Question

Topic: Customer Behavior

Church Marketing

Posted by murphy.maryb on 3/11/2010 at 11:37 AM ET 250 Points
What is the decision-making process for choosing a Christian church to attend and join? Who is the decision-maker in the household? Where and how does the consumer do research or is it mostly word-of-mouth? What type of advertising most influences the decision? Do you know where I could gather research on this? THANKS!
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by marketbase on 3/11/2010 at 11:55 AM Accepted
    It has been my experience that the female leader (mother, grandmother) typically has the hold on selecting places of worship. Often word of mouth in any given community. Recommend placing an small display ad in local paper(s) and/or community bulletin boards stating something like Christian Worship -- Market Researcher looking for Quick, Immediate Feedback. (Give phone number.) Have a short survey ready with limited # open-ended questions. What helps you select a place of worship? How long would you travel to get there, Which is your current place of worship? Why? What others have you tried? Like? Why, why not etc.

    You should be able to get a plethora of information to help improve, change, whatever an existing program or forge ahead with an entirely new image/message based on age-old divine wisdom!

    Best of luck,
    jag
    MarketBase
  • Posted by mgoodman on 3/11/2010 at 12:07 PM Moderator
    There are probably different answers for different geographic locations and different cultures. Depending on how you plan to use the information, you may need to do some primary consumer research.

    Where? What are the objectives? How will the results be used? Interested in any particular market segment? Why limit to Christians?
  • Posted by michael on 3/11/2010 at 12:28 PM Accepted
    Interesting question. Biblically, it should be the father. Traditionally it's the mother.

    Should be based on a church's statement of faith (often found on the website) but often based on location, times of service and denomination.

  • Posted by michael on 3/11/2010 at 12:30 PM Member
    Forgot to mention that it is often based on how serious someone is about their faith.


    Michael
  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 3/12/2010 at 9:02 AM Accepted
    It's all about the pastor. That is the glue and it sets the culture of the church. that is why often you'll see when a pastor leaves, so do some members. Besides setting the culture, the paster must be accessible. Members stay where they feel they are important to the church -- it's a group where they feel they belong.

    Setting the culture is the same as culture in business. Some for example are very formal, others more casual.

    As far as decision making, today it's a joint decision.
  • Posted on 3/12/2010 at 12:06 PM Accepted
    To attend? The single largest factor in determining which church to try once is the location. (Beyond that there are obviously many denominational affiliation issues to consider).

    Join? The top things are: feeling welcomed by people in the church; what the church has for youth/children in the family (and if very young children, then their safety as well); relevence of message/experience to the persons life/issues; and finally participating in some way.

    Motivation to change churches: Change in Pastor or some other thing like service times, or doctrine.

    Motivation to begin to attend church when not previously attending: Something has occurred in life that is beyond the person's control and they want help, either from God or other people, in dealing with it.

    All new attendees or potential attendees will go to the church's website.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 3/12/2010 at 8:39 PM Moderator
    scott.lindberg:

    Do you have some research on this, or are you giving us your opinion? If the former, perhaps you can give us the reference. If the latter, you probably ought to disclose that too.

    If research, was this a national study among a representative sample of all Christians? Who conducted the study? Who sponsored it? Can we review the questionnaire and the methodology?

    Your reported findings sound like you have some reliable source, and that could be very helpful in addressing this question.
  • Posted by steven.alker on 3/14/2010 at 10:42 AM Member
    God knows - literally. Just ask and listen.

    And it's free. Interpreting what you receive is always a problem, as is listening carefully enough, but at least it contains no marketing metrics!

    Steve Alker
    Xspirt
  • Posted by prhyatt on 3/15/2010 at 4:38 PM Accepted
    The Barna Group is a recognized leader in church market research. They have published several good books (Frog in the Kettle is one). Check them out at www.barna.org.
  • Posted on 4/27/2010 at 1:20 PM Member
    Why do we go to Church?
    As human,at some time in life we realise that we cant control every thing we do & want!We all tend to rely on someone or something,but other people rely on God because they need to. They need that strong and powerful hand upon them! We 'choose' a church that means that we were not going or are moving from one! At the base we are choosing a church because we have some expectations and questions that previously No one could answer!So i would say that you judge a church on its fruits whatever marketing strategy/tactics some are using.You are making a serious decision for your life. Never judge a book on its cover. Region/research/w-o-m/methodologies/etc...its just trivial as i think that all happens spiritually! i agree with steve, praying and listening to God's voice is better than following a blind man.

    stef
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Customer Behavior)