Value Creation: My Issues with a Marketing Career Path as a Believer

So, I am currently sitting in this class called, “Value Creation” and we’re talking about creating value for companies. My professor mentioned something that stood out to me while he was lecturing. He made the point that for most companies when we are talking about creating value, it is monetary. My professor made the point that if the investor put $1 in and only received a return of $1, then you didn’t create value for the company. Obviously, this concept is very simple, but it made me think about my approach to marketing and my issues with it, especially as a marketing major in my final year of school. 

I am Spirit-led and a part of that for me is understanding that money is the lowest form of currency and that I do not chase money, as money is not my source. However, as I am entering the marketing field, a major component of marketing is to create compelling content that convinces people to buy your product or service. Most companies want you to present things that will allow them to make the most revenue possible. At majority of the marketing networking events I have been to, the leading marketing professionals always say something along the lines of “if it doesn't make money it doesn’t make sense”. The professionals I have been able to hear from always say that if it doesn’t directly make money for the company, it is a waste and those in the C-Suite will not want to hear it. My issue with the Marketing Field as a Believer is that I am having trouble wanting to provide that type of monetary value to a company as my main focus. 

My personal value is nowhere near defined by anything financial. My purpose in life is to do things that will please God and I want everything I do to be aligned with that school of thought. I want my career to be a reflection and continuation of my personal value in God and I don’t want to separate my work here on Earth from my divine purpose. With so much of our time being spent working, I don’t want to make time for anything that doesn’t include God.  So, if I personally don’t chase money it is hard for me to want to create value for companies in that way because money is not what I see as most valuable.

Now, there are other forms of value to companies that are necessary and matter, but at the end of the day it always comes down to finances. Companies do their best to try to convince us in their marketing and mission statements that the company isn’t just about money, but internal and external company decisions challenge those claims. Their actions don’t align with what they pitch. I want to create value beyond finances, but how can you do that when companies only view finances as the most valuable? 

Another thing I have an issue with regarding marketing is that it is largely manipulation.  Marketing is sometimes telling a story, but oftentimes it is selling an image. It is saying and doing whatever you can to get people to believe your product or service is worth the investment, even if it isn’t. Companies manipulate consumers' minds however they see fit to milk them for all they can and it is not only legal, but it is encouraged. Our society is also in a place where we are more invested in “making it look pretty” than actually doing the Work. This is why we see amazing flyers and then pull up to a lack-luster event. 

Growing up in church, pursuing marketing as a career path was a no-brainer because selling an image is largely what you do in church. My church is a healthy church that genuinely lives better, loves God and serves people. We don’t sell an image, God really is the sole focus. However, I have been to enough churches to know the majority of them are not like that. Going to church for many people is often characterized by “being appropriate”, making sure you are covered and hiding your sins as a means to show salvation. A lot of churches are just about the image; lots of shouting, lots of yellings and a lack of deliverance, coupled with going home and going back to living a double life. Sunday’s for many are a day to dress up and showcase to others that “I’m more saved than you” or “just as saved as you” and then every other day of the week you go home and don’t consider God in any decision you make. Church people are some of the fakest people you will ever meet and the images we sell are why many people don’t believe in church and have adopted the mentality that church is not necessary. The same image-selling is so familiar to me when I am in marketing spaces. Everything is about how it looks. Even if you have the substance or exactly what the company needs, if you don’t look the part of what they are looking for, you won’t even be considered a lot of times. All manipulation isn’t bad, as it is mainly defined as, “to handle or control (a tool, mechanism, etc.), typically in a skillful manner”, but our methods of manipulation is what I have a problem with. This World is almost purely transactional. Women date for money or attention; Men give money or attention to get sex. Companies hire you for how hard you can work for them and how much you can make them; People work for companies for how much they can pay them. Many people lead with a transactional mind without even realizing it and I don’t think that is what God has for us. God is not transactional with us. He blesses us beyond what we could have earned, He gives us grace and mercy beyond what we deserve. Jesus literally died for us knowing some of us would never acknowledge Him as our Savior. If we are supposed to be the hands and feet of Jesus and live like Him then why do we approach everything so transaction-ally, as if that’s how He would want us to live. 

I have an issue with making sure my approach to marketing honors God. I feel like there are ways to enter marketing with keeping my purpose at the forefront, but it is going to require me to be way more intentional in my approach than I thought. But, honestly the same principle really applies to all areas of life when it comes to being in this World. The World’s goal isn’t to honor God, it is to acquire money, power and fame, none of which are fruits of the spirit. I’m grateful God allowed me to realize this before I was in too deep. I knew from the beginning that I never wanted to do traditional marketing, but I wasn’t really quite sure why, but of course God reveals what you need to know in due time. My whole life will be characterized by being intentional with keeping God as my center and my source and I am not mad at it.

Thanks for Reading! Do you have these same thoughts when it comes to approaching marketing as a believer? In your respective fields, do you still identify with these feelings? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!