Unity Church Marketing

During my last post, I outlined some very different conversations that I had had recently with 3 individuals describing their church and what they thought was important. In essence, they were detailing their church identity.

The basic premise of this entry is about identity and how we’ve got to figure out who we are, both as individuals and as organizations (i.e., church). I believe it is a serious challenge with momentous implications. So, let’s see if we can begin to figure this stuff out.

So, the questions that need answered are:

What really matters most about a church’s identity? There are many contributing factors that tell folks what is important and that ultimately defines a church’s identity. Probably too many to list in this post. To name just a few:

1. Are they fulfilling needs? Is the church there just to serve itself or is it trying to understand the needs of its’ community?

2. Is it a voice in the community? If no one knows about or understands your church, maybe that is not the identity you are attracted to

3. Like minded individuals? Does your church embrace all forms of people? How about belief systems? Are there some types that are less than welcome for whatever reason?

4. Does your church deliver an incredible experience? This means different things to different folks. But are enough folks who come leaving with that feeling?

Here are some things that negatively affect a church’s identity are:

1. We think we’re all that matters. As such, there isn’t a lot of room for new ideas. Things are done the same way month after month, year after year. Have you had the exact same Christmas Service multiple years in a row? Another aspect is that we’d rather be the church on the cover than the church on the corner. We’re too quick to package something that seems to work for other churches vs. seeing if it is going to meet the needs of the people who might attend. That begins to makeup our church identity.

2. We forget about what really matters. Too many times, we are so focused on being “like that church”, that we need to be reminded about who we are and showing up authentically in the community. As a result, it becomes a slippery slope to go from what really matters to ending up with a church identity that is totally different than was desired.

3. We would rather deal with smaller matters. Some folks call it fragmentation. Others term it disintegration. No matter. Just like folks facing foreclosure who refuse to open the delinquent mortgage notices, many churches don’t have the fortitude to face themselves in the mirror and be honest about what is important. We’ve departmentalized everything, creating turf wars and competing agendas. Somewhere in our quest to delegate, we have lost our cohesiveness. In the interim, the church’s identity gets lost in the shuffle.

4. We can’t agree on what really matters. Whether your church is struggling for their identity or knows what it is and just can’t seemingly carry it out, oftentimes the reason for that is there is not a consensus of what it should be. This usually comes when one leader decides what identity the church needs or is going to have and doesn’t bother to find out what everyone else thinks. The result of that action is that there isn’t buy in and just like my conversation with Sheryl in my previous article, you have the “25 players/25 cabs” approach to church identity.

Does a church’s identity have an effect on not only how they are perceived in the community, but on their ability to grow and sustain themselves? There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that a church’s identity has an impact on the successfulness of that church. And just like you don’t think that problems/challenges your church has encountered have leaked out to the congregation, don’t believe for a moment that people outside the church don’t have some sort of idea of what your church is about. Every church has an identity. It is up to the leadership and the church community to determine what they want that identity to be. The good part is that you can change it if you aren’t happy with your current situation. But, just like you didn’t develop that identity in a week or a month, don’t think you are going to instantly change people’s thoughts about your church by writing one article or attending one inter-denominational meeting in your community. As I tell people all the time, “Your continued track record is going to tell the world what your church is about. Be steady, Be consistent. I can’t tell you when the perception will change. But it will”

Does a church need a unique identity to not only survive, but thrive in today’s environment? I see a lot of churches trying to emulate other (usually more successful) churches in their pursuit to grow. I am not saying that is a bad thing if you are willing to do what the successful churches have done. Typically, this will entail getting buy in from the church community, putting procedures into place and then following through with all oars pulling in the same direction (aye, there’s the rub).

Usually, most people, never mind churches only go so far and think “that is good enough”. And then they wonder why they are not achieving the results they had intended. Or because of their actions, have made the situation worse rather than better.

I am more of the mind that I don’t think any church should be “just like” any other church. If that were the case, why not just have one big church to serve everyone? I think we would all agree that is not likely.

There is always going to be some differences between churches. Yes, even those churches that have the same doctrine have their own uniqueness about them. And like Martha Stewart would say…”That’s a good thing”

In summary…

It is from our uniqueness (for good or bad) that your church identity grows. What needs are you fulfilling? How tolerant are your beliefs? How are you accepted into that church’s community? Those are just some of the things that make your church unique! This might be a good time for you to sit down and ask yourself…What makes my church different? And then follow up with…”Is that a good thing?”

While it is fine to take on some of the better qualities that some other churches have, I don’t think any church should be just like another church. There should be an understanding that we are all unique in our identities as human beings. Churches should be no less different.

Admittedly, I am among the weight challenged. I am a big guy. My weight can fluctuate 20-40 pounds at any given time. Yet, I am amazed when I see people who will either sit down to a full meal or go out to dinner and then seemingly right after that go have a snack. The reality is that person probably isn’t hungry. Sometimes the response is that they have to satisfy their “sweet tooth”. What I really think is happening is that they are just the result of good marketing.

What’s fascinating to observe are the things that we are not able to live without. I have been to a church before where I didn’t want to miss a thing that was going on. We didn’t have much money back then, but we always made sure that there was enough to do things at that church. And even though they didn’t purposely do it, in their own way, they did an awesome job of ostensibly making us come to the conclusion that we needed (and wanted) to be there. Unbeknownst to them at the time, they were great marketers.

There are all sorts of products out there that we really don’t need. People don’t need an iPod. But thankfully for Apple’s sake people rush to buy either an iPod or more recently an iPhone. When you are thirsty, do you typically get a Coke or Pepsi from the fridge or do you have a glass of running tap water? Studies have shown that the branded product usually wins out. Through marketing, we have discovered needs or wants that we didn’t know existed.

So the question that comes down as a result of the above is this:

Has the services and/or ministries that your church currently offers become a need or a want for your congregation?

Sunday service is like the dinner I talked about above. We know we are going to eat somewhere regularly. But what is it that you have done or what class that you have offered has made your church what marketers termed for the NBC television network a while back “must see TV”?

And if you are currently providing an environment like that, what are you doing to market or promote those services? Because just having the equivalent of “must see TV” services at your church is of little benefit to anyone if they don’t know about it.

If you truly believe in what you are doing at your church, this is the direction that is going to make a difference at your church. In other words what you should be doing is, creating wants that become needs. Find out what needs your church visitors are seeking out. Then do an excellent job at them to insure they are done at the highest level possible to attract people and ultimately become their need.

And if all of your services are the dinner described above, you should start looking to satisfy some sweet tooth’s out there.

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.

The Merriam Diction defines the word “slacker” in the following manner:

1: a person who shirks work or obligation; especially : one who evades military service in time of war

2: a person and especially a young person who is perceived to be disaffected, apathetic, cynical, or lacking ambition – slacker adjective

Easy enough to define and understand. Now comes the hard question… Is Your Church either a slacker or slacking when it comes to its’ marketing?

I think more churches qualify than would want to admit it. There are a lot of churches (and many businesses as well) that have this “build it and they will come” attitude. You can no longer just throw out your church carpet so to speak (or throw up a website for that matter) and expect that to generate new members.

How to determine if you’re a church marketing slacker?

Maybe you aren’t consciously shirking your church marketing obligations. On the other side, you may not be experiencing the results you are looking for in terms of new visitors, members or church exposure. Here are some things to consider to determine if you are a slacker

When was the last time your church website was updated?

Want an easy example of being a marketing slacker? When was the last time you updated your church website with new content? OK. I see some hands may have been raised. Let’s see how you are with the next question…

Have you totally re-designed your website recently?

If your church hasn’t re-designed it web-site in the last two years, it is time. And oh yeah, you are a marketing slacker. Like it or not we live in an age of instant gratification. Part of that gratification comes in the form of websites that are up to date and that are appealing to come back to.

Given any thought to adding video to your website?

The web has voted and if you don’t have video’s…well you won’t be voted off the island, but having them provides a greater opportunity to get your message seen and heard more often.

Have you introduced your church to Web 2.0?

You know what I am talking about here. Facebook and Twitter are the mainstays. Be thinking about YouTube as well. If you haven’t at least done that, consider yourself a marketing slacker.

If you have found yourself looking and feeling like a slacker, take heart. All is not lost. It just means that you aren’t keeping up with the times. And your church is paying a price for that. You don’t have to do all of the above immediately to no longer be considered apathetic marketing wise. Take one item and incorporate it over the next quarter. The following quarter take on another item that you see here or incorporate something completely new.

Are you going to see overnight results? Probably not. But you will begin to see the rewards as you put more and more of the above into place. More people returning to the website. More interest in your church and you will probably add some members as well. And in the end, you will probably have more fun with your church and its’ members as well.

You have your church website set up for Web 2.0. It doesn’t look or feel clunky, have a hundred links on a single page and you have not only read my article on things that will insure that I don’t come back to your website, but you have implemented everything possible to cover any areas to make sure I keep coming back.

But what if I never get to your site?
The trouble is what if no one ever finds your site? They look in the search engine and the only way someone can pull up your site is if they type in the exact name of your church. And believe it or not, you still aren’t even in the top 10 with that search criteria! Ouch!

Maybe it is time you looked under the hood!
Again, one of those things that my clients hear me talk about from time to time. “Simple, but not easy” is a term that I use to describe tasks that while simple in nature are a little more challenging if you don’t have the expertise.

Chances are you may have thought about things like SEO when you developed your site, but did you pay it attention throughout?

Getting your website evaluated is easier and better than ever!
Once you complete your initial site, I would definitely get your website graded to see where you are at. There are some great tools on sites such as Website Grader that will give you a better understanding of what, if anything needs done.

I did just that thinking I would be fine. After all, I have been doing this for awhile. I use optimized titles and a SEO Word Press theme. What should I have to worry about I thought.

Wouldn’t you rather know that there is an issue sooner rather than later?
So with confidence I put in my website name and waited for the report. The report came back and depending on the curve, my grade would rate a “C”.

While I wasn’t shocked, I wasn’t happy either. Some of the things that were on the report were things that I self-assuredly thought had been completed when I first put the site together. Then I remembered that while these things were on my list, the launch of a website can be pretty hectic and perhaps these items just fell through the cracks.

Having your website evaluated pinpoints the areas you need to work on!
Some of the fixes (in fact a lot of the fixes) take just a few minutes to correct. Here were the areas that I needed to work on:

– Meta data — this was one thing that I knew had to get done, but just didn’t give it enough focus.

– Keywords and missing descriptions — not on all the pages, but on several.

– Google Page Rank — I knew mine, but when I ask, many of my clients don’t have a clue as to what I am talking about.

– Traffic rank — Just like I tell my clients to look at the metrics, this is one where if you grade your website regularly, can see the results in black and white.

– Inbound links — I have to say that I was pleasantly pleased here, but know that this is an area that needs work. At the very least, you can get a feel for how others value your content.

– Found directories — I had totally bypassed registering in search engines that would develop more traffic for me (ie. Yahoo was one) On this I felt like a bonehead. Don’t do like I did. Get your site registered in places/directories such as Technoratti that will drive traffic to your site.

– RSS feed — Actually, this one was a relief to me as I had been having some challenges in setting my sites feed up. It was good to know I finally got it right.

In summary…
Using a website evaluation tool is a great way for someone to bring the issues to you, rather than you have to learn everything about website design (still not a bad idea). From there, you can see where your challenges/weaknesses are and go about correcting them.

Even though I got a “C” on this grade, I know that future grades will only get better. You are always going to have some weaknesses. Don’t guess at them. Use a website evaluation tool for your church (or business) website and determine the areas that need your attention.