This is an article written for Religious Product News. It is a brief summary of the rationale and practice of Church Marketing.
Marketing the Church without Selling Out: Seven Keys to Communicate the Gospel without Compromise
By Michael Daehn
There is a debate going on whether churches should use marketing. The truth is if you are running a church you are already under pressure to do some kind of marketing. People are asking you to run a Yellow Pages ad, build a new website, to advertise on TV or the radio. But should the church be marketing at all? If they should, then what kind of marketing is appropriate?
What is Marketing?
Marketing refers to the process of communicating and delivering a product to a target audience. A product may be a physical good, service, or even a message. The goal of the marketer is to understand the target audience to best implement and sustain communication that continues ongoing relationship.
What is the Purpose of the Church?
The purpose of the Church is to be the representation of Christ on earth. Members are to go into all the world teaching, preaching, and baptizing others into the name of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20).The common term used by churches to describe the process of sharing their faith is evangelism.
We Have a Match
The core vocation of Christians is to share the Gospel (effectively communicate with people), while the sole purpose of marketing is to effectively share a message (effectively communicate with people.)
If you look at the discipline of marketing as the study of how best to reach people, then it makes sense to learn from this field the principles involved in effective communication. Though not everyone follows the same pattern, you will be way ahead of the pack if you apply the seven keys to effective marketing listed below.
Key 1: Find Your Talent
For businesses to succeed they have to figure out what they are offering customers that is better than the competition. This is a little different for your church since what you are offering, a relationship with God, is inherently better than anything else on Earth. The challenge is to determine what particular gifts your congregation has been given to accomplish this purpose and how this fits in with the community where you are placed.
What unique gifts does your church have? People, resources, finances, and culture are all examples of gifts that God has given your congregation. Now how does that fit with the needs of the community where you are located?
Let’s say you have several people who are athletic coaches and or love sports. What ways can you reach your community by utilizing these resources? You could have sports clinics on your church campus, form a team to play in a local league, or equip your members to be good participants in existing sports programs in your area.
What you are good at is not the important thing. You know that God has given you something special and you are responsible to use it to advance the kingdom.
Key 2: Define Your Purpose
“Without vision the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18)
Having a unified vision of what your church is about is an important step in moving your church forward. Imagine a car with wheels going in 4 different directions at the same time. To actually drive this car to a particular destination is impossible and time consuming. I have seen many churches (and businesses) that have people going in different directions.
The pastor thinks the church is about foreign missions, the choir thinks it is about music, the staff members think it is about working at the soup kitchen, and most of the members think it is about keeping their kids out of trouble. None of these pursuits are wrong, but the church will stumble along when everyone has their own agenda. The wheels are going in different directions. Like a car, until everyone is going the same way you are unaligned and will never reach a destination.
Creating a mission statement for your church is the first step in getting everyone on the same page. Some churches have a few privileged people create their mission, others have the pastor do, but the whole church should be involved if you want it to work. The number one reason churches say they don’t involve all of the members in creating a mission statement is because it is too hard to get all of those opinions.
It is not as hard as it used to be. Today you can have meetings, emails, blogs, and workshops to allow people to give their input. It takes time, but can be done. It takes a lot of trust to ask the opinion of your members when setting the direction of the church. I am not saying that the group creates the mission, that is the responsibility of the pastor and or the leadership team to prayerfully consider. But to make an informed decision and to create the best mission statement possible the leadership must find out what their people are about. Remember that people will be ready to follow something they had a hand in creating.
When everyone understands and buys into the mission then you create synergy and can do much more than you thought possible. Often a church is already following an unspoken mission. I have seen churches where going through this process has helped them acknowledge what they are about and energized the congregation with a new sense of identity and purpose.
Key 3: Create an Image
Discovering your talents and defining your purpose gives you something to communicate to the people you are trying to reach. Creating an image is the process of boiling down what you are about in an easy to understand and communicate format.
The logo for your church should be a sign, both to members and the community, of what your church is about. When you are clear about what you are offering (gifts) and who you are (purpose) you can develop a logo that captures your identity. When choosing a look remember that colors matter. Make sure you pick the right colors and are consistent in how you use them.
Creating an image is also part of the branding process. I know the word sounds worldly, but stay with me for a second. A brand is nothing more than a promise. When Crest puts their name on a toothpaste tube they are saying they stand behind the product and promise it will give you nice teeth. What is the promise of your church? How are you viewed in your community? Are you known as the friendly folks that are always lending a hand and making the neighborhood better, or the crazy Sunday morning drivers that block the street with traffic? Whatever message you represent in your community is your brand. Your brand is who you are to people, your reputation.
Key 4: Implement Promotions
“Let your light shine…” (Matthew 5:16)
Promotions are what people think of when they hear the word marketing. You instantly think of a TV commercial or billboard ad. Promotion is where you take your carefully honed message and broadcast it to the public.
When I work with churches they usually want to start with the promotional process. I want them to take a hard look at the first 3 keys in the process of marketing, but I get a lot of resistance. One reason is that it is hard to take a hard look at who you really are as an organization. Another reason is that my clients are typically in a hurry and don’t want to take the time develop strategy. My response is to save your money. If you are not going to do your homework then you promotions are a big waste of money.
The six areas of promotion are:
· Advertising
· Public relations/publicity
· Sales promotion
· Personal selling
· Direct marketing
· Internet/interactive
Churches can take advantage of public relations by getting press coverage for the good things they are doing in the community. Since your church is already doing the activity, why not let people know about it?
Personal selling is what you are doing when you share Christ. It is the one to one interactions that are so important to any organization. If you are building a marketing budget, be sure to spend money to equip your members and give them the tools they need to be effective on the front lines.
The most effective form of sales promotion for a church is to have events. By hosting events on your church grounds you give people a way to get to know you in a non-threatening environment. And don’t be afraid to sponsor or participate in the events already taking place in your community. You should be going out to meet people, not just telling them to come to your house.
The Internet is a powerful tool that is transforming our culture. It has changed the way people communicate, get and use information. Use it to inform your members, reach your community and let people see what you are about by being transparent (blogs are great for this).
Whatever promotional tools you decide are right for your situation, make sure you are using them together. Stand alone promotions are wasteful. For example if you do a radio ad, invite people to an event on campus. Equip your members to be able to meet and share Christ when people come. Post pictures of the event on your website and send follow up emails to attendees. The more promotions you can use and weave together the better.
Key 5: Build Relationships
The goal of all promotions is to build relationships. People will never connect with a mission statement, logo or building, they connect with other people. Promotions are tools to get the conversation started. That’s why it is important when you use a broader tool like advertising to move people into a situation where they can meet people.
God could have used any marketing tool he wanted to communicate with his creation. He chose to send his son, a person, to build relationships. Now the Church has been commissioned to carry on the task. Remember that all the fancy marketing tools and techniques come down to people reaching people.
Key 6: Gain Feedback
How do you know if what you are doing is reaching people? Use surveys, websites, feedback forms and good old conversation to figure out what is working and what is not. Then, and here is the important part, do something with what you learned.
Key 7: Adjust to Changes
Make relevant adjustments based on what you have learned from your feedback and then go start the process over again. Are you sure about what your talents are? Are you on track with your mission? Is your mission on track with you? Does your image reflect who you are? Are your promotions effective? Should you change any promotions? Are you developing relationships? Are you getting useful feedback? Are you taking time to reflect on what needs to change moving forward?
Your church can learn from the discipline of marketing how to become more effective at communicating with people. The stakes are much higher than in traditional marketing because the product in this scenario is a message of hope that brings people into relationship with God, grows Christ’s kingdom, and fulfills your calling as a Christian to be faithful to the purpose you have been given. The payoff is having your heavenly Father say to you,
“Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21)
Michael Daehn is a professor, consultant and author of 5 marketing books including Marketing the Church. Ask him your questions at MarketingTheChurch.com.
