Why Christians Should Focus on Branding more than Marketing
Updated: Jan 27, 2022
Subject lines that sell. Calls to action that hook you. Massive product launches. Marketers are obsessed with the extraordinary. They use hyperbole and blast glittery images because consumers have committed fully to the alluring call of the amazing.
Marketers betray branding because, absurdly, they don't find branding amazing enough. The story. The why behind it all. Marketers have ROI in their eyes. This is going to be a hit launch. We’ll sell thousands and the world will know our product or service. Marketers are devastated that branding doesn’t meet those expectations.
We’ve bought into the seduction of “extreme marketing” because we do not believe in the ordinary. We need some marketing magic, something new and huge and… amazing.
The problem is this: marketing magic is just an exaggeration of the ordinary. What we call amazing is either a manipulation or an exaggeration of what is the normal brand.
Branding tells us, “seek me, and I will provide a great product and unparalleled service because this is what I'm called to do.” How many times do we ask our friends for recommendations on products? No marketing. Just the plain little authentic review from a fan. Authentic fans will blow marketers away. Brand evangelists will amaze you with the purpose behind the products and services; with the places this brand will take you to.
We should embrace that real success in entrepreneurship is in the everyday, the mundane, the here and now. We get excited when we hear of new marketing techniques. Yes, we want to sell more. But marketing is just a sign pointing to the ordinary things of your calling in business. When we lean in to running the business God created us to start, the unsearchable riches He whispers are of the ordinary: peace, hope, love, service. We might back away feeling underwhelmed. But these are the greatest treasures of heaven and earth!
The Bible says
"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3 NIV)
Do not be seduced by a false marketing perspective. You have all you need to make your product successful - the story of WHY you did it... The calling from God!
Do not be seduced into waiting for a magic shortcut. The viral marketing miracles are just a tool to show you what is available all the time when you choose branding.
Purpose
Thankfulness that you were chosen to solve a problem
Awareness to your calling
These are the three elements of being an entrepreneur that are truly divine. Truly Amazing.
P.S. I did a Business bible study called 7 Steps to Launching Your Christian Personal Brand. Check it out:
This business Bible study will help you launch a God-first personal brand that will help you strategically, financially, and personally.
Developing your personal brand starts with launching something new and completely different from what you already have.
Also, coaches and Christian business leaders, you can use, edit, and repurpose the teachings for your own tribe! Check it out.