Much has been written and spoken of Jesus’ finely-tuned storytelling and teaching skills, but one of the most overlooked parts of his ministry was how much he embodied the most potent, powerful parts of targeted marketing.
It may seem strange to think of Jesus as a marketing genius, but the fact remains that in under 3 years he managed to create the longest-lasting, most influential marketing campaign the world has ever seen.
As you seek ways to be led more by Jesus, lead more like Him, and lead more to Him, finding ways you can marry your business and spiritual calling is key. And no area of your business is more public than your marketing. It’s how you communicate to your customers and the world who you are and what you stand for.
Over the next 3 blogs, we’re going to dissect the key pillars of marketing, and identify important lessons that can be learned directly from Jesus’ ministry. To start, let’s look at who you’re targeting with your message.
“COME, FOLLOW ME,” JESUS SAID, “AND I WILL SEND YOU OUT TO FISH FOR PEOPLE.”
All good marketing initiatives must start with the customer; after all, no customers means no business. Unless you know who your product or service is for, then you’ll never be able to target your marketing messages directly enough to make much difference.
In scripture, the very first action Jesus takes after leaving the mountain of temptation is to head to the Sea of Galilee where he knew fishermen, fishmongers, beggars, and other desperate people would be. His message was meant for the sick, poor, and cast-aways, and so that’s who he targeted first. They were the spiritual fertile ground in which he knew his message would take root, and so he started with them.
Who are you starting with? Have you given much thought to who your customer is, what motivates them, what they look like, what they aspire to? If not, there are some key categories you can use to identify your target customer.
Demographics
The most basic part of knowing your customer is first getting a grip on who they are on the outside. How old are they? What do they look like? Where do they live? How much money do they make? Demographics are the characteristics that can be labeled as “facts,” like age, relationship status, income level, etc.
Geographical Data
Other important, fact-based data can be where your potential customers live, and whether your service area is local, national, or international.
Psychographic
Next, you need to understand who your customer is on the inside. Psychographics is the classification of people according to their attitudes and aspirations. So, who does your customer aspire to be? Who do they imagine they can be?
Behavioristic Data
Behavioristics is how those psychological motivations manifest in observable behavior. For instance, a customer might aspire to be considered a person of good taste (psychographic data) and so they buy expensive wine or fine clothes (behavioristic data). What do you know about your customer’s attitudes and aspirations, and what other products or services might they purchase, that could signal to you, their goals?
Now that you have a handle on key characteristics of your potential customers, work out a picture of who this person might be. In the next two blogs, we’ll discuss how you can craft an exceptional message to reach your ideal customer, and target them in the right places.