Anthony wrote a blog post earlier this year which he called The Disney Experience at Church. We discuss his five key observations:

1. Leverage the Web – User Testimonials
2. On-Site Arrival
   
3. Deliver What Your Selling
   
4. Consistent Impressions
   
5. Have a Heart
   

So, please take some time to listen to part one and then part two so you can implement some of the concepts Anthony shares so your church can generate a great experience for your visitors.

In this week’s Ministry Story church communications podcast, I talk with Anthony Coppedge, Director of Communications at Fellowship Technologies.  Anthony shares his recent Disney experiences and some powerful insights that church leaders can learn from Disney so they can develop an experience in their ministry that will powerfully connect with people coming to their church.

Listen to Ministry Story Podcast Episode #10 here…

Greg Atkinson, Worship Impressions

I recently met Greg Atkinson at a conference and he graciously gave of his time to sit down with me to record our conversation about his experiences as a church mystery worshiper or church secret shopper.  He is hired by churches all over the Unites States to come in “unannounced” and provide feedback on his experiences as a first-time visitor to that church.

Greg approaches all aspects of the church as a first-time, perhaps non-church going, visitor and makes notes and provides a report of his first impressions and experiences.

Church marketing is much more than advertising.  It encompasses all sorts of first impressions that a guest has with your ministry from your church website, to the signage, the parking lot, the literal front door, and all the interactions with people, culture, and aesthetics.

This conversation with Greg will start you on the journey of looking at your own church with “new eyes”.  As he shares, think about your ministry.  When you go to your church next Sunday, approach it by looking through a new lens. Certainly, Greg has the advantage of seeing things that are unique to each church that even they themselves don’t see.  However, I am quite certain that as you listen to our conversation, you will definitely walk away with some things to look at within your own church context.

The Ministry Story Podcast: Episode #4 - A Conversation with Greg Atkinson – listen to it here…

Share any insights you gained from Greg in the comments section below…

A friend of mine wrote a post that had me thinking It was entitled: “Are you literally marketing like the devil?”

Now doesn’t that just stop you?  It stopped me.  And it got me thinking about marketing:

1. What it is
2. What most people think its not
3. And why Jesus was a Master Marketer

What is Marketing?

Many people (good meaning people) think marketing is evil.  But how could it be?  God created it.  Paul said, “Everything, absolutely everything…got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him.” [1] That “everything” also includes “marketing.”

Unfortunately, marketing gets a bad rap because of bad men…but at its core its not bad, its good.

Marketing is communication.  It’s telling people about the benefits of something AND asking them to experience it themselves.  It becomes viral when people who experience the benefits (and are impressed by it) start telling other people about it.  And the greatest form of marketing is not direct mail, not ads, not cold calls, not commercials, but service: service that exceeds expectations.

Jesus understood that.

With no marketing budget, no blog, no social media, no ads, no direct mail He drew crowds so immense that most marketers would’ve passed out from disbelief!!

What was His secret?

He served. He met the needs of people. The Bible says:

“From there He went all over Galilee. He used synagogues for meeting places and taught people the Truth of God. God’s kingdom was His theme – that beginning right now they were under God’s government, a good government! He also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their bad lives.  Word got around the entire Roman province of Syria. People brought anybody with an ailment, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Jesus healed them, one and all.” [2]

Jesus was a Master Marketer!

What’s the Difference?

The devil’s a marketer too.  And let’s be honest, he’s pretty good.  When you can get someone to give up joy, peace, contentment, and eternal life with God for a piece of fruit…you know you can sell!!

So both of them (Jesus and the devil) are marketers, so what the main difference?  Simple.  Jesus delivers what He promises!

Jesus promises and over delivers, while the devil over promises and under delivers! Why?  It’s simple he’s “a liar and the father of lies!” [3]

Your job as marketer is to deliver on what you promised.  To be there like you said.  To serve.  To meet needs.  To exceed expectations.  Do that enough times and people (like a Samaritan women) will tell everyone they know about you: “Come see a Man…Is not this the Christ?!” [4]

Or, ”Hey! Check this out! Isn’t this what (or who) we’ve been looking for?!”

What are your thoughts?

1. Colossians 1:16 (The Message)
2. Matthew 4:23-24 (The Message)
3. John 8:44 (New Living Translation)
4. John 4: 29 (King James Version)

Mike is the author of I Shall Raise Thee Up: Ancient Principles for Lasting Greatness.  He’s a blogger and speaker that teaches business and leadership development from a Biblical perspective.

Marketing is a journey…

Not a quick fix.

Marketing is tied into everything your organization does every day.  It is how you represent yourself in everything you do.  Marketing is about the impressions you make – the first impressions and the on-going ones.  Marketing is all about the relationships you develop.

Marketing Is:

• how you answer the phone
• what your web site looks like and how easy it is to navigate
  
• what the sign looks like on your building
• how you keep the landscaping around your building
• how clean your customer bathrooms are
• how you determine and meet your customer’s real needs
• how you deal with problems that arise when your customer interacts with your products
• how you dress
• what your business card looks
• the impression your customer has when thy pull in the parking lot…and then walk in the door
  

I could go on and on.  Marketing in my opinion, is connected to everything you do.  Think about that. Everything you do when interacting with a customer whether you provide a product or a service is marketing.  It is everything they experience when connecting in any way shape or form with you and your organization.

The Marketing Journey

So, marketing is not just a one off advertising campaign.  It is not just an e-mail you send.  It is not just a flier you create.  Marketing starts when your organization opens the doors and goes on every day in everything you do.

So, that should make all of us reflect on the organizations we are connected with and be determined to do everything with our highest level of excellence (not perfection).  Just keep in mind the impressions you make with your customers at every contact point they have with your organization. The better the customer experience, the better the chance of earning the relationship – not just once but in an on-going capacity.

What do you think – is marketing wrapped up in everything you or your organization does? How are you doing on your marketing journey?

Do you know a church that is “outstanding”?

Outstanding is a term we use to describe something that impresses us.  Something that goes above an beyond our expectations.  Is there a church that you would say is outstanding?

If yes, what is it about that ministry that makes them outstanding?  Usually, it is not that they are a big church.  Usually it is something they are doing that captures your passion.  You connect with what they are doing and the impact it is having on people.  It is not the size, not the packaging, but the impact.

So, now…what can your church do that is outstanding – if it is not outstanding already?  What can your church do that impacts your community so powerfully that people, who are not going to your church already, stand up and take notice?

Do one thing with excellence.  Do one thing that is outstanding.  That is great church marketing.  It’s not doing a stunt.  It’s not creating a sensation.  It is something that resonates so powerfully with people that they are captivated and say…that’s outstanding!

Most churches in North America are single pastor congregations.  These churches are under 120 attendees and their budgets can only afford one full-time staff minister.  Hence, the pastor must manage all the ministry responsibility as well as oversee and manage all the organizational fundamentals.  One human can simply not do this effectively!  Pastors come into their position having to learn organizational management duties such as accounting, human resources, finance, leadership, marketing, and counselling.

So, how is one minister to equip themselves in the things they have not been trained in?  Today, with the Internet, the simplest solution is to rely on free online resources to learn some of the basics.  There are great podcasts, blogs, and forums from which a pastor can glean some deeper insights into organizational management.

Church Marketing/Media/Technology Blogs I Read and Recommend

From the marketing education angle, here are some excellent ministry related blogs that any church leader can read and begin to learn basic concepts from to apply marketing and media principles into their ministry.  Subscribing to these blogs will give you some basic knowledge that will help you as a church leader understand church marketing and communication concepts.  This will give you enough foundational material so that you can make proper church marketing management decisions.  I would still recommend hiring a professional church marketer to help you plan and execute the marketing strategy for your church but with basic knowledge you will at least understand your church’s need for a marketing plan and strategy and grasp the impact that marketing can have on your ministry as it pushes forward to impact and change your community.

• Church Marketing Sucks
• Church Relevance
• Church Crunch
• Phil Cooke
• 1429 Creative
• Outreach Mojo

My simple recommendation would be to subscribe to these blogs vis an RSS reader.  If you are not sure how to do that please read my 8 Simple Steps to Google Reader.  Through RSS, new articles will be delivered straight to your desktop as they are published and with a few minutes of reading each day you will grow in your understanding of church marketing principles.

There are many more resources out there that will help church leaders.  If you have a favorite that I have not listed, please share that by proving the link in the comments section below.

Also please share this list of recommended blogs with all the pastors you know.  Let’s do our part to educate church leaders so they can represent Jesus with greater excellence!

People who love God, believe in the mission and vision of your local church, and are willing to give gifts, talents, and time to fulfill that mission.  They are priceless.  You need them to serve God with excellence.

You need to appreciate them.  You need to acknowledge them.  They do not do what they do for recognition…but they are people.  All people want to be appreciated.

Take a moment right now, think of someone who serves in an area of ministry in your church – someone who you appreciate.  Have you told them lately that you appreciate them?

Please take a moment now – to do just that.

Three Suggestions for What Excellence Looks Like

1. Team Work. Your church is a community of people with a variety and depth of gifts and talents.  As a leader or someone trying to accomplish a ministry task, take an assist from those with skills that you do not have.  If you want to accomplish your task with excellence, you want to utilize the strengths around you.  Plus this distributes the work, engages people in your community, lights people’s passions, and the ministry gets done with a higher degree of excellence than if you tried to do it all on your own.
2. Respect People. Set a standard in your church for serving people with excellence.  It is rather like customer service.  Define what excellence looks like and how you are going to treat people with excellence.  Be proactive in ministering to those in your community who have needs.   Look for the needs before the needs find you.  By being respectfully proactive and strategizing how you can serve the needs in your community, your ministry will naturally shine with excellence.
3. Be Creative. Once you define needs in your community and set the standard for serving with excellence, then brainstorm with your team on how you can creatively meet the needs, solve problems, and serve people.  The more creative you can be the more you will surprise people with a level of ministry they are not expecting.  That is going to make an impression of excellence.

So, what are you waiting for…get your ministry moving towards excellence!

All too often, I see churches accepting mediocrity under the guise of not have the ‘resources” to strive for excellence.  It frankly bugs me.  You have resources.  You may not have lots of money, but you have resources.  You have people, gifts, talents, time, and creativity.  Look at everything you do (marketing and non-marketing) as a church and do it the very best you can.  So, when you walk away From it you can look back and say…that was my very best effort – I did that with excellence!

What do you think?  Am I on to something here or out to lunch…please share your thoughts in the comments section.