The Marketing RE Toolkit

Prior to working as a Director of Lifespan Faith Development, I had a 20+ year career in marketing and sales, and the skills that I developed over that career played a direct part in my ability to grow our program, doubling the size within five years and maintaining family participation throughout the pandemic.  The Marketing RE Toolkit seeks to pass that knowledge on to you as you work to grow your own program.

Marketing and sales professionals try to sell products to customers in the face of competition, and - although you may have never thought of your job in those terms - that is exactly what a faith development program director must do, too. The products that you are selling are all of the classes, activities, and events that make up your program; your customers are the current and potential program participants that are the most likely buyers of these programs; and your competition is literally everything else that your customer could choose to do instead of your program - a long list!  How do you help them decide that your program is the best use of their limited time? 

The Marketing RE Toolkit is designed to be a resource that you turn to multiple times in your career. There are tips and examples that you can put to use immediately, as well as techniques that will hone specific skills.  You will also learn how to create a strategic marketing plan to help grow your congregation's program year after year.

What's included?

• examples of each marketing concept in practice in a faith development program
• worksheets to help you think through how each part of the toolkit applies to your program
• directions on creating your individualized Strategic Marketing Plan
• my own pre-pandemic Strategic Marketing Plan, including a month by month implementation schedule

I will also teach you how to become your own PR manager, promoting yourself, which can help address a lack of understanding as to how much work you truly do, hopefully decreasing the calls for cut hours and lost jobs.

And, because I know your budget and your time is extremely limited, I'll teach you how to focus on the tools that will produce the best results within those limitations.  Time is your most limited resource, and I'll show you how to implement an entire marketing program in less than one day a month. 

We all know that the success of your program is not 100% in your hands.  Many aspects of the congregation play a part in determining participation in your program.  But, The Marketing RE Toolkit can help you to focus your efforts on those parts within your scope of influence.  This guide can help you to design your program and present it to current and potential customers to help grow your program throughout the coming years.

The concepts in this guide are applicable regardless of the size and scope of your program.  Although this guide is written specifically for faith formation programs, everything in it will also apply to any marketing effort within the congregation, including worship, social justice, and other congregational efforts.