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Competitive marketing strategies of churches in Ghana: a theoretical development

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Abstract

The age-long controversy on the application of marketing in religious and church organisations has made some strides after almost a decade ago when Bruce Wrenn wrote: “religious marketing is different”. However, this has focused on the application of marketing mix tactics without a clear understanding of the competitive marketing strategies underpinning them. This study, thus, set out to explore and develop a theoretical understanding of the competitive marketing strategies adopted by churches in Ghana. This study used a focus group study consisting of active church members from the different denominational groups in Ghana who have relevant knowledge in marketing and the marketing tactics used by their church. Using a deductive thematic analysis approach, this paper identified marketing as a necessary tool for churches and several competitive marketing strategies adopted by churches in attaining competitive advantage were identified and discussed. Finally, the implications of the findings for church growth and survival as well as directions for future empirical research were also discussed.

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  1. Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, School of Business, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

    Andrews Agya Yalley

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Yalley, A.A. Competitive marketing strategies of churches in Ghana: a theoretical development. Int Rev Public Nonprofit Mark 19, 77–99 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-021-00296-1

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