Comments on: God as Marketer

By: Geoff J

Geoff J — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:48:37 +0000

I agree that many people see marketing as an impersonal word. I just think that is because they don't understand what the word really means. But the bigger issue I think is the misconception that God does not employ principles of marketing. I'll display this in the examples you gave: It means inserting a product into the market: Yes, in God's case it is his Church making it work in the market as it stands: Yep. The church must flourish in Babylon. adapting product to market and anticipating market trends from the introduction of the product: Yes. The church has adapted greatly since 1830. Of course there are many fundamental principles that are not ever going to adapt. Placment in marketing often has to do with finding a target market and selling to that market, since any other method would incur heavy marketing and distribution costs for little return.: Yep. That all applies to the restored Church. We send missionaries everywhere we can but we send the most missionaries to the places that have the most success. Bottom line, God isn't concerned with return on his investment. I think this specific statement is just dead wrong. God is primarily concerned with return on investment. The return that God is after, though, is souls. He is the one that told us "the worth of souls is great in the site of God". Every effort and expense is worth the ROI of the exaltation of his children. The bottom line as I see it is that every marketing aspect you list here is employed by God and his church. The difference is what currency/return God is after.

By: Steve H

Steve H — Thu, 19 May 2005 18:54:58 +0000

While we might dismiss the connotation of a word, I would arue there is nothing else to a word. We have only the associations with a word’s use to giv eit meaning.
Marketing is an impersonal word. It means inserting a product into the market, making it work in the market as it stands, adapting product to market and anticipating market trends from the introduction of the product. The point of including product as one of the four Ps of marketing is that one has to find the product that will be marketable in a given market. Marketing assumes the primacy of th emarket as a given. God is interested in the product regardless of market forces. Placment in marketing often has to do with finding a target market and selling to that market, since any other method would incur heavy marketing and distribution costs for little return. God seems to be concerned with presenting the product to all possible markets regardless of the possible rate of return on the investment. He sends lots of missionaries, at great expense, both monetarily and in terms of emotional and spiritual energy, to areas of the world that are often not very productive at all.
Bottom line, God isn’t concerned with return on his investment. He knows that there will alwyas be a deficit. He is concerned only with gross Joy, whatever the overhead.

By: Geoff J

Geoff J — Thu, 19 May 2005 16:46:05 +0000

Thanks Lyle. I assume #3 was in response to Nathan’s comment because it looks like we are agreeing…

By: lyle stamps

lyle stamps — Thu, 19 May 2005 16:39:41 +0000

Geoff: Given that the Glory of God is intelligence; and his work and glory is our eternal life & exaltation; I’d have to say that God _directly_ benefits from the growth of the Church.

By: Geoff J

Geoff J — Wed, 18 May 2005 23:27:32 +0000

Thanks Nathan. I had orignally included your entire comment but in order to save space I ended up justlinking to it. I think our only quibble here is about definitions. I don't think there is any real difference between the principles of marketing and the practice of marketing. Marketing is simply done and it is done for both good and evil in this world. Therefore marketing is not only done by those who are hired to market, it is also done by God and his followers. Marketing does not necessarily have to be done for the benefit of the marketers, it can be done out of pure charity (even though when sacrifice it does benefit us). You said:The principles given as the principles of marketing are good and true. But "marketing" is a practice which is tied to enrichment/benefit for the vendor. It seems to me that God is enriched and benefitted by his loving marketing efforts toward us. That does not make his efforts any less celestial. Nor does the fact that God is using them make them anything other than marketing. I will not disagree that the term marketing often has Telestial connotations, I am simply saying that those connotations are fabricated.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Wed, 18 May 2005 22:53:21 +0000

While I can’t argue with the above, I think I need to repeat a bit from my comment (those “among other things”) parts which I think distinguish the honorable but worldly practice of marketing from missionary endeavors:

1. Marketing is performed by those who are hired to market. Yes, there’s plenty of salesmanship wisdom out there about “believing in the product,” but it still comes down to an issue being hirelings: They’re marketing because they’re being paid to do so, and if they weren’t paid to do so, they wouldn’t do it.

2. A related idea is that marketing is done because it benefits the marketer (or his employer). McDonald’s wants you to buy their burger because they make money from it, not because they think their burger will enrich your life.

The principles given as the principles of marketing are good and true. But “marketing” is a practice which is tied to enrichment/benefit for the vendor. As the goals of the kingdom are above and beyond those of a commercial entity, I think that referring to missionary work et al. as “marketing” associates terrestrial connotations to a celestial work.