Every church is involved in marketing! If they have a sign outside the church building, advertise in the local newspaper, send out leaflets to advertise campaigns, provide brochures to visitors, bulletins to regulars, mail a newsletter to members or engage in any activities designed to attract people to the church - they are involved in marketing their church. The bottom line of marketing is that it should be done with excellence, as if done for God and not for people (Colossians 3:23).
1. The Marketing Purpose
Technically, marketing is defined as: all of the activities preceding and including a transaction in which two parties willingly exchange resources of value. In a church context, marketing occurs when we seek to persuade people to engage in significant relationships: with Jesus Christ and then with other believers. The process of marketing cannot begin until the church has a strategic plan - they must know where they are, where they want to go and how they are going to get there! Then it will be helpful to determine the positioning of the church - this is the bundle of insights that people have about: What they are; what they do; what they offer and what they stand for. In order to effectively market their ministry the church must identify the needs of people and then find the best ways to meet their needs. Jesus told his followers to bring His message to people in a way that they could understand and relate to. That’s the heart of marketing!
2. The Marketing Process
In order to accomplish effective marketing the following features must be noted: (1) Society is over communicated, so a simplified message is needed. Communication involves creating an understanding, so marketing is more than just getting a message out. (2) Broadcasting should be narrowcasting - people in society have been depersonalised and they need to be seen as individuals who can be reached and not as the masses who are listening. (3) Focus on growth and development - as people move into the church (growth) the quality of what they receive needs to be improved (development).
According to Paul Vorster, a communications consultant, the marketing process entails a number of steps, each of which involves a number of activities. Taken in order and effectively carried out, these steps will lead to effective marketing:
A. Collect and Analyse Information
Fishing strategy begins with knowing the kinds of fish that live in your lake or ocean, knowing their habits and preferences, and using the appropriate bait to hook them. If leaders are going to be effective fishers of men then they need to find out all they can about those they are trying to reach. This does not mean they survey the congregation! They already know about them, it is those outside the church that they need to find out about! Leaders must find out all they can about the people they are ministering to, the environment in which they’ve been called to market their product and service and understanding the demographics, attitudes and beliefs of the population. Research need to be both qualitative (why do people think that way, why do they do what they do?) and quantitative (How many people think that way or do those things?). Leaders must examine trends and projections about the future concerning needs related to their area and the people who live there.
B. Capture the Vision
The church should have, during the strategic planning phase, determined what they are striving for. Visions is necessary as it motivates your actions, shapes your thinking and defines your leadership! Armed with the necessary information - such as market data, God’s guidance, the counsel of others and past experiences - the leader must describe the vision in ways that clarify their purpose and goals.
C. Identify Your Resource Base
Now leaders must determine what is needed and what is available in terms of financial, people, and equipment resources. These resources will be important in the planning process. While leaders do not want to limit their ministry by focusing on resources in-hand, neither do they want to waste time and effort devising plans that cannot be carried out because of a lack of resources.
D. Create the Marketing Plan
A plan which is owned by the people must be created. It should be articulated for, and owned by, all the pertinent individuals. It has four parts to it:
(1) Purpose - what the group is trying to achieve.
(2) Goals - how they are going to achieve their purpose.
(3) Strategies - to reach the purpose and goals.
(4) Tactics/action steps - to accommodate the strategies.
E. Communicate and Implement the Plan
The best plan is of no value unless it is implemented. This requires letting people know the contents of the plan, how they can be a part of the process and persuading them to carry it out.
F. Seek Feedback as the Plan is Implemented
Marketing involves sending a message out to people. Leaders must determine whether the message was understood correctly. They should not wait for it, they should plan to gather feedback. Sensitivity to the market is necessary as paying attention to the reactions of the market will enable leaders to fine-tune their marketing to accommodate new perspectives, unexpected obstacles and unforseen opportunities.
G. Revise and Reimplement the Plan
When the feedback has been analysed and its implications determined, the marketing effort should be changed to reflect the new insights. Marketing is a continual loop, as the cycle goes on its way until either a new vision is created or the plan itself is altered.
3. The Marketing Product
There are two aspects to the marketing product in youth ministry:
A. The Ministry
Promoting the ministry the church is offering to youth is one aspect of the marketing process, as people in an area need to hear about what is offered to them. Part of the business of marketing is making the group’s presence known in the community. Duffy Robbins asks: “How can the church reach out to the community when the community doesn’t even know it exists?” (Youth Ministry Nuts & Bolts, Page 172). He mentions several good strategies to maintain ongoing publicity:
* Booster placards - an advertising leaflet with a calendar of events and contact numbers.
* School newspapers - local newspapers will run an advert for the youth group.
* Youth group brochure - an informational packet describing what the group is all about.
* Youth group T-shirts - when these are worn at events the group is advertised.
* Youth group newsletter - this can be a quarterly or monthly presentation of group activities.
* Doorknob notices - leaflets to hang on a door when visiting youth who are not at home.
B. Specific Events
Promoting events for young people is another aspect of the marketing process. Duffy Robbins gives seven keys for promotion and publicity that relate to activities:
(1) The Eyes Have It
The purpose of doing publicity is to catch someone’s attention long enough to give them the desired message. So every handout needs to be as interesting as possible. Clip art books, newspapers and magazine are just some of the wealth of material that can be used.
(2) Do Long Range Promotion
Youth today plan ahead, so promotion must give them time to fit the event into their schedule. The early promotion does not need to include all the details about the event - it is an early warning, which can be followed up with a more detailed form at a later date.
(3) Run a Promotional Campaign
Effective promotion grabs a reader’s attention, arouses interest, and seeks a commitment. This can be done using one event to promote another, using a staggered advertising process (ie. early warning, stickers, posters, etc). Also a sign up poster can be used, which has a discount fee for those registering before a certain date.
(4) Have Fun With Publicity
A really great event publicised in a boring way is betrayal! A promotion leaflet is the first hint youth have of what the event is going to be like - it has to be good! Ideas for fun publicity include: playing music in the background as an event is announced, using crazy overhead transparencies, or rapping the announcement.
(5) Reach Out and Touch
Youth will attend an event more often because of who is going to be there than because of the event itself. So the best publicity is friend to friend. Remind youth that the printed advert is simply a tool they can use to personally invite a friend to an event.
(6) Tell the Whole Truth
Creative advertising must still give sufficient details about the event. For example: (a) parents need enough information about the event to assure them that their child will be properly supervised and safe, (b) youth need enough information to assure them that they are not going to feel like jerks when they arrive, (c) any specific abilities or know-how needed should be made known to youth, and (d) the purpose of the event should be clearly spelt out.
A magazine, called Marketing Mix, carried an article entitled, “Is there a link between likeability and creativity?” It is based on a comparison of the top ten TV adverts that are determined each month. The article stressed the close relationship between likeability, creativity and relevance - stressing that the adverts that have the top spot on the list and stay on the longest are those which are likeable. One reason for this is that they increase the consumer’s desire to look at the advertisement.
“Some advertisers do not understand likeability, believing it equates with humour or entertainment and seeing it as the opposite of informative ads. Some even see likeability as being the opposite of relevance. However, likeability underlies all of this. What is humorous, entertaining, informative or inspirational to an individual can only be judged relevant to that individual. Likeability is cultural bound because it is relevance bound. Relevance varies by age group, language, cultural group, etc. However the dimensions that make for likeability - entertainment, empathy, relevant news, lack of confusion, etc - are cross-cultural” (Marketing Mix, Vol 11, No 6, 1993, Page 44).
The implications for marketing in a youth context are obvious. Promotional material must be creative, relevant, humorous, entertaining, informative, inspirational, empathetic and clear. This will in no way detract from the message that is being presented, but will rather help to ensure that the attention of the individual is grabbed and that the message is communicated!
Duffy Robbins says, “The best promotion in the world won’t do any good if the event stinks. We need to make sure that the product lives up to the packaging. Nothing succeeds like success. The best publicity is God changing lives. When people see the oil flowing from previously empty jars, they’ll start wondering what’s going on over at the prophet’s house (see 2 Kings 4:1-7)” (Youth Ministry Nuts & Bolts, Page 178)
Substance is more important than appearance as revealed in the coming of the Messiah: “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:2,3). Advertisements in the shop window are only as good as the stock in the shop. Remember that the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power! (1 Corinthians 4:20).
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