Most if not all churches use some form of marketing - logos, websites, email blasts, flyers, signs, posters, business cards, programs, brochures, radio commercials, tv commercials, newspaper ads, etc. Whether we like to talk about it or not, marketing is a big deal and it plays a big role in the church.
But my question is, “Why does church marketing suck?
Why don’t we leverage it properly?
It bothers me (personally) to see companies invest millions into their brand. It’s common to find companies like Apple and Starbucks - my two favorites - go the extra mile because they believe in their brand. They believe they have something unique to offer and they believe that the world needs to see it, touch it, hear about it, and own it. So, why is the church (as a collective whole) lagging behind? Don’t we have the most unique gift to offer the world? Don’t we believe that they need it? For more insight on this topic, check out my friends at ChurchMarketingSucks.Com
So... why does church marketing suck?
Chew on that for a moment, and let me know what you think...
T H I N K | C H A N G E
Hey Antwon, I believe there are several factors as to why church marketing isn't very good:
1. Lack of knowledge: Often times there are people without the necessary knowledge or passion for marketing that are the ones given the responsibility to handle the marketing. For many, being able to do some simple template websites represents some as marketing experts.
2. Lack of budget: I don't find a lot of churches that use their marketing budgets creatively. It's pretty standard fare for most and people in general have been conditioned to recognize postcards from the church and just toss them in the garbage.
3. Lack of priority: Marketing is always something that is stressed when trying to get the word out, but it is almost done as an afterthought because people don't really realize the true power of marketing when it's done correctly.
4. Lack of vision: Churches don't realize how important branding is! If one looks at logos like those from Starbucks or Coke it is easy to see how unimpressive they really are, yet those brands make people comfortable and will cause people to be willing to pay more for them because they are trusted. Branding helps to establish a church's identity in the community and will draw people in that connected by the brand even though they don't even realize it is brand. Branding has become so commmon-place by successful enterprises, yet people don't even realize they have been drawn in by the branding experience. Branding really isn't just a logo, but it's an entire experience. Many, many people fail to get that. They'll pay a generic logo designer $299 online to make a logo, yet not understand how to develop a brand. I'd be surprised how many people would actually recognize the logo of Willow Creek, Saddleback (or any of their Purpose Driven entities), Grainger, or Lakewood churches, yet these are clearly churches that utilize branding to create a particular experience and bring recognition to their vision.
5. Lack of courage: I think a lot of people feel that they are compromising the church when they try to create a brand. Therefore, doing anything that even remotely has an appearance of coming from the corporate world scares people.
Of course, as I listed in item 4 above, there are churches that are willing to use branding to honor the Lord and to connect with those away from Christ. Many churches that are considered cutting edge such as NewSpring Church or Elevation Church may become the standard if others come to understand the importance of marketing and branding as an effective tool to reach those outside of the church today.