A divine business plan: Use of (Christian) 'affinity marketing' growing

[Maddy McCall]

A divine business plan: Use of 'affinity marketing' growing

ORLANDO-
snip/ In the face of increasingly fierce competition for consumers, small-business owners and service providers are capitalizing on the growth of evangelical Christians throughout the Sun Belt.

Scores of business owners believe in this kind of "affinity marketing," in which people of faith patronize each other. Some use symbols such as crosses, fish or doves in their ads in the commercial Yellow Pages.

Others advertise in Christian publications and directories, such as Florida Christian News and The Shepherd's Guide, a directory with more than a hundred listings that is distributed free. Advertisers must sign a declaration of faith to include the Shepherd's Guide logo, a silhouette of a shepherd and sheep, on ads in the directory.

Hall, 30, added the slogan "We Do the Work, God Gets the Glory" to his truck, his ads and his business cards. Work orders feature a Bible verse from Colossians 3:23: "Whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord."

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More at: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060527/FEAT04/605270319/1263


A sanctuary in the suburbs:
Rankin County developers create own divine design


FLOWOOD — With its Acadian-style homes, lakefront views and proximity to Rankin County's shopping mecca, Lineage Lake of Lakeland may be for some people a little slice of heaven.

A drive along a few streets of this gated community - Shalom Way, Covenant Crossing, Inheritance Place - demonstrates the developer's desire to create a sanctuary in the suburbs.

"Our very being is our Christianity," said Sigrid Garner of R&S Developers. "We desire to glorify the Lord in what we say and do."

Lineage Lake of Lakeland is one of three Rankin County subdivisions that Garner's company has created with a Christian motif. With street names plucked from Scripture, these neighborhoods reveal an intersection of faith and business.

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"Because that's our foundation, other people will be attracted because they are Christian," she said.

More here: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060527/FEAT04/605270321