The church is an interesting entity to focus on. Personally, I am actively involved. No wonder I know that there are lessons that can be drawn from the church. It is estimated that there are over 2.2 billion Christians in the world. The church is the most followed when it comes to faith-based entities. The fact that the church is the most followed speaks volumes. It clearly shows that the church is doing something right when it comes to publicizing itself. Let us look at some marketing lessons from the church.
Consistent And Widespread Messaging
I am a member of the Christ Embassy thus I may lean most to what I personally experience from there. The church is commonly known for having a consistent message. Of course, there can be doctrinal variations from denomination to denomination. However, there generally is a consistent message. This makes it easy to communicate because it has been communicated for ages. It is also easy for converts to ultimately share the same message with others. That is why you find that the church grows through the efforts of those born again.
They go on to tell others because the message is simple and consistent. Another interesting element is the message being widespread. One way the church achieves that is by translating the message into other languages. The church also achieves this by establishing its presence in as many places as it can. These are all pointers on how business marketing should also be done. Have a simple, consistent, and widespread that can easily be propagated. The message is what draws people to become part of the church.
Diverse Media Material
This is closely tied to making sure the messaging is widespread. In Christ Embassy we have media material that is meant for all age groups. We have Rhapsody of Realities starting for early readers. We also have one for teenagers. In fact, our Rhapsody of Realities for adults is the most translated media material in the world. It is the most translated and distributed daily devotional in the world. It is now available in over 7858 languages of the world. This is an example of how important it is to use diverse media material.
We also have the Pastor Chris Digital Library (PCDL) with hundreds of video and audio messages. Media material is available both in print and electronic formats. This should serve as a marketing lesson for you when doing business marketing. In Zimbabwe, I often see many businesses not considering the importance of using several languages. Some stick only to digital and not print media. You need to have and put out diverse media material.
Importance Of Coordinated Teams
If you want to get some inspiration on coordinated teams, check out the church. Generally, there are teams assigned to do outreaches or soul-winning. Plus it is generally everyone’s responsibility to do that. Then you have teams assigned to handle first-timers or new converts. Then you have teams assigned to handle church services. You will have teams responsible for taking new converts through foundation school (like in Christ Embassy). You have pastors that conduct services.
You have media teams, technical teams, follow-up teams, and so on. You have cell leaders (i.e. for home groups). These are all examples of coordinated teams that interact. Their common thrust is to collectively work on spreading the kingdom message and grooming Christians. Then once they are grounded, they also take responsibility to participate in teams. That whole approach should be used in business marketing. There must be coordinated teams working together.
Active Online Presence
The church for the most part has mastered the use of online platforms. Most use social media platforms whereas some use their own platforms. Like in Christ Embassy, we have several of our own streaming platforms – from television stations to streaming websites. We also have our own social media platforms e.g. Yookos and KingsChat. We also have a number of mobile apps we use for streaming services or events online.
All these platforms enable us to have an active online presence. For instance, in 2021 during our Healing Streams program in March, there were more than 4.1 billion unique logins to watch the program. This serves as a marketing lesson for businesses. You need to put in place all possible measures to be active online. At the very least, use available platforms e.g. social media platforms.
Strategic Events
The church is known for being big on events. After all, it is their norm to hold church services every week. Mostly it is midweek and Sunday services. Such events make it easier to propagate their message. It also makes it possible to capture new people. They also hold other strategic events e.g. crusades, leaders’ meetings, seminars, retreats, outreaches, and so on. These are all effective in publicising the church, its message, and its activities. This is the very same thing you should be doing for your business.
Put Money Into Your Marketing
I am discussing this last but it is extremely important. The church invests a lot in publicizing and spreading its message. That is something that many people do not appreciate. Let us explore some examples to paint the picture. An hour-long sponsored or infomercial programme on the radio can cost as much as US$600 or more. A church service streamed via several platforms globally can cost millions of US dollars.
How about the cost of producing media material? How about running television channels? What services or events? Lots of money is put into that by the church. No wonder today the church is the most followed. What size should your marketing budget be? There is an article I did on that; check it out. Your marketing budget must range between 6 and 20 percent of gross revenue.
If you closely follow how the church conducts its events or activities you will learn a lot. These are lessons that you can apply in business marketing. If you do so this year you can revolutionize your business marketing.
