Friday, November 10, 2006
Marketing the church
While Jesus transcends all cultures, churches and ways of doing church do not. Because a local church is an implementation of the new life found in Jesus men and women engage in, it needs to be culturally relevant to the place and time it belongs to.
Therefore, the local church must be in constant or regular self-awareness to how it is perceived from the "outside world", in order to stay relevant as an effective actor of change for the Kingdom of God.
We have reworked Marcus Neto's 18 Word of Mouth Marketing Tips for Churches to highlight which ones may or may not work in French culture, and under which conditions:
1) Make it easy for people to find you: If people come across your website, yellow pages, or start a conversation with you, make sure to make them wonder about what your church is about, get them curious to ask questions, or to want to come check it out! Actually, just do church right there right then, as you never get a 2nd chance to make a good 1st impression.
2) Use communication tools as necessary to get the message out: From ringing church bells (legislated by the townhall) to blogging on the internet :-)
3) Leverage provocative content to make it talk-worthy: Who wants boring?
4) Keep the Jesus' story always fresh with today's issues: How is Jesus' message relevant today?
5) Tell people about you: Caution must be used here in France as any pushy (or even simply enthusiastic) talking may raise eyebrows and make people wonder whether you are part of a cult! You will need to hone your communication skills for French environment, but remember the soapbox approach will probably scare people away.
6) Truly engage others with relationship-building intent: Do not lecture or monologue, the person might just want to escape...
7) Use interesting stories to bring your word-of-mouth topics to life: Nothing like true stories to get to people's guts!
8) Do something unexpected and generous: Giving something free to someone in France might quite easily get rejected. French people are terribly proud in all kinds of ways, the idea of getting something for free is often perceived as degrading, demeaning, devaluing their persona. On the other hand, people feel valued if you ask them for a favor, like helping them get rid of something... be creative and do not look too nice!
9) Identify socially-adept people in the community: Making worthwhile allies can get you going a long way.
10) Allow people to experience what is the Christian life: Making it tangible, to address people felt needs, being real and natural, etc.
11) Ask people about their impressions and feedback: Informal polling can prove highly beneficial.
12) Give opportunities for people to respond to your message: An old folk story says importing of the potatoe to European kitchens proved quite difficult. Challenged by people's disinterest, a lord placed guards around his potatoe field; soon enough people came to steal the prized vegetables... and the rest is history!
13) Recruit workers that are interested to partake in your vision: Delegation and participation are great ways to create a snowball effect!
14) Create a market advisory council: Keep on top of how folks perceive your church! Keep it alive!
15) Encourage people to tell two friends about you, not just one: As God leads and enables
16) Engage people to share your vision and roll up their sleeves: They will bring new blood and new life into your endeavor! (I remember this famous Vineyard Church UK worship leader who started playing in streets with the ministry team before being a Christian, or even before considering becoming a Christian!!)
17) Be an encouragement to others about marketing: Marketing is also/mainly about getting the message of Jesus out...
18) Train and equip folks with life-impacting skills: Give something of value with exponential potential.
19) Make it safe to "do" church for people: How do you become a truly disciple otherwise?
20) Press on where God is working: Be opportunist as God shows you who He is blessing
Therefore, the local church must be in constant or regular self-awareness to how it is perceived from the "outside world", in order to stay relevant as an effective actor of change for the Kingdom of God.
We have reworked Marcus Neto's 18 Word of Mouth Marketing Tips for Churches to highlight which ones may or may not work in French culture, and under which conditions:
1) Make it easy for people to find you: If people come across your website, yellow pages, or start a conversation with you, make sure to make them wonder about what your church is about, get them curious to ask questions, or to want to come check it out! Actually, just do church right there right then, as you never get a 2nd chance to make a good 1st impression.
2) Use communication tools as necessary to get the message out: From ringing church bells (legislated by the townhall) to blogging on the internet :-)
3) Leverage provocative content to make it talk-worthy: Who wants boring?
4) Keep the Jesus' story always fresh with today's issues: How is Jesus' message relevant today?
5) Tell people about you: Caution must be used here in France as any pushy (or even simply enthusiastic) talking may raise eyebrows and make people wonder whether you are part of a cult! You will need to hone your communication skills for French environment, but remember the soapbox approach will probably scare people away.
6) Truly engage others with relationship-building intent: Do not lecture or monologue, the person might just want to escape...
7) Use interesting stories to bring your word-of-mouth topics to life: Nothing like true stories to get to people's guts!
8) Do something unexpected and generous: Giving something free to someone in France might quite easily get rejected. French people are terribly proud in all kinds of ways, the idea of getting something for free is often perceived as degrading, demeaning, devaluing their persona. On the other hand, people feel valued if you ask them for a favor, like helping them get rid of something... be creative and do not look too nice!
9) Identify socially-adept people in the community: Making worthwhile allies can get you going a long way.
10) Allow people to experience what is the Christian life: Making it tangible, to address people felt needs, being real and natural, etc.
11) Ask people about their impressions and feedback: Informal polling can prove highly beneficial.
12) Give opportunities for people to respond to your message: An old folk story says importing of the potatoe to European kitchens proved quite difficult. Challenged by people's disinterest, a lord placed guards around his potatoe field; soon enough people came to steal the prized vegetables... and the rest is history!
13) Recruit workers that are interested to partake in your vision: Delegation and participation are great ways to create a snowball effect!
14) Create a market advisory council: Keep on top of how folks perceive your church! Keep it alive!
15) Encourage people to tell two friends about you, not just one: As God leads and enables
16) Engage people to share your vision and roll up their sleeves: They will bring new blood and new life into your endeavor! (I remember this famous Vineyard Church UK worship leader who started playing in streets with the ministry team before being a Christian, or even before considering becoming a Christian!!)
17) Be an encouragement to others about marketing: Marketing is also/mainly about getting the message of Jesus out...
18) Train and equip folks with life-impacting skills: Give something of value with exponential potential.
19) Make it safe to "do" church for people: How do you become a truly disciple otherwise?
20) Press on where God is working: Be opportunist as God shows you who He is blessing
