April 27, 2009
OPEN Forum Message
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The crowds gathered on Super Bowl Sunday. Some attended in person; others listened on the radio or watched on television or the Internet. In total, more than 140 million men, women, and children took part in this weekend spectacle. They were rich and poor, young and old, black, white, Asian, and Hispanic. They formed a collection of consumers whose combined spending totaled more than $5.1 trillion annually!
It was Super Bowl Sunday, but it wasn’t the Super Bowl because the big game was hours way. You could call this market, truly, the Holy Grail for marketers. It was all the Christians who worshipped that Sunday and every other Sunday. It is worthy of your attention for the following reasons:
1. It’s large. 231 million Americans consider themselves Christian and 140 million attend church weekly.
2. It’s connected. Churchgoers meet face-to-face 1-3 times each week and communicate by all manner of social media and new technology.
3. It’s powerful. Christians produced the bestselling hardcover book in American history (The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren) and the highest grossing R-rated film of all time (The Passion of the Christ).
4. It’s affordable. Media favored by Christians costs less than its mainstream counterparts.
5. It’s faithful. Respect their beliefs and you’ll win their loyalty.
6. It’s segmented. Got a product or newlyweds, seniors, or expectant mothers? Most churches have already organized their members into such groups.
How do you reach them?
First, forget stereotypes.
If you learned about Christians from the media then you may have the wrong idea. They’re not all white, politically conservative, uneducated and fanatical. In fact, their racial mix mirrors the population at large; they’re evenly split between Republicans and Democrats; they’re more educated than the general population; and, despite some outrageous exceptions, pretty normal.
Second, don’t make it a long-distance relationship
Cultures can be dramatically different. The hand gesture that means “okay” in the United States means “zero” or “worthless” in France, “money” in Japan, and refers to a certain body part in Brazil, Germany, and Russia. Before expanding into a foreign land smart companies study the culture to avoid mistakes.
To learn about Christians visit some churches, browse church websites, read Christian magazines, listen to Christian radio, spend an hour at a Christian bookstore, and take a pastor to lunch. Don’t worry if you’re not a Christian yourself. If you’re expanding your business to China, you don’t have to be Chinese, but you must visit China.
Third, serve, don’t sell.
C.S. Lewis said, “Aim at heaven and you get Earth thrown in. Aim at Earth and you get neither.” It’s good advice for any market, but especially true with Christians. Make serving your goal and sales will follow. Follow these steps:
1. Discover what the church, organization or individual is trying to accomplish.
2. Help them accomplish it by complimenting or multiplying their efforts.
3. Position your business to benefit.
It’s similar to the concept of cause marketing introduced by American Express in 1983 when it pledged to donate a penny to the restoration of the Statue of Liberty for every transaction made by its cardholders. Card use and new members increased by double digits.
Check your balance, review recent transactions and pay your bill on the go.
