Reasons Why Your Church Marketing Is not Working

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When you put your church's marketing plan together, you knew that you were on your way to success. But something happened along the way and it is not close to where you want it to be. And everyone is looking at you because this was YOUR idea You are wondering yourself what went wrong.

Here are some reasons that church marketing programs fail, so you can avoid them when you start your next campaign. – Limiting beliefs / choices – There are times when we just do not think "big enough" That old saying of "go big or go home" is a pretty good one. Look to The Secret when you are formulating your marketing campaign. Do not think about the how you will accomplish what you are wanting to. Think what it is on what you want to accomplish.

I can not tell you how many times I have heard people say … "We can not do that because because …" or "That may work with other churches, but it will not work here." Those thoughts should not be accepted when you are formulating a marketing plan / objective.

Not long ago, I heard this phrase, wrote it down on my white board across from my desk as a reminder …

Take Massive Action! (pretty comes later)

When you dream big, others catch on to the idea. Not all of them are going to resonate with it at the same level you either envision or implement the campaign. So, your dreaming big will motivate others as to the possibilities that are out there. The result is almost always better than your original objective.

1. Doing just good enough or taking shortcuts – I ran across a quote the other day and it hit the nail on the head. It was by Saadi and said the following: All things are difficult until they become easy! Let's face it. We live in an instantaneous microwave society. We want results and we want them now. As such, we easily rationalize why we can only do this or that. In essence, we take shortcuts. Well, here's a newsflash for you folks … and one that many ministers, CEO's and others may not like hearing. Marketing may need to simmer before it is ready. So use your best ingredients, resources and talents to get the best possible result.
2. Cost – Make no mistake about it, running a marketing campaign has a cost. And the cost is not always measured in financial outlay. I used to run sales organizations back in another life. When I did sales training, I would always, always, always ask the question … "How many of you want to make $ 100,000 this year?" Almost everyone without fail would raise their hand. The next question would be this: "Of those with your hands raised, how many are willing to do what it takes to make $ 100,000 this year?" I can tell you that while most still had their hands up, the reality was much different. Why is that you ask? Because many of the marketing programs you are currently running or plan to run fall into the following: Simple, but not easy! The ideas and concepts that you want to promote may be simple. We have to be willing to give up something in order to get what we want! So if you or your church or organizations are not willing to pay the cost, then maybe you should be rethinking what you are doing! (This sounds harsh until you look back on your first campaign that fails and see that the cost was too high.) So, the question to ask yourself is this: What will you do vs. what can you do?
3. Problems / Issues / Challenges – In your marketing plan, everything had a perfect ebb and flow to it. In the real world … not so much. So you should expect (you put in the term you are most comfortable with J) problems, issues or challenges along the way. Few campaigns go perfectly or without something that was not planned coming up that could drastically affect your objective. Expect it. In the same manner, expect that not everyone will agree with your approach. I have a simple rule that I put into place up front that seems to work for me … you have to be part of the solution or you are part of the problem.

It is okay for you to offer (once again, insert your term here) "constructive criticism" about the project. But if you are going to participate, then here are the rules:

1. You have to bring 3 solutions to the table. We all know there is more than one way to get something done. I want you to have thought about it BEFORE you come to me. You just may come to the conclusion that the current approach is a good one (I did not say the best, but a good one!)
2. You have to be involved as a part of at least one of the solutions. Unless you are willing to take an active approach to solving the challenge, then my response generally is "Thank you for sharing" and move on.

I will also tell you that I have been guilty of this myself in the past. But in the end the campaign will benefit best when it is surrounded by problem solvers, not problem finders.

So, there you have it. Want your church's next marketing campaign to be a hit? Be sure that you avoid the above marketing mistakes to insure that you have a success!