When it comes to marketing it's more effective to be like the gardener than the sower.
Many of you will be familiar with the parable of the sower, but for those of you who are unfamiliar here's the version from the Good News Bible (Matthew 13:3-9):
“Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. But when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants. But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants bore grain: some had one hundred grains, others sixty, and others thirty.”
And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”1
I love that pun at the end!
Jesus is basically talking about his marketing methods. The sower is somebody who's trying to share the word of God. The different types of ground refer to people who might hear this message2. The message that falls on the path may have reached someone who has other things on their mind (and the birds might represent Satan distracting them with worldly things). The rocky ground could mean people who are keen at first but then drop off quickly. The thorny bushes could mean people who initially received the message but then were too worried about other people's opinions to follow it. And the fertile soil is people who have received the message and dedicated themselves to Christianity. Jesus is challenging his followers to be like the fertile soil, but perhaps he would have been better to meet them where they were at.
Now you might be thinking that you can't really fault Jesus on his marketing efforts because Christianity has been so successful. I would say yes and no. If Jesus' sole marketing aim was to convert people to Christianity at any cost then yes. If Jesus' goal was to have people accept a particular ethical framework and act in a certain way then he might not be pleased with the results. There's a huge variation in the way that Christians act so you can surmise that many of them aren't following Jesus' ideas.
Modern technology has made it easy to act like the sower with your marketing message. You can use modern tools to create content which you then shoot out to your followers on all of your social media accounts, your blog and your email list without a second's thought. However, anyone who has sat through an unwelcome attempt at religious conversion will know that the wrong marketing message at the wrong time will make you more resistant. It might make you mute a person's feed, unsubscribe from their email list, or volunteer to look after the children at family dinners so you can avoid the sermon.
Perhaps it would be better if the sower was more like a gardener. A gardener would know not to waste seed by planting on the path. They would know that certain plants grow well on rocky ground and others grow better in fertile soil. They would observe conditions, prepare the soil and nurture the plants. Finally, they would observe what was working and change what wasn't. Likewise any marketing plan should start with a clear understanding of your audience(s), and a clear understanding of your goals (OMG, is this a double parable??).
Why are you speaking to these audiences and what do you want them to do?
What do you already know about your audience?
In what time and location is your audience most likely to be receptive to your message?
How can you find common ground?
Automated systems can be useful but it's important to approach your marketing efforts with care and thought. Much more like the gardener than the sower.
References
Bible Gateway, Matthew 13:1-9. Available at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2013%3A1-9&version=GNT (accessed 6 Sept 2024)
BBC Bitesize, The parable of the sower (Mark 4: 1–20). Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zvvg2sg/revision/3 (accessed 6 Sept 2024)
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