The Spirituality of Retail? When Sales Sounds Like Faith — and Vice Versa
By: Joseph Serwach
Tags: Marketing, Retail, Spirituality, Cars, Business

You’re no longer just competing with your neighbor down the road — now you’re going up against rivals from around the world.

What do car dealers and churches have in common? After “owning’’ their regional markets, both now face splintered numbers and new national and global competitors. Their own kind of brand evangelists grow numbers.

“‘Evangelism’ became a business buzzword during the internet boom of the late 1990s,’’ Guy Kawasaki told Harvard Business Review. “The idea is simple: Derived from a Greek word that means, roughly, ‘to proclaim good news,’ evangelism is explaining to the world how your product or service can improve people’s lives.’’

He added: “My job at Apple was to proclaim the good news that Macintosh would make everyone more creative and productive. I wasn’t just marketing a computer; I believed in it so much that I wanted others to experience it too.”

Both face the same strengths, challenges, and opportunities:

For decades, both car people and church people have relied on brand evangelists, who believe in their product or service fervently, aggressively sharing the love with others.

believe in their product or service fervently, aggressively sharing the love with others. 54 percent of younger Americans, Millennials and Gen Z, said in a recent study for Vice Magazine and the Virtue agency, they seek brands that “enhance their spirit and soul.” The same study found 77 percent of young buyers saying they “want to buy from brands that align with their values.”

Their customers have long debated whether to “shop local’’ or go online. Online car services like Carvana and even Costco offer to bring cars right to their door. Local churches similarly deal with global online ministries.

The pandemic accelerated every trend, including the desire for home delivery with as few physical contacts as possible. The desire to “order online’’ without leaving home became more desirable than ever.

Both marketing and religion answer a fundamental question: why?

Both neighborhood car dealers and churches have emphasized service, sales, and service staff offering personalized service, who “know you by name,’’ addressing every concern of “their people.’’

“We should be more concerned with reaching the lost than pampering the saved.”― David McGee.

Gallup: 85 percent of employees not engaged in the workplace

A Gallup study shows 85 percent of employees aren’t “engaged” in the workplace. When your local service providers don’t seem engaged, buyers are more likely to opt for the ease and affordability of shopping online.

Tempe, Arizona-based Carvana, known for its multi-story “car vending machines’’ and ease of ordering online, was the fastest-growing used car operation in the United States in 2018, selling nearly $4 billion worth of vehicles in 2019. Sales have shot up from just 2,105 cars sold in 2014 to a177,549 cars last year

Ford Motor Co. recently responded to Carvana by launching a new digital platform, Ford Blue Advantage, allowing Ford’s 3,100 dealerships to sell their used-vehicle inventory in a single digital marketplace.

Consider the turnaround of Audi

Audi entered the U.S. market 50 years ago, selling just 7,691 vehicles in 1970. In just four years, sales leaped seven-fold to more than 50,000.

But numbers were essentially flat until 1984 when they topped 71,000. Numbers began to slide again over the next decade, crashing as low as 27,349 by 1996. The company said that if things didn’t turn around, Audi would exit the U.S. market.

Today, Audi sells nearly 250,000 vehicles per year, close to 10 times the number it sold in 1996. What changed?

The core of a spiritual relationship: Americans have learned to love — and desire — the Audi brand.