Serving the Christian Market Since 1968

14732 Middle Point Road Van Wert, Ohio 45891 - 419.238.4082

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helping Christian ministries & Product Companies

to discover new revenue streams and better leverage existing ones

EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE

Here is a representative list of various client projects to help

you understand more specifically how I might serve you and your team.

Client: A 30-year-old youth and small group resource and curriculum publisher.

Problem: Needed assistance with new product development and its marketing efforts to churches.

Solution: GDFC (Gary D. Foster Consulting) revised and upgraded their catalog.

Result: An immediate 20%+ sales increase.  Plus GDFC helped develop several new product lines that experienced very successful market reception.  50% of the company revenue is generated from book sales at seminars led by the company president.  We helped them develop, package and market a video of CEO’s basic seminar, thus allowing him to concentrate on higher priced, multiple-day training products which generate a much higher ROI, from both tuition and resource sales.  The video itself has boosted sales significantly as well.

Client: A growing Christian video company selling direct to larger churches strictly via telephone.

Problem: They wanted to enter the Christian bookstore market.

Solution: I developed a low cost strategy for entering the CBA trade.

Result: They were successful within 90 days and the total business grew by approximately 50% in less than 3 years.  I also developed a direct mail strategy and package for penetrating medium to smaller size churches with the same product repackaged at a lower price, thus giving product an extended life, which significantly increased ROI and profitability.

Client: Christian children's book publisher

Problem: Needed a novel and cost effective way to promote a new children’s Bible storybook.

Solution: Guided the innovation and development of a "talking shelf talker" for the product.  

Result: This is the first time this merchandising technique was ever applied to book marketing, resulting in over 100,000 units of an $18.99 children's book being pre-sold in only 90 days.

Client: A $50 million in annual revenue Bible society.

Problem: Flat catalog sales to churches and individuals, which accounts for 60% of their income.  

Solution: Critiqued their catalogs and recommended numerous revisions

Result: 20% increase in revenue for each the next several years.

Client: 20-year-old $60 million a year Christian publishing company.  

Problem: Overnight, lost nearly all of its executive leadership and 80% of it's marketing staff.  

Solution: GDFC  immediately implemented damage control and crises management principles, organized and managed their single most critical marketing endeavor of the year, (CBA Convention), recruited and trained replacement staff.

Results: The company actually exceeded its sales goals during this transition time by 15% and within seven months was in a stronger financial and staff position than it was prior to the leadership loss.  

Client: 100 plus year old Christian publishing company.  

Need: Flat and declining sales situation.  

Solution: Complete business, marketing (trade, retail, consumer & church) and inventory reduction plan.

Result: 15%-20% sales increase each year for 5 years.

Client: Leading Christian publisher

Problem: Seeking to grow  

Solution: GDFC recommended they launch a special religious markets sales effort and assisted with staff recruitment and training.  

Result: Over $3 million in new sales annually within 3 years. This sector now accounts for 18%-20% of total sales.

Client: Small 7-year-old imprint Sportswear Company

Problem: Wanted to successfully enter the Christian market.  

Solution: GDFC crafted a unique product and marketing strategy that resulted in the first Christian licensed image clothing line, which exceeded $3.5 million annual sales in its second year.

Client: 10-year-old alternative Christian Greeting Card Company.  

Need: Needed to boost sales.  

Solution:  GDFC crafted a strategy and negotiated a new sales representation agreement and launched a special sales effort that opened an entirely new profitable market channel for them.

Result: Trade sales more than doubled the first year.

Client: 10-year-old $1.5 million a year Christian publishing company.  

Need: Business turnaround.  They were accruing annual operating losses that were threatening their future viability.

Solution: GDFC helped them identify and expand profitable cash cow products while eliminating those that were marginal or unprofitable.

Result: They became profitable within one year and were later sold.

Client: Big Idea Productions, $60 million dollar a year children's Christian video producer.  

Problem: Needed to decide whether to produce ancillary products or license others to do so.  

Solution: GDFC analyzed their situation and recommended they license others and not dilute their core creative strength.  Identified and recommended the license partner.

Result: Extraordinary increased brand recognition plus major new revenue stream of multi-millions with literally no new capitalization investment.

Client: NavPress, $20 million a year Christian publisher.

Problem: New product launch to boost new Bible brand recognition.

Solution: Complete marketing and unique multiple unit packaging strategy for Message of Hope, a derivative product of The Message.

Result: The sale of over 3 million units in 18 months, and helped make The Message one of the leading modern language Bible translations.

Client: The leading general market art publisher in U.S.

Problem: Wanted to expand its market base into the Christian market.

Solution: GDFC crafted a strategy to accomplish this objective through a successful strategic alliance with a highly respected vendor to the Christian bookstore and church markets.

Results: Product placement and sell-through in over 800 larger Christian retail stores in less than 9 months.

Client: Books By Wire, an FTD type service for books.  

Problem: New start-up venture

Solution: Complete business & marketing plan for Christian trade.

Result: GDFC developed vital strategic alliances, personally enrolled over 350 member bookstores that immediately accounted for 80% of company revenue. The company subsequently ceased operations due to unrelated financial problems of owners.

Client: A 20-year-old Christian child relief agency

Problem: They were seeking new donor sources.  

Solution: GDFC crafted a strategy for recruiting donors through CBA in-store point of sale tactics.  

Result: Increased the number of donors at a lower than average cost from a previously untapped prospect universe.  

Client: Christian Literature ministry.

Problem: Needed $50,000 in donor revenue for a short term literature ministry project.

Solution: GDFC developed a low cost narrowly targeted fund raising strategy

Result: Direct donations of over $100,000 at a cost of under $2,500.  We also coordinated a publisher/retailer joint venture program resulting in over 2 million Christian books being donated and delivered to English speaking 3rd world nations.

Client: A 50-year-old Christian publisher

Problem: Experiencing severe management shortfalls due to dramatic growth.

Solution: Assessed the situation via extensive on-site staff interviews and identified 9 critical success factors. Crafted an extensive analysis report with detailed recommended solutions for each critical success factor.

Result: Double-digit sales growth & record profits.

Client: Major U.S. based Bible Society with an annual budget of $40 million plus.

Problem: Needed to dramatically reduce inventory investment and increase inventory turns.

Solution: Researched and identified 4 industry best practices that the client could easily implement at nominal added cost. Crafted 17 specific action steps to reduce inventory without compromising customer service quality. Adapted an Efficient Quantity Order Tool to insure against future inventory boat.

Results: Reduced inventory by $1.8 million in a little over 4 months and increased inventory turns from 2.5 to 3.6 in less than one year.

Client: Leading Christian family magazine

Problem: Needed to dramatically boost paid circulation.

Solution: Crafted aggressive premium-driven direct marketing sales plan.

Results: Profitably tripled paid circulation in two years.

Client: Focus on the Family

Problem/solution/result: GDFC analyzed and discovered critical weaknesses in the donor receipting turnaround process.  Recommended changes consistently generate $5,000,000 to $8,000,000 in additional ministry donations annually for the past seven years.

Problem/solution/result: Led a task force to justify, establish needs criteria, research vendors, select vendor, and oversee installation of new Circulation Management & Direct Mail software.  Result: improved donor service, dramatic reduction in errors, more accurate and efficient fulfillment, extraordinarily better data retrieval and analysis, increased target-marketing capabilities.

Problem/solution/result: Developed the Focus on the Family Summer Reading Campaign that resulted in over 600,000 Christian books being read by children in a 4-month period.  

Problem/solution/result: Developed the Focus On the Family Resource Center strategy for Christian bookstores.  Family Christian Stores experienced 50% sales increases in featured products.  The program has since been adapted to other leading Christian bookstore chains and buying/marketing groups.  

Problem/solution/result: Trained and helped craft the Focus on the Family Book Publishing Special Sales department.  This department accounted for 25% of total sales within 24 months.

Client: Christian Booksellers Association & CBA Service Corporation:

Problem/solution/result: Increased annual publications revenue from under $100,000 annually to over $2,400,000 with a consistent 35% net profit before taxes. Increased its magazine renewal rate from 60%+ to the high 70% range. Launched a successful and profitable retail marketing newsletter service, resulting in a combined circulation of over 250,000 copies each quarter.

Problem/solution/result: Pioneered a retail catalog marketing program for Christian bookstores that generated over $100,000 annual net and accounted for over 1,500,000 catalogs being distributed by Christian bookstores resulting in tens of millions of dollars in retail store sales. This triggered a major Christian retail marketing paradigm shift, which has become the single most effective marketing strategy in the industry.

Client: Cook Communications Ministries

Problem/solution/result: Developed a retail merchandiser for Magic Picture Books, a highly consumable children's product that generated a 300% sales increase the 1st season resulting in tens of millions of copies sold. This merchandiser won several trade and POP awards.

Problem/solution/result: Helped develop and market The Picture Bible, took it through a number of format and packaging versions.  To date it has sold well over 10 million copies, and continues to sell over 50,000 copies per year.

Problem/solution/result: Produced and published 6 church and consumer catalogs per year and consistently experienced double digit increased response and profitability.  

Various Other Successful Experiences:

§    Helped numerous companies successfully take a product or product line into the Christian marketplace.

§     Extensive direct mail marketing strategies and packages targeted to the church and Christian consumer markets.

§      Numerous catalog critiques (Business to Consumer and Business to Business), recommending numerous ways to improve user friendliness and increase sales results with minimum or zero additional investment.

§   Oriented various new marketing personnel from outside the industry for several Christian publishers.

§    Customized key account strategies concentrating marketing efforts on the top 20 accounts comprising 70% of sales.

§         Numerous successful increased sales and inventory reduction strategies.

§     Frequently network with various religious product companies, creative staff and independent contractors.

Conducted numerous operational audits resulting in significant increases in operational efficiencies and profitability.

Assisted numerous Christian authors in finding and contracting with an appropriate Christian publisher.

Worked with various Christian organizations in streamlining and dramatically improving Board meeting effectiveness and board productivity.

Assisted several product creators find a Christian distribution and/or licensing partner to successfully take their product to market. This includes a wide range of products such as art, manuscripts, apparel designs, audio products, video products, children's products, Christian education products, jewelry,  etc.

 

 

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