Written by Dr. Jeff Lemke
Every ministry can benefit from the two marketing strategies I outline in this article. But first, let me address a common complaint. Many conscientious Christians do not believe the words “marketing” and “ministry” belong in the same sentence.
Who can blame them? After all, we dare not give human beings credit for what only the Holy Spirit can do – convert souls. At the same time marketing services done well require precious ministry dollars. Such reasons can make people groan when considering marketing in the annual budget. I propose that a good marketing plan can support gospel outreach.
But a commitment of time and money to implement a great marketing plan can support efforts to carry out the Great Commission. Too often we think that if we are working at a great ministry, positive word of mouth will naturally take off. God will bless our efforts and the people will just come. Such an approach denies a significant tool that the Lord has provided even for Christian ministry – professional marketing strategy.
Word of mouth is important and is the unifying thread of some of the best marketing plans. But word of mouth alone is not a sufficient marketing plan for good ministry. It is critical to use multiple mediums to reach a new audience with the love of Christ. I have found that two modern marketing strategies consistently help ministries reach their target audiences.
Color 5×7 postcards can be mailed to a purchased list of homeowners targeted by income, age of children, and zip code. The mailings must be done at least three times per year to the same recipients and usually costs less than 25 cents per time to each recipient. The messages must professionally differentiate the service that you provide and always drive traffic to an entry web page tailored to this audience. This two-second impression is the best that money can buy. The WELS main office has tools to help in a postcard campaign, or Curtis 1000 and Post card mania are both companies that consistently do good work.
Paid-per-click advertising via Facebook allows you to target an audience based on more intimate details. You can target by gender, age, zip code, and also by interests – Bible, Christian, crafters, Classical musicians, Baptists, soccer, Michael W. Smith, etc. To make full use of this medium, have a fun Facebook page and experiment with the images and advertisements that you utilize. Pay-per-click campaigns work best in on-and-off spurts that last for about one month at a time. Rather than using your personal account, you will want to create a digital assistant (fake Facebook person) who will manage the account. Also have this digital assistant collect a group of your alums. It is a free alumni database that updates automatically. Have a landing page on your web site that is tailored for your advertising audience. Simply being on Facebook is underutilizing this platform. Be sure that your school shows up right next to the pictures of family and friends that people spend time perusing. Commit substantially to a pay-per-click advertising campaign on Facebook.
Imagine a parent viewing your professional postcard or Facebook ad and then going to talk with their neighbor who attends your church or school. That is great word of mouth in action. These two professional marketing tools at our disposal – regularly sent targeted postcards and purchased Facebook ads – can be utilized very effectively to carry out the Great Commission.
Dr. Jeff Lemke is the Director of Admissions, Marketing, and International Programs at St. Croix Lutheran High School in West St. Paul. He is a graduate of St. Croix LHS, Wisconsin Lutheran College, and Bethel University (MS Organizational Leadership and PhD Educational Administration).
Kenn,
Thanks for sharing the resource of the “The Cluetrain Manifesto” of 1999. I will certainly look into as a resource in some of the workshops that we do. Internet technology has had a way of convincing us that all of these concepts are new and relevant only in our time. But as you point out, connecting with people on a one-on-one basis to share the Word is what Christ modeled for us and is a practice that has eternal relevance.
There are very neat ways of how the Gospel is communicated in the Bible. The birth announcement of Jesus is even an interesting example of market segmentation. The affluent eastern wise men received the message in an indirect and more “scientific” manner and the local shepherds heard the news in a personal and direct manner. What a wonderful model this is for us as we share the Gospel across cultures.
Jeff
Jeff, Your article is very insightful. It is spot on. To help people keep a balanced understanding of where good marketing in the WELS can help further God’s kingdom on earth, I often point people to the book, “The Cluetrain Manifesto.” This book was written in 1999, back when people were trying to understand how companies can make money using the World-Wide Web (www). Four marketing gurus were commissioned to think-tank the question. Chapter Four of the book turned the world of online marketing upside-down. In that chapter the authors compared today’s market, which is so heavily weighted toward mass-marketing, with the marketplaces of ancient cities. They discovered that mass-marketing techniques, using the modern technologies of the last 150 years are very one-sided. (You can’t really talk back to a TV commercial or a radio ad or a piece of junk advertising mail.) In the ancient live marketplaces of the past, people discussed the kind of products they were seeking. They argued with the sellers. They talked about which sellers used honest weights and measure and those who didn’t. Chapter Four coined a simple principle that helped modern-day marketing people understand how the internet could sell products by changing the dynamic of their marketing approach. The phrase they coined was, “The marketplace is a conversation.” (For a fuller narrative about this remarkable book, look up “Cluetrain Manifesto” in Wikipedia.) In keeping with that principle, Facebook appeared only three years after the release of that book. Today we call the phenomenon “social networking.” And there are literally hundreds of ways to become engaged in an online conversation with people who have similar interests.
For me, the curious thing is that Christianity has had so much trouble recognizing the validity of this principle. We continue to seek the big crowds and often shun the lowly dialog with one another. Why haven’t we been more aggressive pursuing the conversation? The Master Teacher was also a master at marketing. And while some of his ministry on earth was conducted in a mass-marketing format, preaching to crowds from a boat or on a mountaintop, the majority of his work was conducted one-on-one. Jesus knew that “the marketplace is a conversation.”
As we explore the ministry potential of modern marketing for spreading the saving truth of Jesus to the unbelieving world, we need to continue to have a serious conversation among ourselves about how we will conduct our ministry in the marketplace. I would submit that simple, authentic, one-on-one give-and take conversation is the real key that opens hearts and minds to the gospel’s profound message.
Kenn Kremer
Please don’t use a “fake facebook person.” That is clearly a violation of their stated terms of use.