growing your congregation marketing & membership...§guerrilla advertising §niche newsletters...

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GROWING YOUR CONGREGATIONMARKETING & MEMBERSHIP

Valerie Holton – vholton@uua.orgLinda Laskowski – llaskowski12@comcast.net

Membership Journey

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INTERESTEVANGELIZE

WORSHIP

FELLOWSHIP

COVENANT

LEADERSHIP

COMMITMENT

Greeting

Visit

2nd Visit3rd Visit

PR/Website/Marketing

Point of Entry

Programming:Worship, RE, Adult Ed

Small Group Ministries

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MARKETINGProviding customers with products and

services that they need or want

Marketing is a process for making concrete decisions about what the congregation is going to do, and not do, to achieve its mission

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SEGMENTATION&

TARGETING

What are their needs?What do they care about?

Who are your competitors?What are you going to offer?

Who do you want to serve?

MEASURING RESULTS

COMMUNICATIONTACTICS

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

RESEARCH &

DISCOVERY

COMPETITIVEANALYSIS

How are you going to promote?

How do you know

you’ve been successful?

Strategic Marketing ProcessQuestion#1 What Is Our Objective?

A Market Place Audit: Who Do You Currently Serve?

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Place a plus (+) in the columns to indicate where your congregation does a good job. A minus (-) in the columns where your congregation needs improvement. Questions: What conclusions can you draw? Should your congregation focus on its strengths or weaknesses? Why? Customer Group/ Programs/Services to Meet those needs

Worship - Sunday Service

Sociability Study/ Religious Education

Social Action Pastoral Care Other Programs

Children

Teens

Young Singles and/or Young Adults (18-34)

Young Marrieds

Families with Children

Empty Nesters/Middle Age

Older Singles

Senior Citizens

GLBT Community

Multi- cultural (specify)

Other Special Interest Groups Specify:

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SEGMENTATION&

TARGETING

What are their needs?What do they care about?

Who are your competitors?What are you going to offer?

Who do you want to serve?

MEASURING RESULTS

COMMUNICATIONTACTICS

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

RESEARCH &

DISCOVERY

COMPETITIVEANALYSIS

How are you going to promote?

How do you know

you’ve been successful?

Strategic Marketing ProcessWhat Is Our Objective?

Research & Discovery Tools

The Uncommon Denomination

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1. Focus Groups2. Interviews3. Percept Data: perceptgroup.com

Ministry Area Profile: UUA price: $225 (vs $315)

4. QuestionnairesOn-Line: www.zoomerang.comwww.surveymonkey.com

The Uncommon Denomination

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SEGMENTATION&

TARGETING

What are their needs?What do they care about?

Who are your competitors?What are you going to offer?

Who do you want to serve?

MEASURING RESULTS

COMMUNICATIONTACTICS

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

RESEARCH &

DISCOVERY

COMPETITIVEANALYSIS

How are you going to promote?

How do you know

you’ve been successful?

Strategic Marketing ProcessHow Are We Going to Promote?

Communications Tactics

The Uncommon Denomination

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Direct Mail Marketing• Part of an overall strategy• Cost Effective • Targeting: Mailing List is the most

important part of the process –– 40% of its efficacy

The Uncommon Denomination

UUA Postcards

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5 ½ by 8 ½$20 for 100 postcards –back panel for your

messagePostage postcard rate

Oversized 6” x 11”Graphic Files

National Campaign Postcards

Smaller 4” x 6”Graphic Files

New Campaign Postcards

Targeting Your Audience

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• Geographically• Demographically: List Brokers• Psychographics/Lifestyles - Claritas• New Homeowners Lists

– http://www.brandnewmovers.com/– http://newhomedata.net/

• Organization/Community –– Subscriber Lists– Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, CARE, National

Defense Fund, etc.

Direct Mail – Other Suppliers

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• Modern Postcard: www.modernpostcard.com• Tribune Direct (subsidiary of Chicago Tribune)

• http://www.directmail.com/geoselector/• www.outreach.com: $99 for 500

Google Ad Words

Create Ads

Choose Key Words – what people search on to find you

Customer click – you pay per click, not when ad is shown. Set daily and total campaign limit

Can buy by geography

Google Ad Words

Imagine a religion...where people of different beliefs worship as one liberal faith. www.uutba.org

Total Clicks: 1,569Content Network Clicks*: 642Search Result Clicks: 927Click Through Rate: 0.12%Average Cost per Click: $1.01Total Cost: $1,580.94Top Keywords: church – 800 clicksspirituality – 106 clicks

Google Ad Words

* Content Network Clicks refer to clicks where our ad has been posted on a site with a relationship to Google and deemed relevant to our ad and keywords; as opposed to Search Result Clicks, where our ad has come up during a regular Google search.

Unitarian UniversalistsFind a Tampa Bay area church of caring, open-minded seekers. www.uutba.org

Total Clicks: 961Content Network Clicks*: 33Search Result Clicks: 928Click Through Rate: 1.11%Average Cost per Click: $0.53Total Cost: $506.85Top Keywords: unitarian – 287 clicksunitarian universalist – 177 clicksunitarian church – 176 clicks

Creative Materials

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Regional Campaigns– Newspaper Ads– GLBT Ads– Graphics & Photos– Radio Spots– Website Banner Ads– Bumper Stickers– TV spots

Creative Materials - Billboards

Creative Materials – GLBT ads

Creative Materials – TV Ads

Creative Materials – TV Ads

Creative Materials – Print AdsNational Campaign

Print AdsOutdoor Banners Tagline GraphicsBumper StickersPostcards

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SEGMENTATION&

TARGETING

What are their needs?What do they care about?

Who are your competitors?What are you going to offer?

Who do you want to serve?

MEASURING RESULTS

COMMUNICATIONTACTICS

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

RESEARCH &

DISCOVERY

COMPETITIVEANALYSIS

How are you going to promote?

How do you know

you’ve been successful?

Strategic Marketing ProcessQuestion#1 What Is Our Objective?

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§Join UUA PR list ser: pr-l@lists.uua.org§E-Newsletter – easy to forward to a friend§Create a Speakers Forum or Music Program§Public Relations Plan§Guerrilla Advertising §Niche newsletters – Sierra Club, GLBT, Park District§Niche websites§Art House Theatres, Performing Arts§Cable TV§NPR pooled sponsorship buy

§Giveaways – auto sun screens, coffee mugs, bumper stickers, §Members Bring a Member Campaign: §DVD “Voices of a Liberal Faith”

Guerrilla Marketing Ideas

Measurement Tools

The Uncommon Denomination

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1. Focus Groups2. Interviews – first visit and exit3. Tracking Forms4. Questionnaires

On-Line: www.zoomerang.comwww.surveymonkey.com

5. Mystery Worshipper

The Uncommon Denomination

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§Formalize Structure – one representative per congregation§Regional Website (ongoing)§E-Newsletter§Workshops related to hospitality & welcoming§Area wide Speakers Forum, Music or Social Action Projects§Hire a Public Relations Consultant§Targeted Direct Mail§Mystery Worshipper§Website Critiques§Gay Pride Activities§Google AdWords§Blogs, podcasts

CLUSTER OF CHURCHES -POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES

Regional Marketing Group

Other Resources

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§ Religious Left Gear: www.turn-left.com

§ www.churchmarketingsucks.com

§ www.outreach.com

§ http://www.congregationalresources.org/

§ Evangelical websites

§ Marketing for Congregations, § By Shawchuck, Kotler, Wrenn, Rath

§ Purpose Drive Church, Rick Warren