Draw from the Well: Promotion

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February 17, 2010

Getting the Word Out

Recently, "we" made the decision to stop advertising Church of Living Water in the local newspaper's church directory (and by "we" I mean me.) There were lots of factors involved, but at the heart of it was that communication is a changin'!

I did meet with our newspaper rep and we talked frankly about the state of newspapers (trivia - my mother worked for years for our local newspaper and I even did a stint as a summer intern...I have some funny stories, but I digress!) We won't stop promoting in the newspaper entirely, but we will use it differently.

This set me to thinking...how do you receive your information? Today getting information is so easy...it's almost overwhelming.

We find that most people find out about our church via....word of mouth. Time and time again people tell us they come because people invited them. However, promotion and branding is about more than just getting new people to come to church. I believe it's mainly about augmenting word of mouth encounters. [Incidental, the phone book and our web page follow as the other ways people find us after w-o-m.]

Believe it or not, for most people it takes more than one contact point to create a decision and action. That's why ads are repetitive (just watch your favorite sitcom.) You don't usually run out for that product right after you see one ad. Rather, you see a product ad on t.v., you see it in a magazine, you read about it on the web, and your friend endorses it. Next time you are in the store, you say to yourself: "I'm going to try 'x' because...."

Of course, you want to make sure that what you are promoting is quality (I'd like to think Jesus and our church are quality!)

So back to my original question - where do you get your information beyond word of mouth? I'll give you some options (in no particular order) and you give me some feedback:

Tell me which three you think are the most effective and which three are the least effective.