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The Foster Letter —

Religious Market Update

The FOSTER Letter is a bi-weekly e-mail religious market intelligence report targeted to Christian market channel and ministry leaders.  Each issue reports on news, trends, events and research that will directly or indirectly impact your audiences and businesses in a convenient summary format  Better informed leaders make better choices!

Researched, Edited & Published by Gary D. Foster

Excerpts from the

August 25, 2009 edition of

The FOSTER Letter—Religious Market Update 

Unchurched Believers Americans continue to pull away from organized religion, but the rate of departure may not be as rapid as once thought, reports the American Sociological Assoc.  In ‘88 it was suggested there would be a doubling of the percentage of Americans who do not identify with any religion during the ’90s. But recent research shows that, while more Americans describe themselves as “non-religious” today, the percentage who believe in God remains stable at 93%. Researchers believe the group that is growing is what they call “unchurched believers.” If you think of organized religion as having two parts — the organized part and the religious part — the church-leavers quarrel is with the organized part. (Pastor’s Weekly Briefing 8/14/09) 

Families Decide Differently Families today not only look but operate differently than they did in the past; they have taken a very different approach to decision-making. While 39% of moms surveyed said “parents made decisions entirely on their own” in the family in which they grew up, 44% report that in their family today “parents make the ultimate decision but actively seek kids’ input.” Dads today are also far more involved in family decision-making. What does this mean for today's marketers? (1) It means cohort marketing (i.e., marketing to kids or marketing to moms), as we know it, is dead. (2) Brands and businesses that will succeed must understand and develop products and messages that fit with families’ new decision-making paradigm. (3) Brands that really understand the decision-making style in play for their category will have the tools they need to better meet their consumers’ needs. (Engage 7/27/09) 

Temptation Underestimated New research from the Kellogg School of Management finds individuals believe they have more restraint than they actually possess; this ultimately leading to poor decision-making. The study, led by Loran Nordgren of the Kellogg School, found the sample on average displayed a “restraint bias,” causing individuals to miscalculate the amount of temptation they could truly handle, leading to a greater likelihood of indulging impulsive or addictive behavior. People are not good at anticipating the power of their urges, and those who are the most confident about their self-control are the most likely to give into temptation. “The key is simply to avoid any situations where vices and other weaknesses thrive and, most importantly, for individuals to keep a humble view of their willpower,” said Nordgren. Furthermore, Nordgren concluded, this research suggests observers should think twice before judging those who fall prey to temptation, because most of us overestimate our capacity to control our own impulses. (Lifesite.com 8/5/09) 

Listen Organizations need to listen to their customers in a way that shows those customers are valued. This is especially important because customers’ expectations are constantly changing. If, for example, Company A answers its toll-free number in 1 ring, and you are that person’s next call, she will expect you to answer in 1 ring, as well. Customers and donors judge you on what they think ought to happen, not on what you’ve ‘trained’ them to anticipate. Let me help you hear customers and donors. Contact me at 419-238-4082, Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com.  

Lasting Impact Two-thirds of U.S. households say the recession has fundamentally changed the way they think about saving and spending money, and 8 out of 10 say the recession will have a lasting impact on them. (Marketing Daily 7/16/09) 

.Blacks Most Religious Among whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians, blacks are the most likely to engage weekly in church services, small groups, Sunday school, praying, and reading the Bible. They are also the most likely to have made a personal commitment to Christ that is still important in their life and to have an active faith. They also have the lowest proportion of unchurched adults and are the ethnic group least likely to be Catholic. Blacks in America today are more likely than they were in the early ’90s to believe the principles taught in the Bible are totally accurate, to say their religious faith is very important in their life, to have a biblically orthodox understanding of the nature of God, and to be born again. (Barna Update 7/27/09)  

Cash-Strapped Older Americans are racking up credit card debt faster than other consumers amid dwindling retirement assets and rising medical costs, finds a Demos study. It shows low- and middle-income consumers 65 and older carried $10,235 in average card debt in ’08, up 26% from ’05. Card debt for all borrowers surveyed rose 3% during that time to $9,827. (USA Today 7/28/09) 

If It Ain’t Broke—Fix It “Too many people hold onto good ideas for too long simply because they work,” claims Larry Bossidy, former chairman of Honeywell and author of Confronting Reality: Doing What Matters To Get Things Done Right. Smart business strategy not only means setting growth plans for the business or ministry and taking steps to improve productivity, but also identifying the things (margins, inefficiencies, customer/donor satisfaction) that put an organization behind where it wants to be. I can help you confront the issues that separate your business/ministry from greatness! Contact me at 419-238-4082, Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com. 

Multitaskers 90% of Americans watch TV in a typical day, and upwards of 70% use some other media while doing so. The top 3 things people do while watching TV? Surfing the web (27%), using cell phones (26%) or emailing (23%). (Marketing Daily 7/13/09) 

The Rate of Homeownership is forecast to keep tumbling in the next decade to lows not seen since the ’80s, a trend that could redefine a key element of the American dream even after the housing market recovers. The percentage of households that own homes hit a peak of almost 70% in ’04 and ’05. By the second quarter of ’09, that slipped to 67.4%, according to the Census Bureau. A Univ. of Utah analysis projects it’ll drop to about 63.5% by 2020 — the lowest since ’85. Economic realities, demographic changes, strict mortgage rules, energy-saving policies, and lessons learned in this housing crisis are driving more people to rent. About 57% of the 30.3 million housing units added from ’05 to ’20 will be rentals. “We’re returning more to what was normal in the ’60s. People didn’t buy homes then as an investment. They bought them to raise families,” says USC’s housing demographer Dowell Myers. (USA Today 8/5/09) 

Fading Icon The publisher of Reader’s Digest will file for bankruptcy protection in what is termed a  “pre-arranged” bankruptcy. Under the plan, Reader’s Digest Association will cut its debt to about $550 million from $2.2 billion. An investment group led by private-equity firm Ripplewood Holdings, which bought the 87-year-old magazine in ’07 for $1.6 billion, will see its investment wiped out, and lenders will take control of the company. Operations outside the U.S., which generate a majority of the company’s revenue, aren’t part of the proposed filing. According to Mediafinder, a total of 525 North American magazines folded in ’08.  (Wall Street Journal 8/18/09) 

Shanghai and Beijing are becoming new lands of opportunity for recent American college grads. Skip to next paragraphEven those with limited or no knowledge of Chinese are heeding the call. They are lured by China’s surging economy, the lower cost of living, and a chance to bypass some of the dues-paying that is common to first jobs in the U.S. With a 4.3% urban area unemployment rate, the Chinese economy is more hospitable for both entrepreneurs and job seekers. Many Chinese companies are looking to hire native English speakers to help them navigate the American market. Also, Westerners often bring skills hard to find among the Chinese. Chinese students are encouraged to be quiet and less outspoken, fostering a culture of listening more than initiating. Most Americans working in China plan to return to the U.S. eventually. Someone who has been able to make a mark in China is a valuable hire here. (NY Times 8/1/09) 

Losing Faith American teens who say they definitely believe in God or a higher power declined from 54% to 37% between ’84 and ’08, while the percentage of atheists rose from 6% to 16%. The percentage of teens uncertain about God remained stable at 31%. (The National Post 4/7/09) 

Christian Market Counsel With over 30 years of first-hand involvement, I am one of the foremost authorities on this unique market channel. Contact 419-238-4082, Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com.  

Dedicated E-Book Readers may have a limited life because many phones are now sophisticated enough to be used as e-book reading devices. Plus, e-book reading on computers is already surprisingly popular. AAAP reports ’09 April to June e-book sales more than tripled from the same period in ’08. Total reported sales at wholesale prices were $37.6 million. Less than 2% of the overall book market, but not all publishers, contribute to the report. The figure also excludes textbooks, an e-book strength. Forrester Research reports that while the Kindle has sparked interest in e-books, downloads of e-reading applications for smart phones have far outnumbered the Kindles sold. Although there will be a market for dedicated reading devices, there’s potentially an even bigger market for reading on devices people already own (e.g. smart phones and PCs). A Simba Information survey this spring found 8% of adults bought an e-book last year, a high figure considering that Kindle sales were less than half a percent of the adult population. (USA Today 8/14/09)  

Hispanic Faith Over the past 15 years, the proportion of Hispanics in the U.S. aligned with the Catholic Church has fallen 25%, finds a new Barna Group survey. In contrast, the proportion of Hispanic born-again Christians has increased by 17%. George Barna notes, “While many Hispanic immigrants come to the U.S. with ties to Catholicism, the research shows that many of them eventually connect with a Protestant church.” Hispanic and the general American adult populations have nearly identical profiles on the perceived accuracy of the principles taught in the Bible, a personal sense of responsibility to share their faith with others, belief that the primary purpose of life is to love God fully, the likelihood of having read the Bible in the past week, and having made a personal commitment to Jesus that is important in their life. (Christian Post 7/6/09) 

Productivity Up—Hours Worked Down The Labor Department reports non-farm productivity rose at a 6.4% annual rate in Q2, much more than expected and the biggest gain since ’03. Yet hours worked plunged at a 7.6% rate in Q2. And unit labor costs, a gauge of inflation and profit pressures closely watched by the Federal Reserve, fell 5.8%, the biggest decline since ’00. Analysts had expected unit labor costs to fall 2.4% in Q2. Unit labor costs dropped a revised 2.7% in the January-March quarter. The productivity number shows companies have taken advantage of their slimmed-down workforces by wringing more out of each employee. That’s bad news for the jobless, but should better position employers to hire again when demand returns, economists say. (USA Today 8/11/09)

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