Do you want to be liked or do you want to help people?

Pick one.

In ministry, if we focus on helping someone, we can't expect that everyone will like us.

In marketing, our message of hope is designed to help people. If our goal was to be liked, the message strategy would be different.

At one time, I worried when people came into a store, shopped and left without buying anything. I was nervous when people visited my website and "bounced" to another site within seconds. I fretted over people who opted-out of my newsletter.

When we move from the general to the specific we lose people. When we call out one group, we will surely not be liked by other groups.

"Visit our church this Sunday. We will make you feel like family."  This is a nice, warm, fuzzy message. People will like the feeling. They might even visit the church.

Consider the difference in this message:

"If you are having trouble with teenage rebellion, the doors of our church will swing wide open for you this Sunday. We can help."

Not everyone will like this message. Not everyone needs help with their teenagers. Most readers don't have teenagers in their home.

But for those who are struggling with troubled teens, this message calls out to them and offers hope. The well-marketed church will send similar messages with high frequency. There will be on-site materials and follow-through as well as testimonials from parents. There will be teenagers in the lobby to welcome other teens.

It will be clear that the church's message is "We are youth focused."

Focus can seem a bit exclusive. It's not that we can't help all people; it's that we specialize in youth services. But we won't change who we are so that "everyone will like us."  

We can't become upset about the fact that prospects leave us. They don't need us.

If we attract people who come and go quickly, we need to analyze our messaging. If we have low conversion from leads, our message is probably not specific.

Some marketers are in search of big numbers instead of people to help.

Attract people who need you. Marketing that is liked by the masses is vacuous.

Dr. Steve Greene is the publisher and executive vice president of the media group at Charisma Media and executive producer of the Charisma Podcast Network. His book, Love Leads: The Spiritual Connection Between Your Relationships and Productivity, is now available.

Leaders, Dr. Greene wants to help you understand the spiritual connection between relationships and productivity. Read his new blog, here.

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Dr. Steve Greene is now sharing stories, teachings, and conversations with guests who lead with love on Love Leads, a new podcast. Listen now.

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