EmogInspiration

The name and the concept of multi level marketing will be received
with mixed feelings by different people. Multi Level Marketing in
plain English can be described as marketing on different levels other
than a single person working alone. There are a lot of programs out
there that have made the concept of multi level marketing in Nigeria
a restricted area because of their experiences with such programs.

I will try as much as possible to explain the benefits attached to multi
level marketing as well as the misconceptions that have been
associated with multi level marketing in Nigeria. There are two major
aspects of multi level marketing, the product and the reward system.
Any multi level marketing program that is not backed up by a product
is a ponzi scheme. This is the first step in identifying a credible program.

A lot of people were cajoled into joining most multi level marketing
programs like Club Freedom, Getaway Club and other programs
believing that they could earn rewards without actually doing any form
of marketing. They were made to believe that it was some sort of
investment where you put in money and get outrageous returns like a
high yield investment program. This misconception made a lot of people
have the wrong idea about multi level marketing and they began to run
away from it.

I believe that the concept should be properly explained to individuals
who intend to be a part of a multi level marketing program. The product
of any multi level marketing program should be credible and sustainable.
This will go a long way in restoring confidence and ensuring transparency
in multi level marketing programs.

Multi level marketing will bring about a revolution in the Nigerian
economy. Let’s take Independent Field Advertisers (IFA) for example.
IFA  is an insurance firm based in South Africa that sells life insurance.
They adopted a Multi Level Marketing approach in their structure. The
results speaks volumes. They have two million policy holders in South
Africa. They have sold 200,000 forms in Nigeria in two months of their
existence here. Life insurance is not a product anyone would like to sell,
however they have achieved a lot and exceeded the norm in Nigeria.
Very few Insurance companies can boast of 10,000 policy holders in all
their years of existence here in Nigeria.

We are all involved in Multi Level Marketing in one way or the other,
only that we do not earn from it. Nigerian’s have very strong social ties
and are connected to each other in such a way that our social system
supports multi level marketing. A friend of mine got a very beautiful
jacket. He wore it to the office and told everyone in the office about
the guy that made it. The guy ended up making suits for everyone in the
office.

The moment the banking, telecoms or any other major sector of the
economy takes up multi level marketing in its structure, the public will
begin to see it from a different perspective. Malaysia for example has
well over 625 MLM companies. Unlike Nigerian’s, the Asian’s are shy
yet they have such a high number of multi level marketing programs.
This is an indication that if proper structures are put in place, multi level
marketing could become a distinct industry like every other industry in
Nigeria.

One of the ills of Multi Level Marketing is that people get carried away by the
rewards that they replicate themselves in order to outsmart the system. Multi
level Marketing helps you to increase your network and leverage if properly
utilized. There are tons of opportunities in the Multi Level Marketing industry.
The experiences gained so far from Multi Level Marketing could be used as
a model which can be adopted by multinationals to help them with marketing
their products. Emerging companies like Etisalat who are getting into a
competitive industry could use a multi level marketing approach like IFA which
has shown that the results are often greater than normal advertising. Facebook
uses a referral based structure. Someone said, the best form of advertising is
the word of a friend.