\

Serving the Christian Market Since 1968

14732 Middle Point Road Van Wert, Ohio 45891 - 419.238.4082

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

March 25, 2009 edition of

The FOSTER Letter—Religious Market Update

Pride in Not Buying Moms (and other consumers) are now taking pride in not buying. The gatekeeper badge of honor has shifted from “I got such a deal” to “I haven’t bought anything new in weeks.” American mothers are meeting the economic challenge with the view, “This is hard but, ultimately, it’s a good thing for my family. We are pulling together and spending more time together. It’s less about accumulating stuff. It feels more real.”  There has been a change in consumer values. It’s actually an old set of Puritanical values roaring back with renewed strength: You take stock of what you have, you take very good care of it and you make it last as long as possible. It’s a “It’s not what you earn; it’s what you don’t spend” attitude. And when you do buy, you buy only what you know and trust. The culture of responsibility that felt old-fashioned 18 months ago now feels stable, secure and appealing. As for marketers, this new set of consumer values will be responsive to truth and transparency; virtue-based attributes; ethically minded culture; good foundations; good value, not just a cheap or a good buy; and local support, i.e., community involvement. Return to your good old roots both in product and communications. Too much has been taken away from the winning formulas that made great American brands great in order to maximize profits. Stop making substitutions for the real, good ingredients and materials. Get rid of what’s artificial. If you can sell it to a New England farmer’s wife, then you’ve got something. (Engage Moms 3/18/09) 

Forbidden Fruit By age 17, 43% of weekly church attenders (regardless of affiliation) have already had sex vs. 65% of those who never attend. (Forbidden Fruit by Mark Regnerus, Oxford Univ. Press 2007) 

New Religious Movements, including Wiccans and self-described pagans, have grown faster this decade than in the ’90s. (American Religious Identification Survey 2008) 

Women are More Religious than Men, says new data from the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center. 86% of women are affiliated with a religion vs. 79% of men. When the answer to the question, “Do you believe in God or a universal spirit?” was affirmative, survey participants were then asked, “Are you absolutely certain, fairly certain, not too certain or not at all certain?” 77% of women and 65% of men were absolutely certain. Those who believe in God were subsequently asked, “Which comes closest to your view of God: God is a person with whom people can have a relationship, or God is an impersonal Force?” 58% of the women believe in a personal God vs. 45% of men. 66% of women compared to 49% of men pray at least daily; 63% of women compared to 49% of men say religion is very important in their lives; and 44% of women attend worship services at least weekly vs. 34% of men. (Pastor’s Weekly Briefing 3/6/09) 

Hidden Cost of Poor Service Each person who is considered highly likely to recommend a company/ministry and its products (a.k.a. a Promoter) is worth about half a new customer in terms of word-of-mouth marketing value. A Detractor (i.e., someone unlikely to recommend the company) accounts for a loss of about 1.5 customers in terms of new-customer acquisition (including their presumed loss of business). Detractors’ negative word-of-mouth behavior represents a significant hidden cost and net drain on the bottom line. Ask me to help you ensure your organization has more Promoters and fewer Detractors.  Contact 419-238-4082, Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com. (Study by Satmetrix Inc 3/09) 

Pew Research reports the biggest increase in Internet use since ’05 is among the 70-75 age group. While just 26% were online then, 45% are currently online. 74% of Internet users age 64 and older send and receive email, making it the most popular online activity for this age group. (Center for Media Research Brief 2/11/09)

Giving According to an EFCA survey by Wilson Research Strategies, 56% of Americans plan to give the same amount to charities in ’09, with 14% intending to give more and 27% less. Among those who attend religious services more than once a week, 60% intend to give the same, 21% more, and 17% less. (Christian Post 2/25/09) 

Cell Phones 6 in 10 people around the world now have cell phone subscriptions. At the end of ’08, there were an estimated 4.1 billion subscriptions globally vs. 1 billion in ’02. (USA Today 3/3/09) 

New ICRS Exhibit Floor As CBA prepares for its 60th annual convention, it is making strategic changes and additions to the show. ’09 show changes include Town Center: A new exhibit floor area to be the central hub of all show activity, including a new product gallery, merchandising demos, personality booths, and concessions; Product Intelligence Tours: Exhibitor-sponsored guided tours to show retailers the latest products before diving into a more in-depth study of consumer research, market trends, selling and merchandising ideas; Debut Avenue: A section of new, smaller booths devoted to first-time exhibitors on tighter budgets; CBA Marketsquare: A new layout and location of the International Marketsquare area; Presentation & Meeting Rooms: On-show-floor rooms for exhibitors to host meetings and presentations, allowing attendees to attend supplier events without leaving the floor. (CBA Retailers+Resources Industry Brief 3/9/09) 

No Preference A ’01 City University of New York survey found 14% of Americans have no religious preference, slightly less than double the 8% who were without religious affiliation the previous decade. Yet of this 14%, the majority is nonetheless “religious” or “spiritual.” They seek alternate ways to express their religious convictions rather than partaking in institutional religion. (The Washington Times 9/21/08) 

Referability According to Dan Sullivan, who teaches good habits to entrepreneurs in his Strategic Coach program, the best marketing strategy in the world is to be referable.  Although the best entrepreneurs and ministry leaders are involved in diverse kinds of businesses, have very different kinds of clients and constituents, and utilize a wide variety of specialized skills and resources, all are referable for the same reasons. Referability, in all places and at all times, depends upon 4 crucial habits: (1) Show up on time. (2) Do what you say. (3) Finish what you start. (4) Say please and thank you. Although these seem like common sense, a surprising number of people do not practice them. As a result, these individuals are not referable. They may have brains, talent, charm and experience, but they continually find their clients and customers do not refer them. In contrast, those who practice these 4 habits always get referred into bigger and better opportunities. Need a referability audit? Contact Gary@garydfoster.com, www.garydfoster.com or 419-238-4082. (Bob Buford, Active Energy, 2/21/08) 

Financial Infidelity is the number one cause of divorce. (First Comes Love, Then Money, Bethany and Scott Palmer, Harper Collins 2009) 

Mainline Clergy 48% of clergy from the 7 largest mainline denominations say they are liberal while 34% identify as conservative. The Public Religion Research survey included senior clergy from the United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, American Baptist Churches USA, Presbyterian Church USA, Episcopal Church, United Church of Christ, and Disciples of Christ whose adherents comprise 18% of all Americans. Sadly, 66% of these clergy disagree that “the Bible is the inerrant word of God, both in matters of faith and in historic, geographical, and other secular matters.” Only 29% agree. A majority in every denomination except the American Baptists do not believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. Only 10% say cultural issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage are the most important national issues. Ironically, 46% disagree mainline churches are declining because they are becoming theologically liberal; 38% agree. (The 2008 Mainline Protestant Clergy Voices Survey) 

Economy Hurts Relationships For some Americans, the current economic crisis is bad for more than business. 18% of Americans say the economy has negatively affected a personal relationship with a friend or family member. 79% say they haven’t had that problem. (Rasmussen Reports 3/17/09) 

Non-Profit Sales Sink The NonProfit Times conducted a survey during 1/09 and found only 23% of consumers made a purchase from a charitable organization, 43% fewer than 3 years ago. (Non Profit Times 3/12/09) 

Biblical Worldview Barna Research has discovered that the percentage of the general population that has a biblical worldview has remained fairly stable over the past 13 years.  In ’95 it was 7% and, after peaking at 11% in ’05, it dropped to 9% in ’08. Among born-again Christians, it fluctuated from 18% in ’95 to 19% in ’08. 34% of all adults believe moral truth is absolute, while only 46 % of born-again Christians hold this view. 50% of all adults firmly believe the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches vs. 79% of Christians. 27% of all adults and 40% of born-again Christians are convinced Satan is a real being. 47% of all born-again Christians strongly believe it is impossible for someone to earn their way into heaven through good behavior. Only 62% of born-agains believe Jesus Christ lived a sinless life while on earth. (Pastor’s Weekly Briefing 4/13/09) 

How Does McDonald’s Keep Besting Itself? By getting the basics right! They are very focused on keeping their franchisees happy, using their marketing muscle, utilizing new products, and keeping more stores open 24 hours. It’s a bunch of small things. The difference between good and excellent is how you execute the details. An operations audit of your business or ministry can uncover those “difference-making” details and can take you to the next level. Contact Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com or call 419-238-4082. (Marketing Daily 3/10/08) 

Marriage Helps Kids Teens who as children had parents living common-law are more likely than teens of married parents to smoke, be involved in drug dealing, experience sexual initiation and sex younger, have poor relationships with their parents, and have parents who have a poor relationship with each other, finds a new study by Dr. Frank Jones, Research Fellow at the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada. Married couples are more likely than cohabiting parents to be better educated, older, more religious and have more informal educational experiences. Common-law unions are less stable than married relationships. Unmarried parents may be less committed to raising children, because no binding commitment has been made to the partner or resulting children. (LifeSite News 3/13/09) 

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, the first piece of legislation signed by President Obama, overturns the ’07 U.S. Supreme Court decision Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. The new law essentially changes the statute of limitations, creating a rolling or open time frame for filing wage discrimination claims. The Act will make the issuance of a paycheck a discriminatory action by making the time clock re-start each time. Employers will be liable for earlier management decisions for which there may be no records. Employers need to: • Identify and eliminate any potentially discriminatory or inequitable pay practices. • Audit the past. • Secure the future. • Review records and retention policies. • Train and educate managers and supervisors. • For more go to: http://www.shrm.org/Publications/HRNews/Pages/PresidentSignsWage.aspx. (CBA Retailers+Resources Industry Brief 3/16/09) 

Role Realignment According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 67% of women with children under 18 work, and women make up 46% of the labor pool. But this recession could soon make women a majority of America’s workforce: 82% of the 2.5 million jobs lost since November were held by men. With gender roles and responsibilities being radically redefined, wives now face the pressure inherent in being the sole breadwinner while also retaining their household responsibilities. Meanwhile, husbands must reconstruct their definition of contributing to the family. (USA Today 3/19/09)

For information on how to become a subscriber to the entire 3-page Foster Letter---Religious Market Update, E-mail us at: subscribe@garydfoster.com