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The Ministry of Marketing – Getting Over the Aversion

“Hark the herald angels sing…”

Many marketplace believers truly struggle with actually marketing their business. They see marketing as human manipulation. They fear it is a display of self-promotion when it may be “holier,” to rely on God to bring promotion on His own.  Although it is certainly possible to drift into manipulation or self-promotion, like all two edged swords, there is a beautiful, life giving side to marketing that I hope you will embrace. I call it, “The Ministry of Marketing.”

Why we love marketing

Marketing is simply taking our message to those who need to hear it, rather than waiting for them to find us. Just as the Lord came to “seek and to save those who were lost,” so the marketer goes to seek and to “save” (solve a problem or provide pleasure) those who need our product or service. It’s called “doing business,” and it is every bit as sacred as coming to church and praying. Everything the believer does can be an act of worship, including being ourselves in the marketplace. We love marketing because we will always touch more people with our marketing than with our service or product itself. Therefore, it is worthwhile to discover a Biblical model for getting our message to as many people as possible.

Biblical Model for Marketing

Habakkuk 2:2 “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets that a herald may run with it.”

It is not my goal to take this verse out of its beautiful context, but rather to apply the principles of it to our every-day business life.

1. Write down the revelation (Vision)

In recent decades there has been a great deal of talk about vision statements, and mission statements. These start with revelation. As believers it is our privilege to be led by the Spirit of God. When heading into the marketplace, it is best to be very clear about who we serve and what we bring. In the marketplace people give money in exchange for having a problem solved or a pleasure gained. It’s a beautiful thing. We should be able to answer the questions, “What benefits do we bring with this product or service, to whom, and why?” Hopefully the answer includes the idea that it’s “because we care, and we bring something special to the consumer.”  These are elements of our Marketing Message.

1. Make it plain on tablets

The clarity with which we communicate our message has everything to do with our success in business. After all, “How can they believe except they hear?” is just as applicable to business as it is to the message of the gospel.  In Habakkuk the prophet was told to write his message on tablets of stone because that was how messages were carried back then. Today we could say, make the message clear in print, on t-shirts, on telephone, on radio, on TV, on the internet, on Youtube, on Facebook, on Twitter… because that is how we carry messages now. These are elements of our marketing Media.

1. That a herald may run with it

My favorite part – the human element, or is this the angelic element? The marketer is simply a herald, as in “Hark the herald angels sing.” Let’s look at the Bible.

Luke 2:8-14 …and suddenly a great company of heavenly host appeared with the angel praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

That was quite a message originally shared with a very “niche market” – a few shepherds. But it was strategic, clear and effective enough to send the shepherds running to the newborn king.

As believers in business, we get to herald our message to our precious market – those who are called to work with us. In the process, we get to touch, educate, empower, and bless many, many more than those who actually give us money. Knowing the pains and problems of our target clients and customers is part of our Marketing Calling. So, the ministry of marketing is a noble thing indeed, and as believers we should be hungry to excel at it, lest those who are called to our circle become seduced instead, by those who could do them harm.

Gina Parris is a professional speaker and the founder of Built to Win Coaching where she helps entrepreneurs around the world to fulfill their God-given potential – joyfully. Sign up for her free Mental Mastery Mini-course at www.GinaParris.com

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1. Clayton Homes Gives Us All a Business Success Lesson
2. How To Be Heard in a Noisy Marketplace
3. Does God Want You To Be Rich
4. Are You Driven or Are You Called?

Tagged as:  business growth · Business Success · marketing