Step into any small to mid-sized church throughout the country and you will find that most have an excellence issue, especially in the area of marketing. These churches don’t put the time, energy or resources into developing excellence in the way they market (or communicate) with church members, visitors or to the community as a whole.

• Church bulletins have no aesthetic appeal – and are just a list of upcoming events or information, all in the same font, laid out in a way that is hard to read.
• IF there are any informational brochures (such as for a youth group, small groups, Welcome Packet, nursery, Statement of Faith, etc) – which is hardly ever the case – they tend to be all text with a few pictures taken from someone’s out dated digital camera
• The church web site was put together on some free site by someone who has no experience in proper web site design. These sites are text heavy, are laid out in  such a way that your eyes don’t know where to look, and are filled with ads.
• There is little to no signage to direct people where to go or, if there is, the signs were made up in Word and printed out.
• There is indication on any bulletin, handout or announcement slide to show that the church is on any social media sites.

Why this is a problem

We live in a society heavily dependent upon marketing. Think about it. Everything you come across is, in a way, marketing an image. The clothes you wear, the cereal you buy, the car you drive, all of it has an image associated with it.

The same is true about your marketing products.

How your church presents itself in its various marketing products (brochures, bulletins, website, social media sites, signage, logo) communicates a LOT to the viewer – both good and bad.

If your products were quickly put together and lack any branding (the identity of your church found in your marketing products), it tells people that you don’t put time or effort into what you do. It shows them that you don’t value excellence and are willing to take short cuts. It says that you don’t think things through, and handle everything at the last minute.

Not to mention that a lack of excellence in your marketing products, especially your web site and social media profiles, can prevent people from coming to your church. This next generation in the church – 40′s and below – are heavily dependent upon the internet in making their decisions. Gone are the days when people flip open a phone book to find information out about a church. They turn to google…and then your web site.

And if your web site was created by someone with little to no experience on aesthetic web site layout, and done on a freebie site, chances are people won’t stay long enough to read anything you’ve written. Is your site easy to navigate (i.e. – find what you’re looking for), does it have one spot on the page where your eyes naturally rest, is it free of clutter and ads? All these things matter in getting, and keeping, people on your page.

How to fix the problem

If any of this describes your church, don’t worry. Here are some easy (and in some cases, cheap) ways to fix it:

• Come up with a logo – preferably a professionally designed logo. A logo symbolizes your church more than any other image. Find one that exemplifies your values and mission AND STICK WITH IT. Don’t change the fonts. Don’t change the color. The more people see the logo, the better your image will be.
• Use pre-made templates in designing your bulletins, brochures and business cards. Many word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word, have built in templates that are graphically pleasing and user friendly. You can easily change the color, location of pictures and text and even some of the layout to produce professional quality products.
• Pay someone to build you a web site. I know a lot of churches don’t necessarily have the money to get a professionally made web site, but think of it as an investment, not an expense. You can easily get a high quality web site for $1,000 that will be appealing and offer features that encourage people to return, such as forums, galleries, audio/video sermons, downloadable resources, and more.
• Hire a Marketing Administrator. Most churches will spend the money to hire a secretary – someone who will answer phones, do mailings and send emails. If you have it in your budget, opt instead for a Marketing Administrator – someone who is gifted in graphic and web design, knows how to communicate and can strategically implement the vision of the church.
• Set up Social Media Profiles. If you aren’t already on Facebook or Twitter, you’re already behind. It’s free, easy to set up and can be used in lieu of a web site for quite some time.