Yes, your parish needs to focus on marketing

Sep 19, 2012 by

Michael Marchand

God's desires haven't changed. He wants His home, His Church to be full.

"Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled."

Jesus, Gospel of Luke 14:23

He wants those of us entrusted with His Church to make sure it's full. The question is how do we do that on a parish level? The answer: MARKETING.

Wait. The Church is supposed to be focused on marketing? Yes. People often think of marketing as something secular, something the Church has no business dealing with, but in reality, it should be one of our BIGGEST focuses. Now before you dismiss that statement (and the rest of this article), let's take a minute and get on the same page as to what marketing is.

Marketing and the Catholic Church

Andy Havens defines marketing as such:

"The product or service a company provides is the 'what' of its existence. Marketing is the 'how'."

Andy Havens, "What is Marketing"

So to understand how Havens' definition applies to the Church, we need to figure out for 'what' the Church exists. We could theorize and theologize on our own, but why don't we turn to someone much smarter (and holier) than us: Pope Paul VI.

The Church "exists in order to evangelize, that is to say, in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ's sacrifice in the Mass, which is the memorial of His death and glorious resurrection."

Pope Paul VI, "Evangelii Nuntiandi - The Church in the Modern World"

Simple enough. So that's our what: evangelization, bringing people to Christ through His Church. So for the Church, marketing is a component of how we bring people to Christ. It's how we fill His Church.

If marketing is how we evangelize on the parish level, then marketing is a form of evangelization. Which means marketing should be one of the primary focuses of our Church - especially on the parish level. And if that's the case, then we should be doing it with excellence, creativity and innovation.

Let's take a look at some "traditional" forms of marketing, and you can grade your own parish's efforts in each area.

#1: Marketing via print materials

Do our bulletins, newsletters, and handouts reflect the beauty, creativity, and value of the Church? Is it obvious we threw them together last minute?

Negative Points: Pixelated graphics, ugly clipart, misspelled words, cluttered layout, word art and the use of forbidden fonts (Comic Sans, Papyrus, Chalkboard).

Bonus Points: Well-used white space, full-color printing, lack of Times New Roman, professional printing, single page bulletins, and consistent branding.

#2: Marketing via websites

First and foremost, do we have a website? Is it up to date? Is it easy to navigate? Is there a way for people to easily get in touch with someone? Is it beautiful? Is there content worth reading? Is it easy to share via social media?

Negative Points: Use of frames, animated GIFs, broken links, lack of contact info, use of flash, third/fourth level navigation, cluttered home page, and the use of the forbidden fonts.

Bonus Points: Social media integration, pastor's blog, online registration, photo directory of staff, online tithing, and consistent branding.

#3: Marketing via social media

Do we have a Facebook Page? A Twitter feed? Do we have fans and followers of both? Are we engaging in conversations with people on Facebook? Are we posting to Twitter daily?

Negative Points: Lack of profile image on Twitter, using a Facebook group or profile instead of a page.

Bonus Points: Regularly using images/photos with Facebook posts, engaging with other Twitter users via replies and retweets, and sharing valuable content created by others.

#4: Marketing via word of mouth

Are people talking positively about our parish in the community? Do people have stories to share about how our church has impacted or changed their life?

Negative Points: All the people talking about your parish are in one social/economic/ethnic/age group (ie. only little old ladies or wealthy businessmen), there are more people with negative stories than positive ones, and people in your community have never even heard of your church.

Bonus Points: Positive stories about your parish have appeared in the local news, people respond "I love that church!" when you mention your parish's name, and you regularly see people wearing shirts with your church's name on them (off the church property).

#5: Marketing via personal invitation

The most important and effective way to market and fill the church is through personal invitation. Is your parish regularly encouraging people to invite their friends, family, and co-workers to church?

Negative Points: The only time people are told to invite friends is for events/fundraisers that cost money, it's said (or understood) that you should only invite other Catholics, and new people are not welcomed, introduced or included (that's a whole article in itself).

Bonus Points: Parishioners are given sleek invite cards to give to friends when they invite them to church, there is a special visitor booth/table setup in the narthex to welcome and thank new visitors, and the pastor and staff make a special effort to talk with every new visitor.

So how does your parish rate? Are you marketing geniuses or (like most of us) do you still have a lot of work to do?