Marketing for churches has never been more important. It’s your personal expression of the Gospel message. Through that marketing, you attract new families, promote events and activities, and keep your community informed. However, many small-to-medium sized churches try to handle marketing in-house, not realizing the hidden costs associated with doing so. In this article, we will explore those hidden costs.
Hidden Cost #1: Time
One of the biggest hidden costs of handling marketing for churches in-house is the time it takes away from other important tasks. Church staff members and volunteers already have a lot on their plates, so adding marketing efforts to the mix can be overwhelming. According to a study by MarketingSherpa, businesses that handle marketing in-house spend an average of 20 hours per week on marketing-related tasks. This is time taken away from other essential tasks, such as sermon preparation, counseling, community outreach, and other means of serving the local body.
Hidden Cost #2: Expertise
Another hidden cost for churches handling marketing in-house is the lack of expertise. Since marketing is a specialized and rapidly-evolving field that requires knowledge and experience to execute successfully, it is no slight to acknowledge the fact that this skills are often not found within your own four walls. This lack of experience and knowledge doesn’t just result in sub-optimal messaging efforts, it often means less effective marketing campaigns and wasted resources.
Hidden Cost #3: Resources
Handling marketing for churches in-house also requires resources that may not be readily available. For example, a church may not have access to the latest marketing tools and software, which can make it challenging to execute a successful marketing campaign. Additionally, a lack of resources can lead to less than ideal marketing materials, such as poorly designed flyers and social media graphics and inconsistent and off-brand messaging.
Hidden Cost #4: Opportunity Cost
Finally, when churches handle marketing in-house, it often comes with an opportunity cost. This opportunity cost could be less time dedicated to serving and/or budget that could have been used elsewhere more effectively. According to a study by Demand Metric, companies that outsource marketing generate an average of 34% more leads than those that handle it in-house. A church is certainly not a business, but it’s a short trip to see the connection between the two as it relates to messaging and marketing.
Marketing For Churches Simplified
Every church of every size works hard to make the most of their budget. And toward that end, many decide to handle marketing in-house. But with a closer look, it becomes clear that what seems like a cost-effective option is usually at best a short-term gain. Adding up these hidden costs associated with in-house marketing – the time, expertise, resources, and opportunity cost – explains why so many small-to-medium-sized churches entrust their messaging and marketing needs to a proven outside creative agency capable of partnering with them.
So what about your church? What’s working and not working for your church marketing? What if the time you currently spend on marketing could be re-invested elsewhere? If these questions have you curious, let’s talk.