Multi-level marketing (MLM) (also called network marketing, direct selling, and referral marketing,) is a term that describes a marketing structure used by companies as part of their overall marketing strategy. The structure is designed to create a marketing and sales force by compensating promoters of company products not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of other promoters they PHP introduce to the company, creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation.