We have already talked about how you can’t reach people just based on who you think they are; you can most effectively reach them based on who they think they are.
This is not saying people can not be grouped in various ways that they don’t also consciously perceive. If such were the case, the field of anthropology would not be possible. What I am talking about is how to plan communication in ways that reach audiences.
So, it’s time to start learning more about the people you want to reach. A good starting point is to take a look at the demographics of the people you are trying to reach. When you learn about people, you begin to pick up their “cues” to the ways they like to think of themselves.
When most people hear the word “demographics” they have a sudden and explainable urge to take a nap. If you have trouble sleeping at night, curl up with a nice long report from the Census Bureau you’ll be out like a light in no time! But if you make yourself stay awake, you can make demographics work for your ministry. You may even find you like demographics. No, really! :)
Demographic data will help you understand so much about the people you want to reach! Missionaries all over the world would love to have just a small percentage of the kind of information that is available to ministry leaders in America. So much information exists that can help you communicate better, it would be a shame not to use it.
Imagine you are a newly arrived missionary on the field. What are the questions you would have about the people you were called to reach?
- How many people live here?
- Where and how do they live?
- What are the most common groups of people here?
- What are the age groups?
- What is the ethnic heritage of the people?
- What are the growth trends among the people?
- What is the economic situation here?
- What’s the political situation?
- What is the status of the church here?
- What do the people read, listen to, and watch?
- What kinds of things get the attention of people here?
- Wonder if I can get a Dr Pepper around here?
All these questions (and more) can easily be answered with demographic and other secondary data that is readily accessible to you and the ministry leaders you coach. All that is needed is to make use of the information. (Oh, the last question is one missionaries often ask first. :))
Even though you have not landed on some far away field, the place where you serve is a mission field. Mission researchers tell us the United States is one of the slowest growing mission fields on the planet. So it is good to start picking up the missionary mindset. You are going to need it!
Got Skills?
Besides understanding theology and knowing how to apply marketing in the church world, there are a few skills that will help you as a Ministry Marketing Coach to better learn to sift through the available data and apply it to Christian communication. You don’t need to know them all in depth, but the more familiar you become; the better you will be able to apply them in the situations where you coach. I won’t explain them, but will provide the list (and links) for your benefit.
- Missiology
- Church Growth
- General Psychology
- Literacy and Orality
- Basic Statistics
- General History
- Trend Tracking
- Library Research
- Networking
Types of Demographic Data
Look at some of the categories of data that can become variables for understanding the segments among the people you want to reach.
Geographics
You can understand a lot about people by studying where people live. As we mentioned, people by nature tend to group themselves homogenously. This tends to work out geographically also.
For example, in the USA we know that retired people tend to move to the sunny states, especially Florida and California. My eight years in Chinese ministry taught me that Asians tend to live in the same vicinity of other Asians. Not only do they group together as Asians, but Vietnamese tend to live together, Chinese, Koreans etc.
There are other geographical groupings found of professionals, families, Boomers, etc. Take a look yourself. Go to this page on Claritas.com and see who lives in your neighborhood.
When you are coaching a church, take the time to do a “windshield survey”. Drive around the community and see what the neighborhood looks like. What type homes do you see? What types of cars do they drive? Or do they use public transportation? What media do you notice? Are there billboards? What stores and other services are available?
In one shopping center near a church I was coaching, I noticed three dry cleaners and two pet grooming services. The make up of the neighborhood gave away information about the people who lived in the area. I knew things about the community before I ever saw a demographic report. When you see a lot of dry cleaners, you know you are near people who work in offices and management jobs. When you see a lot of services for pet grooming, this suggests a higher income level.
Conversely, in another church I coached I was in a rush and only had time to make it to the worship service. (I often go to churches as a “secret seeker”) I arrived and looking around, I noticed a lot of white collar upper middle class Anglo people attended the church. I could tell by the clothes they wore, the make of their cars, even the message seemed made-to-order for these people. I was surprised to find when I left the church service for my drive around survey; the church was located in a predominately blue collar and Asian neighborhood.
The church was trying to reach people in the community by advertising their ministries to the homes around the church. They purchased a mailing list of homes in the geographic proximity of the church. But what they didn’t know (that demographics and geographics would tell them) is their advertising strategy, the programs they offered, just about everything about the church was a mismatch for the community.
The church needed to make an adjustment. They needed to understand they were not equipped to reach the people around them. They needed to find a way to reach them. One, they could make adjustments to their ministry, or they could be a part of starting a new ministry in the community. Secondly, they needed to decide if their target audience was and fine a way to identify how to reach them.
Demographics, Psychographics, Ethnographics still to come…stay tuned!
Comments are closed.