Redemptive marketing in the modern age

Introduction

Humans were made to tell stories. Sometimes stories describe the glories of mighty warriors or romantic lovers, and sometimes they describe the benefits of a technology solution or the offerings of a private equity group. No matter what story you’re telling yourself or others, the art and craft of storytelling cannot be neglected.

Of course, how we tell that story is important—see our Process page for more on our Story+System+Send℠ methodology. We also never forget that the story is a means to an end: achieving business results.

But the question arises: What kind of stories are we actually telling? And what kind of person or organization tells them?

We think it’s important to start here because we want to ensure we’re a good fit culturally and relationally, and that our perspective on craftsmanship mirrors yours.

What is redemptive marketing?

In general, we work toward the guidelines offered in Praxis’ Redemptive Entrepreneurship and Redemptive AI playbooks, among others. In addition to those, we try to think through the following seven principles of what we call redemptive marketing.

Organic-first

Humans are social creatures. That’s why the most potent form of marketing is word-of-mouth or referral marketing, all centered around a community. Some call community-based marketing “nearbound” marketing or creating a “tribe.” We believe organizations should build healthy communities around the brand by creating spaces for meaningful interaction.

To do so, the table stakes require a brand and its content to be—forgive the buzzword—authentic. That means a brand tries its best to practice what it preaches through every aspect of its operations and culture.

At the same time, it must provide real, tangible value in the story it tells, which works best when the founder, executive, or other SME produces the content. Organic, authentic storytelling also happens to be the most effective approach to growth.

But who has the time for that? Our rigorous methodologies and processes help make the most of your organic content efforts.

Hopeful, not hyperbolic

A recent post on LinkedIn ran with the headline “10 AI Tools Released This Week That Set the World Ablaze.” Although we appreciate poetry and literary devices, language like this in marketing is often not only untrue but unhelpful. People are craving real, practical language that demonstrates clarity in its descriptions and respect for its audience.

Many marketers push content based on FUD—fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Yes, it works in terms of behavioral economics, but we think there are better ways to market sustainably over the long term, especially for the next generation that’s weary of all the anxiety and hopelessness the world has to offer.

Much like we don’t need more FUD in the world, we don’t need more shame and anger. Instead, we need redemptive story arcs, showing how there is still goodness and light in the world.

That’s why we aim to share stories of real people improved by the brand or how the brand impacts the community or broader society. We resist being hyperbolic and sensational in our marketing efforts, while at the same time ensuring high-quality, high-performing content, branding, and technology.

Calm

Research shows you’re more creative and productive when you’re calm. Stress, anger, and hurry destroy the most important aspects of a business like ours and, presumably, a business like yours. As one theologian said, “Hurry is not of the devil. Hurry is the devil.” The Navy SEALs also have a phrase that has become our mantra: “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”

That’s why we’re async and task-based as much as possible, allowing us to focus and rest while still being effective. We aim to practice the way with our redemptive business so it doesn’t have to be crazy at work.

We do everything we can to build a system and produce our work in as calm a state as possible while recognizing that life happens. Everyone on our team has young children who wake up in the middle of the night, throw up in the morning, and poop in the bathtub in the evening. And sometimes that webpage does need to be updated ASAP.

Holistic

Component-based design and marketing are the best ways to produce modern content. Each component represents a building block from which all other assets are made, ensuring scalability, connectivity, and efficiency. Not only does this help us work effectively and get to market while those ideas are still relevant, component-based marketing also looks at your brand and community as a whole. See our Process for more on that.

At the same time, businesses are more than revenue less expenses. Similarly, humans are more than waking hours less working hours. We are also lovers of art and music, we are philosophers and dreamers, reality TV show watchers and gardeners, parents and friends. We embrace all that we can learn from every discipline, whether economics, theology, literature, history, and more. We aim to be holistic in the way we pursue our relationships, our thinking, and our work.

In short, we work because that’s what we’re created to do. And that work includes a mission to joyfully serve our families, clients, and communities—and build something better.

Transparent

Honesty about a brand’s practices is good and right, even its pricing. It also has the added benefit of improving the brand’s value in the minds of customers over time. Marketing messages should reflect the reality of the product or service to the extent possible, sometimes including its flaws and faux pas, even apologizing when necessary. That’s why we #buildinpublic.

We want to be as transparent as possible about how we do what we do, who’s involved, and how long things will take. We document everything so we can maintain clarity and transparency.

Generous

We give away 10% of gross revenue to a non-profit called All Access. We believe in the principles behind economic wisdom and capital stewardship to guide our resource allocation.

Sabbath and shalom

The hustle and grind culture of modern American business is unsustainable. We were created to rest for at least one day a week. We aim to create rhythms of rest—such as the ancient Sabbath rest on Saturdays or Sundays—and we also implement periodic rest from marketing to allow for reflection on needs and values.

We want to live in peace to love and serve the Lord so we can give grace and peace to you.

Why Snapmarket?

Simply put, Snapmarket empowers organic marketing where it otherwise wouldn’t happen because SMEs don’t have the bandwidth, capability, or team to market effectively.

You might be facing:

• Limited bandwidth: Maybe you’re struggling to manage all the tasks required to effectively market your business.
• Limited skills: Maybe you lack some of the specific skills required to market on the modern web across the wide variety of channels necessary today.
• Limited budget: Maybe you don’t have the financial resources to hire a full-time marketing team.

With Snapmarket, you could have:

• Turn-key production (bandwidth): A highly-functional system of best practices and latest software, saving you time and effort.
• Wide range of services (skills): We cover all aspects of organic marketing, including strategy, design, and technology, all in one package.
• Senior, innovative team (budget): Highly-capable multi-disciplinary team of tech-forward marketers, offering you top-tier service at a fraction of the cost of hiring an in-house team.
• Bonus! Access to a preferred network of experts, agencies, and more.
• Double bonus! No benefits or vacation days. We can deliver every single week (except Christmas and Holy Week).
• Triple bonus! We’re fun to work with.

How do we work together?

Snapmarket works with its clients in two ways: projects and partnerships.

Projects

Projects involved defined processes with fixed rates, scopes, and timelines. These services are best for serving businesses with specific needs or for agencies with variable demand and revenue. When you need something done quickly and effectively, a project can be a great fit.

See our Catalog for more.

Partnerships

Partners subscribe to a monthly workflow for fixed-scope projects, like those on our Catalog, or for custom projects—all for a flat rate. A partnership is best for serving businesses that need a bolt-on marketing team to take over a division of labor, an ongoing project (like a podcast or social media management), or something we haven’t even thought of. When you need a team to support your business at weekly cadences for a fixed, monthly rate, a partnership can be a great fit.

See our pricing for a full list of features and benefits.