meet the demands of business owners by providing the products and services.” Article ** Technique used - Voices of the people in the general public - Voices of the MLM distributors - Voices of the fomer MLM distributors Article ** Technique used End with the Story-telling techniques “For example, there is a story from Uthaisri Bhumiwat, a middle-aged housewife whom we randomly interviewed told us about a time when her long lost friend called to visit her. She was glad to hear from her old friend that she willingly invited her friend to her place. “It turned out that my friend came to introduce me to Amway’s new cosmetic products. Because of the confusion and manner, I bought a day cream from her,” said Uthaisri Bhumiwat. “Honestly, I felt bad. It’s like she’s not being sincere to me anymore.”” Article ** Technique used - End with rhetorical question “Since some people feel that they are tricked to the seminar, forced to buy the products, and persuaded to join a brainwashing camp by their friends and acquaintances, they begin to have bad attitudes toward the Multi-Level Marketing businesses. Some even lose friendship with those who work in this business. As more people are experiencing these situations, many have begun to wonder whether these approaches are marketing techniques or a trickery?” Working Process Researching Primary Source -Survey method -Interview method Secondary Source -Internet -Brochure -CD from seminar Working Process Primary Source: - survey method quantitative way of researching results Info-graphic shows the survey is done by 44 male and 56 female 37 has joined MLM Business 63 has never joined 23 found it a tricky business 21 found it annoying 60 found it reliable 40 found it unreliable Working Process: Meeting records Working Process: Meeting records 1 Working Process: Online Meeting • To keep everyone in touch all the time, we decided to create… Working Process: Online Meeting LINE GROUP CHAT Working Process: Online Meeting GOOGLE DRIVE Working Process: Online Meeting • FACEBOOK GROUP Gallery: Graphic Information Gallery: Graphic Information Gallery: Graphic Information