What is spiritual marketing?

Spiritual marketing is a form of marketing that uses spiritual principles to connect with potential customers to make and promote specific offers. Spiritual principles include the laws of the universe and spiritual values.

The laws of the universe

The laws of the universe are a set of cosmic laws that shape the state of all beings on this planet at any given time. Many of these laws are rooted in fields like physics and quantum mechanics and can be observed regardless of religious, spiritual and other personal beliefs. The laws of the universe that are essential to understanding spiritual marketing include:

The law of energy

The law of energy describes how everything that exists is an expression of energy. Every thought we have, every blossoming flower and every person we see in the street. This energy can change its form, but it will always remain in the universe.

If this sounds abstract, think of how energy changes its form through the medium of a lamp. A lamp takes electrical energy as an input and converts that into heat and light. And of course, humans do the same. We take in food as potential energy, so when you eat a piece of chocolate cake you have the mental space to think about the next few lines of your sales letter. But if you’re starved that becomes much, much harder.

This shows that you need to have energy in the right places (e.g. in your body) to create a specific result (like a finished sales letter).

Just like a hungry person can eat food to replenish their energy store, marketers can direct and steer the energy around them using communications. For example, they can write a headline that grabs a prospect’s attention (attention being a form of energy) and then compel them to buy (which results in an exchange of energy between buyer and seller).

The law of attraction

The law of attraction states that the energy we send into the universe will be reciprocated. For example, if we are desperate to find paying customers, we may attract customers who feel equally desperate about some matter.

As such, the law of attraction is merely an extension of Newton’s third law, which states that every action triggers and opposite and equal reaction. The law of attraction goes beyond the physical realm and acknowledges that the same action-reaction pair exists at the level of thoughts, emotions and other “invisible” forms of energy.

Spiritual marketers therefore anticipate what type of energy any marketing activity sends into the universe, and what reciprocal response they can expect.

The law of rhythm

Another universal law describes how energy passes through wave-like states, containing peaks and throughs. These waves follow a natural rhythm of growth, stabilisation and decline, depicting different phases of development.

For example, a new idea takes time to grow, then it reaches its peak results, and ultimately fades and disappears into nothingness. This cyclic pattern can be seen in nature and all human activities.

Just think of how flowers go through a cycle of growth, blossoming, fruit and decline in different season or how an ice cream vendor experiences peak sales in the warm summer period.

Spiritual marketing allows us to align our marketing activities with these cyclic and cosmic trends, and choose the right commercial focus during different business stages.

The law of polarity

The law of polarity states that nothing in our world is true without its opposite. For example, to perceive the heat, we must know the cold. To say someone is fit, we need a mental image of an unfit person. And we can only describe something as ‘good’ when we have a conceptual understanding of what is ‘bad’.

This is because our perception is shaped by a comparison of ‘what is’ against the extreme poles of what we have experienced or can imagine. As a result, all experiences are ‘perceived’ through comparison.

Examples of polarity:

• The Yin and Yang energies, with male energy focussing on outward growth and expansion, while Yin focusses on inner development.
• Logic vs. emotion.
• Our perception of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, ‘growth’ and ‘decline’, ‘success’ and ‘failure’, ‘honesty’ and ‘deception’

Bringing two opposite poles together in harmonious ways leads to the creation of something new. This is why the energy of man and woman can give birth to a new generation of children, while the right dose of rationality and emotion spurs people into action.

Using the law of polarity, marketers can see that a prospect who is moving towards a solution is also moving away from a problem. The prospect may desire to achieve a specific goal just as much as their fear failing. Spiritual marketers can speak to the duality of these emotions when writing sales copy, or interacting directly with potential buyers.

Spiritual marketing also acknowledges the inherent tension between these opposite poles, and will, at its best, find ways to harmonise them for the benefit of both the business and the customer.

Are the laws of the universe enough?

Just like you don’t need to be aware that gravity exists to feel its effects, you don’t need to understand the principles of energy and polarity to feel their impact.

What distinguishes some marketers from others is that apply the laws of the universe consciously and deliberately in their business strategy. However, this is only one side of spiritual marketing.

After all, cosmic laws can be used to deceive and manipulate as much as they can support and help businesses and prospective customers. (Thank the law of polarity for these opposing possibilities).

But what else do we need to distinguish between spiritual and traditional marketing?

Spiritual values

But what are spiritual values? Well, every person has their own set of values. For some being on time is more important than politeness, and yet others put precision and honesty first. The values we hold – and their respective importance – will shape our preferences, thoughts and emotions.

For example, a marketer who values honesty may avoid deceptive communication as much as possible. But a marketer who cares about joy and entertainment first may prioritise a happy customer experience over being fully transparent.

Both of these are legitimate choices – spiritual values won’t tell you, as the marketer, whether happiness or honesty is more important.

But spiritual values offer a guiding framework, a set of questions to help you focus on what matters when reaching out to prospects to present your business offers. Some of the questions you can ask based on the spiritual values include:  

• Are my actions in service of the greater good?
• Am I choosing the best possible course of action to present and promote my products?
• How comfortable do I feel with the values I am sharing? Are these values that I live by?
• Do I feel fulfilled through by exchange of energy with my customers?
• How do I see my customers, and how does that compare to how I see myself?
• What ideals does my marketing promote?

Your answers will then guide the choices that you make for spiritual marketing in line with your higher values and the laws of the universe.