Geoff Wasserman

Problem Solving

Posted on 24. Feb, 2010 by Geoff.

Here’s a quick math problem someone sent me. THink twice before you scroll down for the answer:

If…

1=5

2=25

3=125

4=625

5=???

(think again before scrolling down for the answer…)

Answer: 1. Remember, 1=5. Amazing how conditioned we are to jump into a process, over-analyze, over-think, and end up making problems more complicated than they really are.

What problem have you been wrestling with for months/weeks? Take a step back, get a fresh set of eyes on it. Maybe the solution’s a lot simpler than you thought.

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Fishers of men…OR just changers of the aquarium?

Posted on 30. Dec, 2008 by Geoff Wasserman.

I saw a great show on a Christian TV station. A Church aired a show to reach the ‘lost’. The entire show was a compelling presentation of the need for a savior. Speaking to a friend at the Church, I asked how response was…Low,  only a couple calls for salvation. Which begged the question I had to ask, “Why would you as Christians advertise on Christian TV to Christians, with a message they already know?” Is the Church called to be fishers of men, or changers of the aquarium? 

The answer is both. This was a classic case of “right medium, wrong message.” Successful companies know there’s a time to market to prospective 1st time buyers, and another time to market to people who don’t shop with you because they don’t know you’re product is better than the one they’ve always had. Their level of revelation is limited by their exposure.

Don’t be offended, I’m not advocating “stealing members”. But there’s a principle here: Successful marketing targets different messages to different groups. Ministries have 2 audiences to reach, with completely different strategies. One needs salvation. The other might need to be challenged beyond the tank they’re currently swimming in. 

While reaching the ‘lost’, are you also infecting your community in a way that awakens those needing more out of “same-old, same-old” Church? Are you modeling passion and impact that challenges a person to want to BE church, not just DO Church? If pain of current circumstances (Church, relationships, business) is measurable, with nothing better in sight, people rarely make change. 

When a thread of discontent surfaces in a person’s life, are you there… with the right, relevant message?

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Who moved my mints?

Posted on 28. Dec, 2008 by Geoff Wasserman.

The bookstore may help their bad breath, but does their life still stink?

Seems like most Church bookstores sell breath mints right at the register. Logical, since it’s one of the top requested items. And how convenient…I can get in line, get my mints, and head into service without having to walk through the store. 

Which is great! This way, I’m not tempted to walk past all the Pastor’s messages on CD, music, books, T-shirts and other resources my family might purchase and ultimately have our life forever changed.

OK, you get the point. Ministries can learn valuable lessons from grocery stores and retail superstores, where brands spend significant dollars to move their products to eye-level shelves, ends of aisles, and other spots where consumer research proves purchasing potential to be higher. Notice how you have to pass ice cream and other impulse purchases to get to the bread and milk!

Merchandising should be strategic. Your team spends time & money making resources available…Why not make your bookstore a more profitable resource center, ultimately impacting people more by positioning key resources in their path? Compelling POP displays for conferences, and posters promoting your leadership’s “favorite teaching series” recommendations are just 2 of many ideas that can take a bookstore to another level if you develop an ongoing marketing strategy.

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“Hey Kid, Catch!”

Posted on 27. Dec, 2008 by Geoff Wasserman.

The Kid caught the Jersey…But did he miss the mark?

Growing up, I loved the famous commercial with a star-struck boy in the stadium tunnel, stopping to offer a Coke to Mean Joe Greene, who’s hobbling to the showers. Mean Joe reluctantly takes it, drinks it, and speaks the famous words, “Hey kid…Catch!”, trading his jersey for the drink. “Thanks mean Joe!”, and the jingle takes us out in tears. 

Ironically, coke didn’t experience any incremental sales increase as a result! But, sales of Steelers memorabilia went through the roof! What happened? While creative, the message was off strategy; it missed the mark. 

Consumers were told not to place value on the Coke, rather on the jersey that the kid got. It told us, “Product’s ok, but it’s all about the shirt!” An expensive lesson: Before advertising, make sure your Ministry isn’t shifting people’s focus away from the impact of your Ministry, out of our desire to be entertaining, creative, and different. Communicate your heart, not your personality.

Most marketing mistakes are made in a rush to “get our name out there”, or what I call the “Ready, fire…aim!” approach. Before you spend money advertising your ministry or conference, list your objectives, and hold your team accountable to measuring any ideas back to one question: Will this directly help us achieve any of our objectives?

If not, you may just be helping someone else sell a whole lotta jerseys…

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Are You Relevant?

Posted on 23. Dec, 2008 by Geoff Wasserman.

If you’re trying to reach the lost…better watch your language!

A Church marquee sign off the highway read, “Praise Jehovah…He shall return for his lost sheep!”. 

I couldn’t help but chuckle, remembering my “B.C. days”, and thinking…who talks like that? More importantly, who wrote it and did they actually think it was the key to increasing attendance this Sunday?

How easy it is, the more time we spend in an environment, to allow the environment to shape our thoughts, actions and words. How ironic, that the very environment the Church tries to pray people into produces a language that confuses the very people it has a heart to reach?

The toughest thing for a company to do is market their product in a way that their target consumer says, “I gotta have that!” It’s why shoe commercials don’t break down the chemical composition of the rubber sole, beer commercials don’t simply list ingredients, and car commercials don’t describe for us every component of the engineering process in great detail. They match the product’s most attractive features with a lifestyle a consumer desires…in language from the customer’s world, not from the manufacturer’s warranty.

So, the next time your Church has a great event designed to reach the lost…remember to translate from Christian-ese to Average Joe! He might actually want to come…and bring his family with him.

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“Assembling of the Saints” isn’t outdated, it’s out of order

Posted on 22. Dec, 2008 by Geoff Wasserman.

There’s a significant trend happening in the Church across America; falling attendance. Critics are saying it’s because the concept of getting together in a building for Church is old school, and that moving church on-line is somehow the answer.

Last I checked, when the bible cautioned us not to “forsake the assembling of the saints” as a timeless principle.

So what’s the problem? The Church is. At least our perspective. Assembly of saints isn’t dying because the principle no longer applies. Attendance is dropping because the emphasis on assembling is out of position in the way people perceive its place in relationships. Used to be, the only way I chose to discover a company, a product, a relationship, was by….well, trying it. No longer. Consumers engage in a relationship with your product way before the 1st date. If you don’t believe it, ask E-Harmony. Or ask yourself why you didn’t let your spouse meet your entire family (yes, your crazy aunt too) on your first date. Why? It was out of order in the process.

Businesses who win customers understand “caring before commerce.” Demonstrate you care about me before I should buy what you’re selling. People might visit Church quicker if they had a chance to engage in the relationship first. So, in essence, the worst thing you might do to grow is invite people to Church FIRST. Instead, figure out a different point of entry into their life; join a conversation they’re already having, in a relevant way. Fewer people are looking for a church…they’re too busy looking for answers to life’s problems. Bring ‘em answers and they’ll bring you the rest of their life.

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Has the BILLION DOLLAR prize been under our nose the whole time?

Posted on 20. Dec, 2008 by Geoff Wasserman.

After all, “The wealth of the wicked is laid up for the righteous.”

How true. But when did the church officially dumb down our interpretation of “wealth” to be JUST money? For decades, Fortune 500 companies have invested significant marketing research dollars into the study of how consumers do 3 things: Receive information, spend time, and spend money. 

The church has, until now, generally shunned the idea of “marketing”, while the world’s economy, culture and belief system have been shaped by companies launching cutting edge branding & ad campaigns, resulting in increasing consumer acceptance of products from Nike to Budweiser. The result: Products, disguised as lifestyle choices, have secured a position in the hearts and pocketbooks of several generations of people. 

The good news…The information on how they do it is now available at warp speed! And with the “greatest product on the face of planet earth”, the church for the first time ever has a unique opportunity: To actually market the greatest product ever offered without having to re-invent the wheel…We can look at decades of failed and successful product launches, new market development, ad campaigns and more, and apply tried and true principles to reach the world with the message of the gospel.

So, next staff meeting, ask the question…do we understand the behavior of the very world we’re trying to reach?

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