Smart, free marketing

Practice random acts of corporate kindness. Specifically? Share what you know — no strings attached. Want an example?

Dustin works for Crowe.

• He's also a Microsoft MVP and has won this distinction from Microsoft 3 yrs in a row.
• He uses his personal blog and twitter not to promote Crowe but to share technology tips and tricks about Microsoft products that make life for his readers easier. It’s natural. He loves what he does. He’s passionate about it, loves the products and is loyal to Crowe.
• From a corporate consumer perspective, it makes me trust Dustin. I'm looking to him as a trusted source who really believes in “making my technology better”. Not only is he personally smoking what he's corporately selling, he adds value to my life. He finds the needles in the haystack (so I don’t have to) and then puts them out there for me to grab, if and when I want to.
• He doesn't give me links to all the blogs and books he's reading to pour over. He's already doing that. He just posts the best of the best of what he finds. He's got a depth of knowledge and shares the cliff notes to make me look like a rock star.

The result?

• As a consumer with influence and buying power, Dustin is one of the first people I'll go to if my company had money to spend on Microsoft products or needed a technology upgrade. I trust the company Dustin works for because I trust Dustin.
• Because Crowe gives Dustin the freedom to share what's he's learning — un-edited, in his personal space, no strings attached — Dustin drives the leads back to Crowe. Customer confidence and loyalty is gained in the little things. In turn, they write checks for the big things.
• If Crowe doesn't end up having the product or service I ultimately need, I still have a dependable source of help as I take my next steps. I have confidence that I won't drive myself into a ditch with any purchasing decisions and that I'm not driving down any dead-ends entering into working relationships with the wrong people.

What does this have to do with the church?

• Be like Dustin. Practice random acts of corporate kindness. Don't expect people to read all the blogs and books you're pouring over. Find the needles in the haystack and make them easy for to find.
• Invest in leaders like Dustin. Encourage and empower them to share what they're learning.

Think about it.

• Dustin is just a regular guy with regular resources — he's not some public figure like Bill Gates or Robert Scoble. He lives right here in South Bend — not some major metropolitan epicenter. He works for a regular company — not some global mega-brand. None of these facts limit his power to share with influence and impact. The same is true for your church, no matter who you are or where you are; you have the potential to influence and impact. Are you using it?
• If you give your loyal, passionate, smart staff leaders the freedom to share what's they're learning — un-edited, in their personal space, no strings attached — they will drive people back to the church. People trust people, not institutions. Where is the majority of your content coming from; your people or your institution? 
• Leader blogs provide a dependable source of information and inspiration for people. It helps them take their next steps, make better decisions and develop better relationships. You win people's confidence and loyalty by investing in the littlest things. In turn, they trust your church for the biggest things. What are you doing to invest in the little things?

Free, smart marketing.

Comments

[Justin Moore]

Dustin is awesome. That is all.

[Mike Jones]

Great post Ken,

I love the part about using twitter to share, not promote. I have way too many clients that think twitter is their personal propaganda transmitter.

From my point of view, as a consumer, how twitter works as a successful marketing tool is when twitter gives me better access to a company when I need real advice on how to solve a problem from them. I feel like good customer service is hard to find so when a company takes care of my I instantly become a fan.

Last comment, free marketing isn't hard to come by ... smart marketing (paid or free) is. Great post!

[Kem Meyer]

david... great question. This illustration does, in fact, apply to churches and businesses alike.

It’s about sharing what you know, tips and tricks, learnings and links … no-strings attached. Churches do this everyday on their blogs, Granger included, for both their congregation and other church leaders. They share what they know and what they're learning —strategies, tips, tricks, links, documents--no strings attached.

Are you asking about Granger’s WiredChurches.com ministry and why it isn’t “open source”?

If so, that's a different subject. Some products (ministry and marketplace) are free to the end user because the costs are absorbed by the provider. Other resources (ministry and marketplace) charge to cover costs. There’s a place for both. I use Typepad and Twitter. Although Twitter may be free to me, somebody is paying for it. On the other hand, I don’t think Typepad is a bad company for charging me for their product. Both are good, it just depends on the context.

For me, the bottom line comes down to who pays. Someone is paying for everything. At Granger, we’ve chosen to make the free stuff available for the weekend guest. They don’t have to pay anything to experience a safe place to explore their questions. We charge for coffee, books and resources, and some products on WC.com to fund that ministry and don’t use our general offerings to fund the licensing, administrative and staffing costs we incur to make our resources available to other churches.

Other churches use a different model and intentionally use their ministry budgets to fund ministry to serve other churches and pastors.

Nothing wrong with either model … but in neither model is anything free. It’s just a matter of who pays. I’m thankful for open source resources but not against paying for resources either. That help?

[Steve]

That is a super post! Great principle.

[Lance Bauslaugh]

As an organization, we like to say, "give away what you want to receive"

Another way to think of it is, People support what they help to create. If I feel like I am apart of the big picture through my input here and there, I am likely to stick around and support the big picture. You can include others simply by listening. There are so many leaders in our churches/orgs, we just need to make it okay for them to speak.

This is good Kem. Thanks!

[david]

i don't intend to be a stone-thrower, because i really appreciate all Granger does, but...

should this apply to churches as well as individuals? why wouldn't a church make all their produced resources "open source"?