Unity Church Marketing

My wife and I have made a decision (which if you know my wife, well enough said J). Our next car is going to be a hybrid. Since gas prices have come down a bit, you don’t see a lot of folks that are proud to be driving a hybrid.  And in our mind, if we are going to buy a hybrid, the only one to have is a Prius. 

Hybrids – not just like any other car on the road   A hybrid car is an automobile that has multiple sources of propulsion. Most hybrid cars currently have both a conventional gasoline engine as well as an electric motor. They are pretty complex because they have the ability to be powered by either source (gas or electric) by itself or together in unison.

Being a Proud Prius Owner

For the most part, hybrid cars may look like any other vehicles you might see on the road. Except that is for a Prius. When you see a Prius, there is not doubt that you are driving a hybrid. And folks who own a Prius are very proud of owning one. From the high gas mileage to just helping out the environment, Prius owners are a proud group. It started with Larry David and has spiraled into a pop culture phenomenon with everyone from Cameron Diaz to South Park either driving one or parodying one.  

So what does this have to do with church marketing?  

Actually, more than you know. Unlike SUV owners who rationalize why they drive what they drive (“I like to feel like I am above traffic in my SUV… besides I have grand-kids who ride with me” or, “I carry a lot of stuff around, so I had to buy an SUV” or, “the price of gas is only two dollars a barrel, so who cares?”) Prius owners make no apologies for why they own them. They know that the car gets fantastic mileage, is helping out the environment by reducing the carbon footprint they leave behind and some what say stylish to boot.   So, the question regarding your church marketing is this:   Are you as proud of your church with your marketing efforts as Prius owners are of driving one?   Because until you get to that point, how are you going to expect others to be proud of being a member of your church community?  

Many New Age, New Thought Churches are apologetic.

You know, that is something that I just don’t get. If you believe in a church (such as Unity, Unitarian, Church of Religious Science, etc) doctrine, then why do so many churches back away from their thoughts when going out to market within their community?   New Age/New Thought churches may not be main stream, just like the Prius is not your everyday car that you see on the road.   But you know what? There are more and more Prius owners driving the highways each and every day. The car was introduced in 1997 and there are well over 1.3 million Proud Prius owners as a result.   So why can’t your New Age/New Thought Church’s marketing efforts be any less effective?   Church Marketing, Working the Room and Creating the Handshake!   I was reading a blog the other day that said to be successful in a social networking situation, you need just two things:

• A good handshake
• A willingness to put yourself out there

 You have put a lot of work in setting up your ministries to meet people’s needs, you got your social network act down (making sure that you include all the relevant information, contact numbers, email address, photo so people can get a hold of you and have some idea of what to expect when they visit) and then…nothing happens.   That’s because for whatever reason, you do not work the room or let people know about you!    In order to win, you have to play!

What’s that you say? I am reminded of the person who keeps praying to God, “Please let me win the lottery” Days go by and the prayer is repeated. This goes on for months and still no lottery winnings. One day the person says, “God, why won’t you let me win the lottery” And God replies…”Hey, help me out. How about buying a ticket?”

Your community is the biggest seminar or workshop that you are probably ever going to attend. It is “the” social event of the season. And if you stand in the corner and do nothing, do you know what you will get out of all of your efforts. That’s right…NOTHING!

Get out and create the handshake with your church marketing. Don’t feel like you are not preying on folks. The reality is many want to know about you. But since they don’t and you haven’t reached out with a friendly marketing handshake, they will never know you.