There is a completely different perspective of the Christian Church in Canada.

We are a large country geographically (second largest in the world), yet our population is comparatively small.  Across this great land, churches are shrinking and closing their doors.  It is not that there isn’t a hunger for spiritual things – it may be that there is little respect left for “religion”.  In many ways there is a backlash to traditional churches (Catholic and Anglican) which were the foundational denominations of many of our country’s forefathers.  I think there is a hunger for spirituality, but seldom is there the reflex for someone to turn to a Christian Church when searching for spiritual significance and answers.

So what is a Christian church to do to promote itself in Canada?  How can a church effectively reach it’s community?

Print Advertising Doesn’t Work

Using traditional print advertising to invite someone to your Sunday morning church service doesn’t work – at least from my experience.

I was part of the church launch team five years ago for a church in Halifax.  When we were promoting our “grand-opening” we sent 22,000 professionally designed and printed postcards by mail to homes around our community, inviting them to attend our grand opening on Easter Sunday.  Twenty two thousand.  We had only seven (yes, seven) people come to our first service because they received a postcard in their mail.  There was some trickle effect…over the following couple months we probably had 30 new visitors because of the cards.  From a marketing success standpoint, the ROI (return on investment) was poor.  Not a great response.

We tried advertising in newspapers, yellow-pages, and more even more postcards over the following three years.  All this was good for “visibility”, but produced very few new attendees based on the time and dollar expense.

Service, Not A Service

What I have discovered is that for churches to reach their communities effectively they have to be relevant and provide a “service” that is deemed high-value.  Not a church service on Sunday morning, but a service to the needs of the demographic of their community.

Our church is based in a middle class suburban neighbourhood.  The core demographic is young families.  So, we created two seminars.  One on “marriage” and one on “parenting”.  These were relevant needs in our community.  Couples need practical help building stronger marriages and learning useful parenting skills.

One of our promotional strategies was another print postcard distributed to about 2500 homes.  One-tenth of the reach.  The response was about 40 people who were not attending our church.  Over the seminars, we were able to make deeper relational connections with these couples and many came out to Sunday services and eventually came to our church regularly.

So, one important and proven church marketing strategy is to invest in a relevant, practical outreach.  This shouldn’t surprise you really.  Church communities are supposed to be relational…and connecting with people relationally and building into them a practical skill set that meets a real defined need…that’s the ticket!

What do you think?  Have you tried any specific strategies that have garnered success for your church?

Print publishing in its many forms is bleeding.  Big metropolitan newspapers, magazines of all genres, and books are suffering.  Some of it is the current condition of the economy, more of it is the influence of digital platforms online that are killing the need for print products.  As a result advertising revenues have dropped significantly and the print publications are becoming dated and irrelevant in our culture.

So, what does this mean for the church?  Churches need to be aware that information distribution is decidedly moving to electronic platforms.  Debates can be had for the love of “print” and I for one still love a good printed book.  But let’s be realistic.  As more information travels through online channels and through mobile devices like laptop computers, smart phones, and portable reading devices like the Kindle, ministries must begin to transition as well.

Some Don’ts

• Don’t waste money advertising your church in the Yellow Pages – take your listing but don’t buy an ad.
• Don’t advertise in your local newspaper – feed them a press release and maybe they’ll do a story on you but don’t spend money on ad space.
• Stop printing church newsletters – start using e-mail, your web site, and social media to communicate.

Some Do’s

• Do make sure you have a well designed and up-to date web site – a professional web presence for your ministry is critical for getting information to potential new visitors and connecting and communicating regularly to your current members.
• Do use e-mail to communicate within your church – using an e-mail management tool will give you better looking messages for newsletters and can manage multiple lists if you have a larger church.
• Do experiment with social media – tools like Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, and other social media platforms can give you exciting and cost effective ways to engage with congregation members online.

As print media is being left in the dust I would encourage you and your church to build an electronic tools strategy. You don’t have to do it all.  You don’t have to do many things all at once either.  Rolling it out in steps, phases, or stages can keep the shock factor to a minimum and can let people embrace the changes slowly.

Please, do something and do it well – with excellence.  Once you can prove the effective integration of one or a couple electronic platforms or tools the better they will be embraced by any who may be hesitant.

What are your thoughts?  What have been your experiences?  Do you agree that it is best for churches to minimize their purchasing of print media?

Cultural Diversity

I have experienced this church marketing diversity first hand.  I had the opportunity to be a part of church communications/marketing team in Toronto ten years ago and I help manage the church marketing and promotions for a young church in Halifax now.  The techniques I have used over the past four years are different than the techniques I used a decade ago.  It goes beyond the advancements in marketing technology available to churches today.  Toronto is a very multicultural urban centre where Halifax is less culturally diverse and is primarily suburban.

Churched Culture

You may have heard stories of new churches starting in big urban centres like Los Angeles – where they send out 10,000 post card invitations to the surrounding community by mail and a week later several hundred people show up for the church service.  That doesn’t happen in Canada (for the most part…and it certainly has not been my experience).   I have a theory why.  In America, the culture for the most part (especially in certain areas of the country) is still a churched culture.  By that I mean that the Christian church is still an accepted and integral cultural institution.  People accept that you go to church (whether religiously or not).  The United States is still a Christian nation.  Canada has culturally seen a dramatic shift in its acceptance of church and Christianity in the last three decades. Canada is no longer a Christian nation.

So, when a church sends out an invitation or employs another form of mass-media advertising (newspapers, radio, TV) in Canada it has little to no impact or residual effect.  If the campaign is consistent and prolonged it might have over time, but for the most part, these types of regular advertising avenues do not work well in Canada…where they still have impact and are viable in many areas of the USA.

Church Marketing Trust

People in Canada tend not to trust churches.  So, by far and away, the most effective church marketing strategy in this country (regardless of region) is a strategy of relational marketing.  People investing in people.  People connecting with the people in their sphere of influence…in their circle of trust.  If people who are trusted invite their friends a church has a far greater probability of that kind of church marketing being successful. People will accept the credibility of their friends before they’ll accept the credibility of a church.  So, with that in mind a church in Canada really needs to resource its people for representation.  I have found that church business card-sized invitations work very well to equip church members to invite their friends…when the opportunity presents itself.

I am guessing that is probably a best practice strategy for almost any culture.

What are your thoughts?   If you are a Canadian, have you seen mass-media advertising work for churches?  If you are an American, would you agree that mass-media still works as a strategy for American churches?

Last week Rick at EyeCube wrote a post where he reflected on his declining use of traditional media like radio, TV, and newspapers in comparison to his use of technology fed sources for the same content. He says in his post:

If you are producing information content that isn’t mobile or time-agnostic, go find something else to do, you’re wasting your time.

This got me thinking about books as well. I spent 18 years in the educational publishing industry so marketing books has been a huge part of my career. Are print books dying? Looking through your local big-box book store like Barnes and Noble or Chapters might not indicate they are. Amazon.com is still doing big business but will this change? Maybe it is just me and the subject matter I am currently reading about. By the time someone writes a book on the topic of e-marketing, social media, or technology, the information is out-of-date when it is printed.

I clearly do not have the answers, but the way our world is changing with technology being increasingly integrated into our daily activities, something has to change for the book publishing industry. So, what I am curious about from you are your insights and your feedback as you reflect on your personal online vs. print information consumption. Are you reading more blogs or books lately? I thought it would be fun to creat e a simple poll and engage some conversation on this topic. I think the answers will provide some interesting observations and you will help satisfy my curiosity. Please vote and add your comments!

[polldaddy poll="622696"]

How do you make that relationship strong and unique…especially in the early stages? I think that often, the more memorable you can make yourself as you make your “first-impression” the better chance the relationship has and the more you stand out from your competitors.

I recently read an article by the Marketing Twins. They provide a few examples of unique approaches to relationship building that allowed for the memorability factor to jump way over the top. These types of investments do not require huge cash investment…but they do require a creativeness that makes you uniquely set apart from your competitors. Whenever in new relationship you can give the person you meet an opportunity to stop in their tracks because they are hit with the unexpected (in a good way), you have broken the routine of their day and made yourself memorable…and that usually pays off with huge dividends.

Take some time to brainstorm creative ways to make a powerful first impression. Examine your business cards…are they unique? Practice your description of what it is you do and how you benefit your customers…is it unique?  Think about your follow-up…is it unique?  Plan these things out.  Re-craft what you say and how you say it.  Get new cards that make a stronger impression.  Make sure you do memorable follow up.  A little investment in these areas will serve you well!

I think we can all think through our average day and agree that yes, we are continually connecting with people. Having business cards with you always gives you the opportunity to “sell” yourself and your business. This is true even if you are connecting with people who already know what your business is. Handing out a business card affords you an opportunity to share what is happening with your company and the services and products you provide.

I have the opportunity to connect with numerous pastors and ministers every week. These fine gentlemen and ladies are probably the biggest offenders of not carrying business cards with them (if they have them at all). In their line of work they are always connecting with people. People who may be in need of the services their church provides. A business card for a pastor with a map and directions to the church on the back would give potential church visitors all the information they need to come for a visit on Sunday morning.

Also, it is amazing to me how many business people don’t have one of their business cards on them. They will say “oh, I have my cards in the car, or in my briefcase”. This is a poor excuse. The beauty of the business card is that it is just the right size for you to always have a few in your wallet or in your purse.

Begin a new discipline…always carry at least 6 business cards in your wallet. Have extras in your car’s glove compartment and in your brief case. Always replenish your wallet after you give cards away.

The business card…an open door to share your story and build stronger customer relationships. Don’t miss the opportunity!

[digg=http://www.digg.com/business_finance/It_s_All_in_The_Cards]

Today’s design and printing technology far surpasses anything seen in history. Yet, how often have you been handed someone’s business card that has truly given you that “wow” first impression? Certainly, few resemble works of art. In fact, when it comes to business cards, we are bombarded with mediocrity. I think corporately, laziness has set in and organizations have forgotten the impact of the business card. Marketing departments design elaborate brochures to capture customer’s attention but forget about the first impression left when a card is exchanged with a handshake. They never re-think the first point of contact image that is left in that initial face-to-face meeting with company representatives.

Take a look at your business card. Maybe it is time to bring some creativity, colour, and design into your card. It’s probably time for a complete make-over. One that will recast your first-impression image with new and old customers alike. Don’t underestimate the difference this can make in building strong relationships with new contacts. The cost of this makeover even with a high-end card is a few hundred dollars. The ROI is immeasurable.

Remember…you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. Start your future connections by making a “wow” first impression.