Utilizing Market Segmentation in Church Marketing and Management

ABSTRACT This article describes how market segmentation, a management tool widely employed by businesses, can be used to enhance the effectiveness of the ministry of a church by dividing the people in a church community into distinct groups that share common characteristics and needs. The authors suggest five major variables that can be used to divide a church community into groups: demographic, geographic, psychographic, behavioral characteristics, and benefit expectation. Market segmentation can strengthen the ministry of a church by helping the church focus on the needs of its community, identify special ministries that should be developed, prioritize programs, design specific programs, allocate scarce resources, and better evaluate the impact of specific programs.