Welcome to the second in a series of guest bloggers from my friends and colleagues—all experts in their respective fields. As I wrote last week, these three topics are integral to today’s successful synagogues. Yet, contextualizing them for congregations is not always so easy. But this week’s guest blogger, Rose McKinney, founder and C.E.O. of Pineapple Reputation Management, provides a congregational-friendly framework for thinking about marketing (hint: think “story telling”).
Have Faith in the Merits of Marketing
Rose McKinney, Pineapple RM
Mention marketing within a corporate setting and heads nod excitedly and knowingly as executives with MBAs toss about buzz words like metric dashboards, sales funnel and lead conversion. Mention marketing during a non-profit board meeting and committee people get giddy with possibilities for fundraising and membership drives. Mention marketing within faith communities and wrinkles appear on peoples’ brows and then the comments of indignation: “Oh, no, we don’t believe in selling.”
That’s when I know there is a disconnect. Marketing and sales are often lumped together because good marketing creates an environment in which sales can take place, but make no mistake – marketing is about relationships and storytelling, it’s about community, and sales is about monetary transaction.
No worries, faith communities are not alone in confusing the merits of marketing. If you’re leery as to where this is going, let me mention a few familiar types of groups that now market themselves yet previously were diametrically opposed to such a notion.