Church Marketing Plan
You Need a Plan
There is a tug of war in most churches when it comes to marketing. There are those that think marketing the church or marketing Jesus is just plain wrong. I of course disagree. Marketing at it’s core is telling your story and we the church, have the best story on the planet to tell. We should tell it with every ounce of energy, strategy, clarity, and tool available to us.
But…You Need a Plan
Where churches get themselves into trouble is when they attempt to do “marketing in the dark” or marketing in isolation. Most companies don’t implement marketing this way and churches shouldn’t either. If you just do one-offs or a scattered approach you may occasionally have success but you will also have plenty of failure. This of course will only give ammunition to the nay-sayers.
Why Plan
If you were going on a vacation where you were driving from New York City to Dallas, you likely wouldn’t just hop in the car without a map or GPS and just start driving. You need to know where your are going, where you will visit along the way, where you will stay, and which roads will best accomplish your desired vacation results. You need to know what your financial and time-line budgets are. The same is true for church marketing. Where are you today, where do you want to be in 18 months, what goals would you like to accomplish along the way, and what tools would best facilitate that plan successfully.
Please Plan
So, please don’t do fly-by-marketing for your church. Start with a plan. Have someone who understands marketing help you develop a church marketing plan. It will give your church focus, a defined strategy, a manageable budget, and some measurables. It ultimately is good stewardship. Jesus calls us to be good stewards. Be a good steward of your resources, your communication tools, and communicate His message with excellence.
Do you have any examples of churches that have succeeded with a good marketing plan or on the flip side failed without one?
Image from Flickr: nullalux
Tweet« Who Should A Church Target? | Home | Church Marketing Definition »
