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by Jerry Thacker
One of the most amazing things I have learned about marketing is the impact of price on the process of moving goods and services.
People are schizophrenic when it comes to how they spend their money. They may drive a $40,000 vehicle but drive miles out of the way to buy the cheapest gas. They may wear $1,500 suits and buy their shirts at Wal-Mart. The same is true when it comes to the price of services at CPCs/PCCs.
"Wait a minute," you say. "Our services are all free!"
Yes, that may be true. But there is price and there is cost. Let's take a look at the difference.
Price refers to the amount of currency someone will trade to obtain something he believes will make his future life better. Cost includes much more. For expectant parents who have decided against abortion, the cost of parenthood includes not only the monetary investment, but also the investment of time and energy in travel, counseling, the acquisition of baby equipment and supplies, and the many duties and activities of years of child-rearing.
Unfortunately, many pregnant women who will come to your door do not fully understand the concept of counting the cost. They found someone who professed undying love but only stuck around for the short haul. It is after they awaken to the full cost of a crisis pregnancy that they panic. And that's where your investment in them starts.
The major factor we've discovered in our market research with the young ladies that come to the centers is that they are surprised and overwhelmed by the fact that someone really cares about them. There is no price that can be put on the unconditional love and care you give to these folks. And that is what they want, need, desire, and will tell others about.
My dear wife loves babies and small children. She taught first grade for many years before we had our own kids. There is something special about the investment of time, energy, and love that a mother puts into her children. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that many of the young in our current generation do not see the value of investing in the life of another human being. Perhaps it is because they have not experienced having someone invest in them. We send our children into the future as a part of who we were. Rearing them to love God and their fellow man and in the process be savory salt and brilliant light in a dark and dying world is a good investment. It is worth the cost.
While you or your clients may spend upward of $177,000 in the rearing of a child from birth through high school, the investment of love and caring you can make in the lives of those who come to you for help cannot be valued in such temporary currency as dollars. Neither can the return. As you give love, show them the God of love, and introduce them to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, great will be your reward both now and in eternity.
Jerry Thacker, B.A., M.A. heads Marketing Partners, Inc., a marketing communications company that publishes Today's Christian Teen, Today's Christian Preacher, and Today's Christian Senior magazines. He is a competent researcher, writer, publisher, presenter, broadcaster, teacher, and public speaker. Jerry has made appearances on the Janet Parshal and Oliver North radio programs, Focus on the Family, cable TV networks, and local network affiliates. He can be reached at (800) 588-7744.
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