A question we sometimes get from potential mystery shoppers is whether the kind of work we do is actually multi-level marketing. Given that there have been scams associated with both industries, the question is fair. And the answer is straightforward: no, it’s not. But read on for a detailed explanation of what MLMs are and how they differ from what we do at The Brandt Group.
First, let’s define what multi-level marketing even is. This is a bit technical, so bear with us a moment. According to Wikipedia, it’s “a controversial marketing strategy for the sale of products or services where the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salaried workforce selling the company’s products or services, while the earnings of the participants are derived from a pyramid-shaped or binary compensation commission system.” The article goes on to explain, “the compensation plan theoretically pays out to participants only from two potential revenue streams. The first is paid out from commissions of sales made by the participants directly to their own retail customers. The second is paid out from commissions based upon the wholesale purchases made by other distributors below the participant who have recruited those other participants into the MLM.” In short, “MLM salespeople are, therefore, expected to sell products directly to end-user retail consumers by means of relationship referrals and word of mouth marketing, but more importantly they are incentivized to recruit others to join the company’s distribution chain as fellow salespeople.”
Now, let’s give a summary on what mystery shopping is. You’ll notice this is easier to understand! According to Wikipedia, it’s “a method used by marketing research companies and organizations that wish to measure quality of sales and service, job performance, regulatory compliance, or to gather specific information about a market or competitors, including produces and services.” The article continues, “Mystery shoppers typically mirror common consumer behavior to test the consistency of habits deemed important to a specific brand or industry. Mystery shoppers, which are gig workers or independent contractors submit detailed reports and feedback about their experiences.”
Put another way, a mystery-shopping company would never ask you to become a distributor or be responsible for recruiting clients or anything of the like. The MLM system expects you to find ways to profit off your personal relationships.
In mystery shopping, client businesses come to us for market research, because they want to affirm that their employees are meeting their brand or customer service standards. In order to acquire honest, real-world feedback, we contract average consumers to interact with those clients and fill out reports detailing their experiences. You never pay anything to The Brandt Group. That’s how all legitimate mystery-shopping companies operate. If you’re ever asked to pay a membership fee, think twice. And the only time a company like ours would expect you to go out-of-pocket for something would be for a small purchase so you can evaluate a cashier, or by having a meal at a restaurant so you can evaluate a server. Even then, we reimburse!
Please feel free to take a look around our website to learn more about us, including our Become a Shopper page. Read online reviews. Give us a call or send us a message. If you’ve got questions or concerns, we’re here to help!
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