An old professor once told me “Marketing Ends when Business Ends” and I think he is right.
The church should follow the 10 tactics of Word Of Mouth Marketing that small businesses follow - and make them fit for their own situation. “Customers” references our attendees / members
- Give “customers” a few brochures to pass along.
- Send informative e-newsletters that include a “forward” button.
- Place graphics on your vehicles to stimulate conversation.
- Offer incentives for referrals such as an annual subscription to Net Results Magazine, Netflix or Napster.
- When the job is complete - personally ask for references from friends, family, or business associates… (when the wedding, baptism etc… you get the drift)
- Host informative or fun events and encourage “customers” to bring guests; examples include: movies, games, Parental Guide to the Internet Safety Training Programs, Bible Studies, etc…
- Feature customers or case studies on your website - and include Photos. (COR does this well… www.cor.org - check out their home page “why I attend COR”)
- Send customers hand written birthday or anniversary cards - Form letters are perfunctory
- Send hard copy of the newsletters that highlight special events, trends, and ask customers for friends, family, or fellow workers who might like to be included on the mailing list. (A novel idea - that we started is we mail out our newsletter to different people in teh community every month… We dont give it to those attending via mail - but rather those in the community who don’.t And It works)
- Provide customers with a few extra business cards to have on hand.
Referrals come from many avenues - but it is a direct result of an entire organization pulling together as a team. Those who attend our churches - routinely interact with our target base … simply because this base is their friends, neighbors, and family. We should provide them with enough brochures and business cards to keep in their glove compartments, trucks, cars, or even in the mini-van and instruct them to give a few of these out.
Imagine if our churches initiated just a few simple protocols - we could put the basic word-of-mouth marketing techniques to work for the Kingdom…
your thoughts
3 responses so far ↓
Bill Tenny-Brittian
// Jul 24, 2008 at 9:44 am
Over the years I’ve done pretty well in the church marketing biz: I’ve managed to get my church ministry into the limelight on Good Morning America, International Public Radio’s Marketplace, the PTL Network, and a host of other radio and newspaper interviews. So, as someone who’s fairly church marketing savvy, I have to say that Glenn’s post here is spot on. It’s clear that he “gets” church marketing and his advice is gold.
With one exception. If you’re going to invest in brochures, business cards, birthday cards, bumper stickers, and the like to advertise your church, you need to make darn good and sure that you’re advertising something worth the ink. When today’s unchurched poke their heads into a church, they’re doing so because they’re looking for something. They’re looking for a touch from the Divine. They’re looking for models of real Christian life and faith (lives that are so genuinely Christian that there is no doubt by the decisions they’re making and the life that they’re living is real).
What they aren’t looking for is the church of the 1950s. The fact that you’re reading this post on a computer, even if that computer is in your phone, should say a lot. The gospel message hasn’t changed, but the way we communicate it must change with the culture we’re trying to reach. Today’s culture are technologically savvy, so if they show up at church they expect to experience the gospel, well, experientially through all their senses. They expect to experience the gospel in a mode and media they understand. They expect to experience the gospel in a style and with a beat that they can relate to … and that communicates to their heart. That isn’t going to happen if the church insists on using the cutting edge technology of organs, pews, bulletins, and static, oral-only preaching.
So, before you start handing out brochures, business cards, bumper stickers, and the like, make sure that when an unchurched person shows up that they don’t leave saying, “Yeah, I went to church, but I’m not going back. I was looking for God but what I found was a museum.”
Bill Tenny-Brittian
Senior Church Growth Consultant
Easum, Bandy & Associates
Blog
churchmedic
// Jul 24, 2008 at 9:53 am
I love that cutting edge technology bit ” organs, pews, bulletins, and static, oral-only preaching.”
I thought they were what brought people to Christ alone..
hmmm …
go figure
Consulting, Coaching & Chatter » Church Marketing
// Jul 24, 2008 at 12:00 pm
[...] include such simple ideas as birthday cards, bumper stickers, brochures, etc. You can read about it here. It may seem like there’s nothing new here, but what he says is not only excellent, but spot [...]
Leave a Comment