Starbucks Church

It has been my experience that much very negative conversation rolls through the bowels of the church community. Or that we should be ashamed. Much of that negative talk is caused by failure to understand folks whose understanding of scripture and life principles differs from others. Sometimes that negative talk is caused by jealousy. We, of the church, are not immune to jealousy. But we are not likely to admit to it; in fact we keep it carefully veiled from you and from ourselves. Veiled, unadmitted, but there.

Often when we criticize Christian leaders, it is less about what they do and believe and more about their “success”. Truth be known, any Christian can pick apart another’s doctrine, values, lifestyle, mode of worship, biblical translation preferred, style of building (or lack of building), methods of mission work and the list continues. Some seem to consider such nitpicking and hostility to be a “gift”. On the rare occasions I listen to preachers on the radio, I am amazed how many claim to be “fundamentalists” and yet fail to mention Jesus in their messages. They are too caught up in attacking other believers who fail to walk lock step with them in theology and methodology and explaining why they are right and everyone else is wrong. I will admit that I don’t appreciate such an approach to preaching. There is just too much good news in the Gospel (the Good News) to be shared with people who do not yet know God. Why travel the road of negativity?

The church, while having an awesome “product”, does have an image and marketing problem. Perhaps we could learn something from the effective marketing campaigns of successful companies. One of those could be Starbucks Coffee. I am amazed by their success. There is a Starbuck in every city in America. It seems that where there is a cluster of buildings in America, a Starbucks suddenly apprears. I was reading that there is a place where Starbucks Coffee Shops are located on opposite corners of the same intersection. I am amazed at their growth because they, basically, just sell coffee. They sell it mixed with water, sugar, cream, extra caffeine, foam and various flavorings at outrageous prices. But it is still coffee. You can’t buy it in small, medium or large because they have pretentiously named their size choices; Demi, Short, Tall, Grande, Venti, and Trenta. Over the years they have added to their product line with sweets, chocolate and such. The latest product introduced is shaken iced tea. I can’t wait to try it because, no doubt, it is so much better than plain old poured iced tea.

Okay, I have an attitude about Starbucks. And perhaps most of that attitude springs forth from jealousy. The success of their marketing has convinced many in our malleable and easily led culture that it is to only place one can get a really good cup of coffee. And it is the place to be. My poor attitude caused me to love it when Consumer’s Report did a survey and taste test and found that, when people were not aware of where the coffee came from, most people preferred McDonald’s coffee over Starbucks. Despite having a narrow range of product that, just possibly, is not the best available on the market, Starbucks is astonishingly successful. The achievements of Starbucks make the point that success has less to do with product and more to do with effective marketing. As much as I believe Starbucks to be, on a certain level, a sham, I give them high marks for attracting multitudes to their stores.

A question worth considering is what if Starbucks marketed like the average church? I believe it is a sure bet they would not have remained in business very long. Churches generally do very little marketing and many churches consider marketing to be either unholy or beneath them. On those rare occasion when marketing is attempted, it is often ineffective. Check out this video: Starbucks marketing like churches. In some cases it seems like the church is working hard to NOT attract new people. My experience is that, when it comes to marketing, when it comes to getting the news out about the Good News, we don’t even know where to start.

This is certainly a subject I know little about and have a history of little success. I do know the first steps involve understanding one’s product and understanding people you are targeting. After that, I am at a loss. Try as we may, the churches I have served have been relative ineffective in delivering the goods – getting the word out. I could use some help. Do you have any marketing successes you could share with me?

Perhaps someone from Starbucks marketing team would like to come help us out.

Copyright © 2014, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved