Word of mouth marketing.

     Is the most influential recommendaton we can receive one from a magazine, a TV commercial, or from a trusted friend?

    We can see the power of the concept by taking a look at a fairly modern technology called Skype which allows you to speak to people on other computers or call people throughout the world from a computer. At present the website shows the number of software downloads at over 242-million. Most of the growth has been due to word of mouth.

     An important question to ask a congregation is: "Would you be happy to invite friends and acquaintances to this church?"

     If there are reasons members would not invite others, those are likely the reasons a church is not growing.

     Church members must slip on the shoes and into the minds of those who have never attended a church. Or, at least, have never attended their church. Chances are it will never happen without a personal invitation. Maybe several.

     A good example for marketing the church is a car salesman. The purpose of marketing is to get the person looking for a car into the showroom. Then, the salesman must sell him the car in such a way the shopper wants to return again and again for service.

     We probably won't find those looking for a church, or thinking about it, without talking to them about church.

     Let's ask some more questions:

     * What has your church done lately that is newsworthy or buzzworthy (generates talk)?
     * If your church is doing significant things, are people finding out about it?
     * Are members inviting other people to the church?
     * When people visit the church do they go away with a positive impression and tell other people?
     * Do you gather feedback from members and visitors to improve your church?
     * How are people finding out about your church? Are they receiving a consistent positive message or is most of the information gleaned from gossip and hearsay?

     To do something buzzworthy often means to go against tradition and do something unexpected -- something that can tap into the psyche of everyday people and stir up positive emotions. Do some brainstorming and be creative.

     Yes, of course, the power of God's Word and prayer will be crucial in creating the excitement members need to talk about their faith and their church. But, ultimately, church members must go and tell.

     Someone said, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

     If what a church has is not enough members going and telling, it's time to do something members will want to go and tell others about.