Survey at the right time...and in the right way

I received a survey from a gym that I had been going to the other day, asking me to complete a survey about why I had canceled my membership. There is no way that I will be responding to this survey, and here are a few of my reasons why...

1. While I agree that an exit survey is necessary (we do them also at MyChurchSurvey.com), asking a person about their satisfaction after they've already decided that they've had enough, is much too late! Where was the gym's concern for my satisfaction months ago? I was unhappy months before, but only within the last few weeks, had I decided that I was not going to continue paying my membership fee. Had they done a good job of staying connected with me, they would have learned that I wasn't happy with the fact that I never received the trainer I was promised, some of the equipment was old and outdated, and the air conditioning was always too low for an environment that stayed filled with sweaty "gym rats".
2. The other problem that I had with this gym's survey is that they sent a regular letter on their letterhead, with a survey on the back. That's it!! No self addressed stamped return envelope, no card that I could pop in the mail, no website....nothing! Do they really expect me to go through the hassle of getting an envelope, finding a stamp, and going to the post office? Here's a tip -

if you're going to ask a person to complete a survey, you've got to make it easy for them to complete it and get it back to you!

If not, they're not going to bother completing it. That's just the truth. Whether you use an online system, or whether you do it by mail, you've got to think of the people who will be taking the survey and the easiest method for them to complete it.

Here's the moral of the story....
It is not enough to figure out "what went wrong" after the fact. Great churches stay vigilant to the changing behaviors and attitudes that are occurring among members. Asking the right questions, at the right time, can make the all the difference between keeping them coming and asking them to stay.

I've learned to take the time to complete surveys, because I realize how valuable the information is to the organizations that are asking. But I'm human, and just like everyone else, in order for me to do a survey, it needs to be given at the right time, easy to complete, and easy to respond to. You'll want to keep this in mind as you develop surveys for church - Happy Surveying!

So Don’t Call it Marketing!

In an effort to quell some of the anti-church marketing rhetoric that comes up from time to time, we’d like to offer a suggestion….let’s not call it Church Marketing. I mean really, if the term paints a negative connotation to an otherwise sound outreach technique – I for one am more than happy to call it something else.

There are those who feel that utilizing ‘marketing’ techniques (which can be found in just about any business organization) within the church somehow minimizes the importance of spiritual direction and paints the church (and its leader) as “worldly”. I guess what I fail to get in this argument is…how? How does marketing negate spiritual direction? How does marketing make a church “worldly”?

My suggestion is to move beyond the title ‘Church Marketing’ and to consider the principles and purpose that is at the core of the phrase. If terms like target marketing, branding, SWOT, demographics & psychographics are offensive, let’s change the terminology. Don’t think about marketing in the traditional terms of business and customer demand. Rather think of it as ‘human research” and the study of people - their values, their needs, and their desires – connecting not with a product or service, but with a spiritual deity.

After all, isn’t that what Jesus did? He took the time to ask questions and gather feedback (Mark 8:27). Throughout His entire ministry, He skillfully joined His purpose for coming down to earth (salvation & restoration) with people’s physical and emotional needs (health, food, compassion, faith & love). It is within that intersection where true marketing really lies. The meeting of people’s needs and desires with a product or service. No business promotes a product or service (or at least they shouldn’t) without effectively understanding how that product or service will meet the needs or desires of the people it is intended for.

So it goes with Church Mark…er um Human Research. It’s important that churches first of all, fully understand themselves, their ministry, and the mission to which they are called. Secondly, they must take the time to understand people and all that they need and expect; in order to strategically join the two – resulting in an effective outreach strategy. With that information and understanding at the heart of their evangelism endeavors, any church will be able to mimic the success and progress that comes when utilizing ‘Human Research’ principles.