Network Marketing - Enrichment or deception?

Master's Thesis from the year 2010 in the subject Business economics - Offline Marketing and Online Marketing grade: 17 University of Applied Sciences Essen language: English abstract: 1.1 Background and MotivationRelationship marketing is an approach which aims at retaining customers. Throughout history people have used relationship marketing to expand their businesses. Moreover some producers began to sell their products without intermediary trade directly to final consumers with the help of sales representatives. In order to gain acompetitive and strategic cost advantage the producers dispensed with traditional advertising. This procedure shows the positive aspects of relationship marketing. The original concept of NWM is based upon trust amongst people and the importance of personal recommendations. Moreover network marketing is a marketing approachwhich benefits from relationships. The objective of this approach is to create a positive image of NWM through customer satisfaction. This procedure ensures the economic success of any network marketing company. NWM in general is conceived of a constantly growing business. Nevertheless an ambivalent societal perception of network marketing exists. The problem in general is that the activity of recruiting people [...] is socially and psychologically unacceptable tomost people in our society (Bloch 1996 p. 18). It cannot be concluded if the success of NWM is due to relationship marketing.Within this thesis I analyse if network marketing is enrichment for people - this means how the perception of network marketing is in the society as well as from people within NMO and further whether NMO deceives people in order to achieve profit. 1.2 ProblemAccording to Bhattacharya and Mehta (2000 p. 361) Network Marketing Organisations (NMO) [...] has grown in importance over the last few decades. For example Avon a well-known network marketing company is ranked number 67 in the Best Global Brands 200