In the mosque this morning, after morning prayers, something happened.

Just after the tesleem, the ’salaam aleikum wa rahmatullaahi...’, the Imam introduced a young man. He referred to him as a health practitioner who had a message for us.
I lifted my curious eyes to see who that person was who wanted to disturb my planned-by-the-second post morning prayer ritual. I decided to use Stephen Covey’s 5th principle in his popular book, “seek first to understand”, i listened.

The young man introduced himself and gave the pre-talk Islamic intro in a rather “paparazzi” manner. I was like, ok, lets hear him out for few more minutes. Then he proceeded to talk about health issues; what we eat, drink and how most of us are the architect of our own gradual destruction from the way we live our lives.

He talked about how most of our foods are from the dangerous starchy background combo of cassava and yam. Someone from the audience was quick to fire him that was that not what our “fathers” used to eat and they lived good lives. The young man was quick to reply with a subtle missile of comparing our daily rituals with that of our “fathers”. How our “fathers” used to burn off all the extra cholesterol and fat with serious rigor.

It made a lot of sense to me, knowing the sedentary lives of we “techy” people and the massive ijekuje we eat just because we do not want to take our gaze away from the screen. I let off my guard pata pata and stopped the stop watch in my mind.

At the end of his talk, he announced that a stand had been set up just behind the mosque for free medical checkup. I was smart enough not to rush at that, i waited in the mosque calmly till everyone had done theirs then i was called upon. I wondered why, because i did not signify interest. The reason revealed itself later.

I went out and did the tests. Then came the koko.
They came up with a number of paid “products” (they said they are not drugs) for me to use to get my health status better.

I looked up and saw many other people buying and buying. Of course, you would not ignore key health signals.

This got me thinking.
There is something these guys know about marketing that most startups/businesses do not.
Let me borrow from Nir Eyal’s hooked model. Who says the model does not apply to marketing too, some how!

These guys obviously got the congregation with the health talk. Who hates health talks? Trigger, right?
The investment phase came in from the time we had given to him, listening, and the free checkup that came after. Finally, the action to be taken was to buy from them. A catch here, below.

A key lesson to hustlers like me is for us to realize that few people win by jumping on their prospective customers. You need to cuddle, pet and give lots of value in the hope of getting a fraction of that back.

PS: My head is hard, i did not buy from them!

Oladeji Oluwaseyi Ibraaheem
https://www.linkedin.com/in/iboladeji
Serial Failure @ Startups | Burnt The Ship, No Going Back

I have witnessed the health talk several times! Though their style of marketing is unique as you said but i still think islamically it is not good to cajoule the less educated audience to buying their products which are usually over-priced.
.

They always tour around mosques though. Their marketing method is unique.

More so important, it's not good to advertise or do any trade (buying and selling) in the mosque.
The best way they can do their advertisemwnt is to do it outside the mosque.
May Allah guide us all to the straight path, Aamin.

الله اكبر

Boring**yawns**

we understand that their methods are unique.

if he is doing this in the masjid, then its very wrong according to the shari'aa of islaam because "Mosques are for worship, and it is forbidden to buy, sell and earn money therein. So it is not permissible to use the mosque as a means of advertising for companies, schools or anything else.

As for advertisements about religious lectures and seminars, there is nothing wrong with that, so long as that is not an advertisement for a specific committee, company, institution or the like"

And Allaah knows best

From Fataawa al-Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allaah Aal al-Shaykh (Majallat al-Da’wah, 43)

Allah knows best.

What? Did you find meat that some arabic writing was scribbled on it?

This is wrong, you should not turn the mosque to a marketplace.

Yes the marketing strategy employed is something of envy.

But we must condemn unequivocally the use of Masjid for sales no matter the reason behind it. The Masjid is for prayers in a way I can argue he/they have ulterior motives.

Nah so

iboladeji:
In the mosque this morning, after morning prayers, something happened.

Just after the tesleem, the ’salaam aleikum wa rahmatullaahi...’, the Imam introduced a young man. He referred to him as a health practitioner who had a message for us.
I lifted my curious eyes to see who that person was who wanted to disturb my planned-by-the-second post morning prayer ritual. I decided to use Stephen Covey’s 5th principle in his popular book, “seek first to understand”, i listened.

The young man introduced himself and gave the pre-talk Islamic intro in a rather “paparazzi” manner. I was like, ok, lets hear him out for few more minutes. Then he proceeded to talk about health issues; what we eat, drink and how most of us are the architect of our own gradual destruction from the way we live our lives.

He talked about how most of our foods are from the dangerous starchy background combo of cassava and yam. Someone from the audience was quick to fire him that was that not what our “fathers” used to eat and they lived good lives. The young man was quick to reply with a subtle missile of comparing our daily rituals with that of our “fathers”. How our “fathers” used to burn off all the extra cholesterol and fat with serious rigor.

It made a lot of sense to me, knowing the sedentary lives of we “techy” people and the massive ijekuje we eat just because we do not want to take our gaze away from the screen. I let off my guard pata pata and stopped the stop watch in my mind.

At the end of his talk, he announced that a stand had been set up just behind the mosque for free medical checkup. I was smart enough not to rush at that, i waited in the mosque calmly till everyone had done theirs then i was called upon. I wondered why, because i did not signify interest. The reason revealed itself later.

I went out and did the tests. Then came the koko.
They came up with a number of paid “products” (they said they are not drugs) for me to use to get my health status better.

I looked up and saw many other people buying and buying. Of course, you would not ignore key health signals.

This got me thinking.
There is something these guys know about marketing that most startups/businesses do not.
Let me borrow from Nir Eyal’s hooked model. Who says the model does not apply to marketing too, some how!

These guys obviously got the congregation with the health talk. Who hates health talks? Trigger, right?
The investment phase came in from the time we had given to him, listening, and the free checkup that came after. Finally, the action to be taken was to buy from them. A catch here, below.

A key lesson to hustlers like me is for us to realize that few people win by jumping on their prospective customers. You need to cuddle, pet and give lots of value in the hope of getting a fraction of that back.

PS: My head is hard, i did not buy from them!

Oladeji Oluwaseyi Ibraaheem
https://www.linkedin.com/in/iboladeji
Serial Failure @ Startups | Burnt The Ship, No Going Back

The mosque is not a market place. There is nothing laudable about this activity.

[Indeed, the Prophet is reported to have said in an hadith reported by Abu Hurayrah that:
"If you see a man buying and selling in the mosque, say to him 'may Allah never make your trade profitable' and if you see a man announcing the lost of a riding beast say to him 'may Allah never return it to you"
(at-Tirmidhī and an-Nasā’ī).]
Excerpt from https://www.nscia.com.ng/index.php/info-portal/information/66-multi-purpose-use-of-the-mosque-in-islam-by-is-haq-olanrewaju-oloyede

iboladeji:
In the mosque this morning, after morning prayers, something happened.

Just after the tesleem, the ’salaam aleikum wa rahmatullaahi...’, the Imam introduced a young man. He referred to him as a health practitioner who had a message for us.
I lifted my curious eyes to see who that person was who wanted to disturb my planned-by-the-second post morning prayer ritual. I decided to use Stephen Covey’s 5th principle in his popular book, “seek first to understand”, i listened.

The young man introduced himself and gave the pre-talk Islamic intro in a rather “paparazzi” manner. I was like, ok, lets hear him out for few more minutes. Then he proceeded to talk about health issues; what we eat, drink and how most of us are the architect of our own gradual destruction from the way we live our lives.

He talked about how most of our foods are from the dangerous starchy background combo of cassava and yam. Someone from the audience was quick to fire him that was that not what our “fathers” used to eat and they lived good lives. The young man was quick to reply with a subtle missile of comparing our daily rituals with that of our “fathers”. How our “fathers” used to burn off all the extra cholesterol and fat with serious rigor.

It made a lot of sense to me, knowing the sedentary lives of we “techy” people and the massive ijekuje we eat just because we do not want to take our gaze away from the screen. I let off my guard pata pata and stopped the stop watch in my mind.

At the end of his talk, he announced that a stand had been set up just behind the mosque for free medical checkup. I was smart enough not to rush at that, i waited in the mosque calmly till everyone had done theirs then i was called upon. I wondered why, because i did not signify interest. The reason revealed itself later.

I went out and did the tests. Then came the koko.
They came up with a number of paid “products” (they said they are not drugs) for me to use to get my health status better.

I looked up and saw many other people buying and buying. Of course, you would not ignore key health signals.

This got me thinking.
There is something these guys know about marketing that most startups/businesses do not.
Let me borrow from Nir Eyal’s hooked model. Who says the model does not apply to marketing too, some how!

These guys obviously got the congregation with the health talk. Who hates health talks? Trigger, right?
The investment phase came in from the time we had given to him, listening, and the free checkup that came after. Finally, the action to be taken was to buy from them. A catch here, below.

A key lesson to hustlers like me is for us to realize that few people win by jumping on their prospective customers. You need to cuddle, pet and give lots of value in the hope of getting a fraction of that back.

PS: My head is hard, i did not buy from them!

Oladeji Oluwaseyi Ibraaheem
https://www.linkedin.com/in/iboladeji
Serial Failure @ Startups | Burnt The Ship, No Going Back

Jazaakumulloohu khayran for the interesting comments and contributions. I strongly agree with you on the position of commercial activities in the mosque. Please note that the marketers in this narration DID NOT sell in the mosque.

While i do not particularly buy into this mode of mosque-marketing technique, it might not be adjudged to be prohibited as what occurred in the mosque itself was not buying and selling. These guys came with a free health talk that benefited us all tremendously. Then a fraction of the congregation went outside the mosque for the free test and then a smaller fraction bought from them OUTSIDE.
Nothing prohibits having a market AROUND a mosque.
Walloohu a'lam

iboladeji:



Jazaakumulloohu khayran for the interesting comments and contributions. I strongly agree with you on the position of commercial activities in the mosque. Please note that the marketers in this narration DID NOT sell in the mosque.

While i do not particularly buy into this mode of mosque-marketing technique, it might not be adjudged to be prohibited as what occurred in the mosque itself was not buying and selling. These guys came with a free health talk that benefited us all tremendously. Then a fraction of the congregation went outside the mosque for the free test and then a smaller fraction bought from them OUTSIDE.
Nothing prohibits having a market AROUND a mosque.
Walloohu a'lam

The whole purpose of the health talk and the subsequent 'free test' smacks of a set up for commercial activities. The advertising started from the mosque. Trade does not only refer to the physical exchange of goods and payment. Inviting people to the market set up outside the mosque while they were still inside the mosque is still part of it.

iboladeji:



Jazaakumulloohu khayran for the interesting comments and contributions. I strongly agree with you on the position of commercial activities in the mosque. Please note that the marketers in this narration DID NOT sell in the mosque.

While i do not particularly buy into this mode of mosque-marketing technique, it might not be adjudged to be prohibited as what occurred in the mosque itself was not buying and selling. These guys came with a free health talk that benefited us all tremendously. Then a fraction of the congregation went outside the mosque for the free test and then a smaller fraction bought from them OUTSIDE.
Nothing prohibits having a market AROUND a mosque.
Walloohu a'lam

The whole purpose of the health talk and the subsequent 'free test' smacks of a set up for commercial activities. The advertising started from the mosque. Trade does not only refer to the physical exchange of goods and payment. Inviting people or attracting their attention to the market set up outside the mosque, while they were still inside the mosque is still part of 'selling'. Allah is not deceived by our feeble attempts at 'playing smart' with His commands.

Farmerforlife:


The whole purpose of the health talk and the subsequent 'free test' smacks of a set up for commercial activities. The advertising started from the mosque. Trade does not only refer to the physical exchange of goods and payment. Inviting people or attracting their attention to the market set up outside the mosque, while they were still inside the mosque is still part of 'selling'. Allah is not deceived by our feeble attempts at 'playing smart' with His commands.

Sure, though, intention matters a lot.

I am not a Muslim but I like the thread and there is nothing Islamic about this thread, its more of a business thread, marketing is a sweet thing when make someone do or buy what they never intended to. If you clientele are ego filled, its always good to massage their egos just to attract them to even listen to you.

Their is a book by an Online Marketer Gary V.... The title is Jab Jab Jab Right Hook ( In boxing parlance when fighting an opponent you just tease him and wear him out by doing the jabs before delivering the right hook or uppercut that would give the K.O ) Same thing with marketing is to tease your prospects with so many little information so that when you make your sales pitch they are already primed to buy.