In his essay “Marketing Myopia,” first published in 1960 by the Harvard Business Review, Theodore Levitt put forward the idea that industries risk obsolescence when they forget what business they’re in.

Levitt used the railroad industry to make his point. There is insight in Levitt’s analysis for religious broadcasters.

The Great Change of 1945-1965

Great change occurred in post WWII America.

Change in the economy (economic boom); technology (automobile, airplane); role of government (interstate superhighway system); and behavior patterns (mobility and options to travel; expanded freedoms).

The railroad industry responded to the change.

Assuming they were in the railroad business, and not the transportation business, they made faster trains (streamlined diesel-electric locomotive). They built more comfortable and luxurious passenger cars. Affluent Americans bought tickets.

It only took two decades for faster and cheaper automobile and air travel to make the “modernized” passenger railroads obsolete.

In an article for USA TODAY, David Grossman, wrote, “Had even one railroad CEO understood the simple concept – that they were in the transportation business – and altered their business model to include air and road options, that railroad might still be in business today.”

Seven Lessons for Religious Broadcasters

Understand the scope of current change and its business impact. Radio streamed to computers; personalized Internet radio services for cell phones; podcasts; wireless Internet access for cars, and other new technologies are changing the very meaning of “radio.” An RF transmitter is no longer required for sending out audio signals.

Media habits are changing. As of March 31, 2009, 251,290,489 people or 74.4% of the population are connected to the Internet in North America; there are 1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) unique URLs in Google’s index; and 100,000,000 – users log on to Facebook at least once each day.

In a session for Christian Music Broadcasters, meeting during GMA week in Nashville, Bob Garfield, co-host of NPR’s On the Media told Mark Ramsey “I would prepare for a world in which the technology really does obsolete radio waves.”

Answer the question, “What business are you in?” A common reply for a religious broadcaster has been, “I’m in Christian radio.” Today, that answer wouldn’t adequately define the rapidly changing nature of the work.

It’s not the radio business anymore; it’s the “connection business.”

For a religious broadcaster that means:

• Connecting people to Jesus Christ through teaching/preaching and music; shared and personalized content in any form, at any time, and in any place the listener or viewer desires.
• Connecting people to one another through networks established around common interests and shared values; through local church involvement and various events and activities.
• Connecting people to God’s work in the world; helping others through good works and community service.
• Connecting audiences with carefully selected sponsors and partners. Coordinating and facilitating a meaningful, non-invasive “opt-in” dialogue about customer needs and the best resources and services available to meet those needs.

It means being the communication hub in your local community, using all available technologies. The content distribution channels, receiving devices and even revenue streams are redefined as the systems used to make the connections possible.

Look ahead. Do the hard work of predictive modeling. Participate in joint research projects, conferences and roundtable discussions about the future of religious broadcasting. The future of radio spectrum may be unknowable. That shouldn’t deter a consideration of all possible outcomes from the disruptive forces of change.

Make it a practice to share as much as possible about what is learned during the discovery process.

Four additional lessons will be listed in my next post.