When it comes to church branding and marketing, many feel addressing “what?” through brand awareness is enough. Equally important is creating a message that addresses “why?”
“Why should I attend your event?” ”Why should I connect with your group?” ’Why should I commit to another night during the week?”
Very few uber-brands (Nike, Coca-Cola, Co., Red Cross, Disney Co.) can sustain and manage a high of a level of memorability and loyalty through awareness. For the rest of us, it is about defining and providing a reason for the experience to occur in the first place. Trendsetting and cutting edge, is not our objective. Creating an environment where people talk to other people about their experience and encounter with God, is our objective. As you focus on growing the brand begin to think about how you can build, sustain and recast the bond between our church and the people we are trying to reach.
Consider these promotional guidelines: Know your competition; Generate a response; Watch your language.
Know your competition.
- It’s not the church across town. It’s the thousand of other things someone could spend their time doing. The real competition is everyday life. Give someone a tangible reason why they would benefit from connecting with your church ministry. Begin by asking yourself, “Why should someone connect and experience relationship through this group when the newest episode of American Idol is on television?” Ask the tough questions that will force you to create distinction in the face of all the competing demands. If you don’t, they will.
- Generate a response.
Go beyond simple awareness by promoting and marketing a topical theme, spiritual emphasis or social conversation above your ministry department. This may sound counter-intuitive but if your content is value-added, people will end up promoting your brand and inviting others to experience it. Once people are ready to respond, make sure you have a team in place to follow through. Following-through may mean creating an inviting or engaging environment; answering questions or offering appropriate training. Whatever following-through means for your ministry area, have a team ready to bridge the gap between “observer” to “experiencer.” - Watch your language.
Guests cannot be expected to understand a church’s culture – the way we do what we do. Yet, that is exactly what it might seem we are asking them to do. Visitors may feel out of the loop because there is no reference point for the words we express. To the insider they carry value, meaning, importance and familiarity. To the outsider they may come across as terms used to express division or exclusion. Think about the words you use – spoken and written. Would a guest understand some of the terms we use regularly?