I can remember my first job at the age of 16 being for a national toy chain at Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, WI. I vowed that I would never work the fast food business and went on to work for a Christian bookstore and software stores as well. One of the most valuable lessons I learned about business that I apply to our church and I think is a good principle for any church/business is change.
Sometimes when we visit stores we notice they change things up, this can leak over to online stores and websites as well. Why? Why take something that looks sharp already and change it? The fact is we get flattered with our own websites, blogs, podcasts, etc. But, the people who visit our website or church eventually get bored with the same look. Changing things causes the "sticky" factor as they call it for websites. Stickiness is what keeps people coming back to your website and therefore seems pretty important.
What needs to change? A question we should always ask ourselves to keep people coming back .
Please feel free to comment with your thoughts.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Window Shopping
If there is one place that my wife and I like to go on vacation, it would be New York City. The business, traffic, tall buildings, the smell (both good and bad) all add to the buzz of this electronic paradise on the east coast. It is one of few places that you can look in one shop window and enjoy watching a good New York styled pizza being made, go a little further....look in another window and see people in China Town selling natural remedies. You can walk a little further and find your self at Trump Tower and the shops around it that sell priceless jewels from the finest jewelers like Tiffany's.
People are by nature window shoppers, we enjoy looking around and seeing what people have to offer. If it is appealing, we will spend time looking at it. In fact, we may go in and become a consumer of what that business has to offer. There is a flip side to that coin, however, which is not so appealing. You can find your unkept store fronts with faded, out of date material in the windows. It is not hard to turn off consumers when they can clearly see that the owner feels that up keep is not necessary.
All this talk about window shopping got me thinking about this time of year when people's hearts are soft and looking to go further on their spiritual journey. It could be that many are not plugged into a church and might begin window shopping for a home church. What are they going to see when they come to your church? How is your website? Do you keep it up to date or will they find your current calendar is really all of your summer activities. What about your voicemail message when they call your church? Will they hear an updated message or find themselves wondering what year you recorded that in? When a family comes to your church for the first time, does your church say to them..."This is the future of the church right here" or will it turn people away.
It is important for us to occasionally take a step back and reevaluate how a new person views our churches. Let's do our best to keep the window shoppers this season and not send them on their way.
People are by nature window shoppers, we enjoy looking around and seeing what people have to offer. If it is appealing, we will spend time looking at it. In fact, we may go in and become a consumer of what that business has to offer. There is a flip side to that coin, however, which is not so appealing. You can find your unkept store fronts with faded, out of date material in the windows. It is not hard to turn off consumers when they can clearly see that the owner feels that up keep is not necessary.
All this talk about window shopping got me thinking about this time of year when people's hearts are soft and looking to go further on their spiritual journey. It could be that many are not plugged into a church and might begin window shopping for a home church. What are they going to see when they come to your church? How is your website? Do you keep it up to date or will they find your current calendar is really all of your summer activities. What about your voicemail message when they call your church? Will they hear an updated message or find themselves wondering what year you recorded that in? When a family comes to your church for the first time, does your church say to them..."This is the future of the church right here" or will it turn people away.
It is important for us to occasionally take a step back and reevaluate how a new person views our churches. Let's do our best to keep the window shoppers this season and not send them on their way.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Creation
I had a friend send me a link this morning via "Facebook" that really caught my attention. It has to do with Ben Stein whom I have liked since "Ferris Buehler's Day Off" and "Win Ben Stein's Money" on Comedy Central.
This movie is a documentary that has to deal with creationism and how schools are banning science teachers who go against Darwinism. This could be a real spring board for churches and youth groups to dive into this topic. Check out the trailer at www.expelledthemovie.com
This movie is a documentary that has to deal with creationism and how schools are banning science teachers who go against Darwinism. This could be a real spring board for churches and youth groups to dive into this topic. Check out the trailer at www.expelledthemovie.com
Monday, September 17, 2007
You Are Already Marketing
I am excited for in just a few days my wife and I will be attending the "Wired Churches-Innovate 2007 Conference." With speakers like Mark Beeson, and Tim Stevens who authored the "Simply Strategic" series that many churches use. This conference is all about being relevant in today's culture. It exposes you to how the church needs to market itself in a relevant way which got me thinking.
Whether you knew it or not, if you are a pastor of a church or owner of a business...you are already marketing. The question is...what are people saying about your marketing? When you pay your bills on time or not on time...you are marketing. If people walk by your church and see the shape of your building or how your grass looks, what is it saying to people? You are marketing whether you know it or not.
I was intrigued by an article in the latest "Outreach Magazine." In an article entitled, "How Important Is a Building" by Thom S. Rainer and Sam S. Rainer III, they said, "Churches that did not have adequate or attractive buildings were perceived by the unchurched as under-funded. But the credit for attractive facilities was given to the leadership of the church."
You don't have to have a big building to make it attractive. You just need to simply look at the place as a whole and say, "does this represent the future of our church?"
Again, whether we know it or not as leaders of churches...you are marketing. The question is...what message are you sending?
Whether you knew it or not, if you are a pastor of a church or owner of a business...you are already marketing. The question is...what are people saying about your marketing? When you pay your bills on time or not on time...you are marketing. If people walk by your church and see the shape of your building or how your grass looks, what is it saying to people? You are marketing whether you know it or not.
I was intrigued by an article in the latest "Outreach Magazine." In an article entitled, "How Important Is a Building" by Thom S. Rainer and Sam S. Rainer III, they said, "Churches that did not have adequate or attractive buildings were perceived by the unchurched as under-funded. But the credit for attractive facilities was given to the leadership of the church."
You don't have to have a big building to make it attractive. You just need to simply look at the place as a whole and say, "does this represent the future of our church?"
Again, whether we know it or not as leaders of churches...you are marketing. The question is...what message are you sending?
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
iPod news
Are you amazed with the news of the next generation of iPods? You can now purchase a 160 gig iPod...WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU NEED THAT KIND OF ROOM FOR? But, if you are like me, and would be looking for an iPod...that would be the one to get.
The new iPods in my opinion are very slick with the touch screen, however...they only come in 8 and 16 gig sizes. That is quite a bit...but my suggestion is wait until Christmas for the release of the larger hard-drives.
That's it for now.
The new iPods in my opinion are very slick with the touch screen, however...they only come in 8 and 16 gig sizes. That is quite a bit...but my suggestion is wait until Christmas for the release of the larger hard-drives.
That's it for now.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Are You Sticky?
One thing I do often is research websites. Sometimes I will find myself cruising from site to site looking at how each business/church designs their website. Here are a few thoughts I have on websites and how to attract more people...or how to make it more sticky so people keep on coming back.
1. Update information: Nothing can make a website more boring then old information. If you are a person that is not good at updating your calendar, then may I suggest not having one. In this case, just post your standard meeting times and the occasional special event. When a new person visits your website and sees the "Summer '06" calendar...what does that say about your church/business?
2. Flash graphics: I personally am a firm believer in not having to much flash (animation) on a website. The reason is that though we live in a fast paced, wi-fi, world...there are still some who have dial-up. When a person with dial-up hits a website with alot of animation, it can load to slowly thus causing that person to close the site. This is not to say animated buttons, some images are great...in fact this is a big part that causes people to enjoy a website.
3. How many buckets? A website that has to many options on the menu can cause information overlaod and might make it to hard to navigate. Keep it simple on your homepage. Most websites can keep the number of buttons to 4.
4. Consider a face-lift: One thing I believe in is giving your website a face-lift each year. If you have a logo, that is the piece that remains the same...this is called "branding." Whether you are at a store or home, it is always nice to see a change now and then. A website is no different, people like to see change. This change would also include new staff photos as well.
Just some thoughts for you to think about...feel free to comment!
1. Update information: Nothing can make a website more boring then old information. If you are a person that is not good at updating your calendar, then may I suggest not having one. In this case, just post your standard meeting times and the occasional special event. When a new person visits your website and sees the "Summer '06" calendar...what does that say about your church/business?
2. Flash graphics: I personally am a firm believer in not having to much flash (animation) on a website. The reason is that though we live in a fast paced, wi-fi, world...there are still some who have dial-up. When a person with dial-up hits a website with alot of animation, it can load to slowly thus causing that person to close the site. This is not to say animated buttons, some images are great...in fact this is a big part that causes people to enjoy a website.
3. How many buckets? A website that has to many options on the menu can cause information overlaod and might make it to hard to navigate. Keep it simple on your homepage. Most websites can keep the number of buttons to 4.
4. Consider a face-lift: One thing I believe in is giving your website a face-lift each year. If you have a logo, that is the piece that remains the same...this is called "branding." Whether you are at a store or home, it is always nice to see a change now and then. A website is no different, people like to see change. This change would also include new staff photos as well.
Just some thoughts for you to think about...feel free to comment!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
A Cool Resource
In constant search of the latest and greatest in connecting with people, I ran across a website www.txtsignal.com. For five dollars a month, you can send as many people as you would like a text message from this program. I have personally used it regularly and find it very user friendly. Check it out.
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