Too many people treat marketing as a program and not as a process. I fear the heightened interest in marketing we see these days is from churches who believe marketing is a program. “Let’s try some marketing!” There are plenty of people to help them confirm their biases. It seems in some quarters that marketing is more about what you look like, than how you plan. They put more emphasis on program than process.
Here is it is, the truth about marketing—it doesn’t work! It can’t. That is because marketing is not a program, it is a process. And more than that, it is a way of thinking that, when applied properly, yields better communication. In many cases better results–in all cases, better ministry. Marketing works when people work marketing.
3 Responses
December 19th, 2007 at 7:36 am
I can honestly say i agree with your idea. We are in the process of beginning a marketing campaign and one of our elders made the comment – you cannot expect people to behave in one way just because you put the ideas down on paper. Congergants need to buy into the type of church that either the board wants or the type of church they are.
if you buy a Jug of Tide because you saw a commercial saying how it cleans clothes and then when you use it at home and it does not do what was communicated to you – would you buy the Jug of Tide again? the same with a church!
if you say your church is a real community and welcoming and love to touch people in various ways and then you find out as a visitor that everyone is cold as a refrigerated Dill Pickle – then you have just made your church into liars.
So, we need to communicate what we really are and at that time if we “market the church” to who we really are, then we can expect visitors to stay.
The Lord Bless you!
December 19th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Perfectly put Chris. Marketing IS a process. You have to be able to measure results and keep at it.
December 19th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Thanks for the comments :)
I agree, be who you are! Several months ago I talked about just that in an article for Religous Product News called “How to Make More Impact with Your Ministry Communications” you might like too.
Here’s the point about advertising who you are from that article:
>> Advertise who you really are, not who you are not.< <
Just because you have stock images of young families with children in your ads doesn't mean you can reach those kind of people. If people respond to advertising that seems to imply your church has a large children's ministry and find your church really only has a couple of struggling children's classes, they will feel misled and will not want to return to your church.
Read the rest of the article here:
http://www.religiousproductnews.com/archives/2007/feb/ministryOfTheMonth.htm
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