Marketing, Strategy
11

The Church Could Learn From Etsy

Posted by John Saddington on Feb 28, 2009

etsy

Etsy, for those who may not be familiar, is a mega online marketplace where individuals and small businesses can set up shops to sell their personal wares that are made by hand. It’s raised more than $30 million in venture funding and is growing like a weed.

Although there is a lot of things that have contributed to its success, it’s Word of Mouth marketing strategies have made it a force to be reckoned with.

Their internal survey which was recently released is a stunning proof of their unique angle at virality:

4a_awareness

5a_social_networking

They have utlized the user’s own blogs to really drive the traffic, and it all makes so much sense.

One additonal layer to be considered is the fact that they have consistent and highly attended offline gatherings, some organized by members and others backed by large sponsorship.

I think the Church, especially the technoevangelists, needs to be doing much more of this kind of thing.

Do you have an Etsy account? Is your Ministry maxing your WoM (Word of Mouth) marketing strategies?

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John Saddington

John is the Chief Editor @ The 8BIT Network and Senior Blog Junkie here at ChurchCrunch.He enjoys Triple-Tall Americanos, developing Wordpress Themes, and a few other Random Things.

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11 Responses to “The Church Could Learn From Etsy”

  1. Daniel_Berman
    Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 3:32 pm

    Etsy obviously must be fulfilling some type of need. In regards to WoM with Churches, I would have to say that either people don't think they have compelling reason to tell others about Church or there is more WoM going on that no one ever sees.

    The reason I say this is because atleast in my situation, I would probably only speak about my church if I ran across someone who was a new believer and looking for a church. (And on the flip side I don't want to encourage sheep stealing) This probably also comes back to the fact that its been a while since I had the opportunity to lead some to the Lord. Right now I am doing a lot more sowing than reaping….

    Reply
    • human3rror
      Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 3:36 pm

      oh good point. do you think the internet does one better?

      Reply
      • Daniel_Berman
        Monday, March 2, 2009 at 2:59 am

        I am not quite sure what you mean, but I will say that email, twitter, facebook chat enable WoM to push farther and faster.

        The bigger question is why would you mention your church in your personal twitter conversations, on a facebook chat with your friends, or in an email?

        Individual congregations must be able to reach out and touch. Whether they do or not is a measure of their effectiveness at communicating the gospel.

        Reply
  2. tpaulding
    Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 4:01 pm

    I have no doubt that the church has a lot to learn about social networking, viral and WoM marketing. However, people have to NEED what the church has to offer or it is not very effective marketing. I think the challenge of the church is not so much marketing but our cultural tendency to "do it ourselves."

    I think our marketing unfortunately has more effect on, as Daniel said, sheep swapping rather than bringing in new people. There are a lot of people looking for a different/better experience.

    Just a thought.

    Reply
    • human3rror
      Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 4:26 pm

      good point here. we know that the people need it though. so what next?

      Reply
      • tpaulding
        Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 4:56 pm

        As much as I hate to use the word, the challenge is being RELEVANT. If we do things at church that people want to be a part of and/or want to hear about, the "marketing" will happen, won't it? I guess I would have to go out on a limb and say that if the "marketing" for your church isn't working, you aren't offering a good "product." Just like any other place of business, if a restaurant has fantastic marketing and terrible food, at best, they will have a lot of one time visitors, and their business will slowly decline. If the same restaurant has fantastic food and no planned marketing, it will still thrive because people will talk.

        Reply
        • human3rror
          Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 5:08 pm

          it makes sense, so rock on. it's just sad that the church sucks so bad at this…

          Reply
        • Daniel_Berman
          Monday, March 2, 2009 at 3:11 am

          You're right and you're wrong. We know the product is good, the difference is perception. Is the product good because we know its good or because someone else thinks its good, or because the creator knows its good?

          When we know do marketing from the standpoint that we know somethings good, we miss out on understanding people's needs and where there at.

          When we do marketing from the standpoint that someone else thinks its good, then we are constantly pandering for the latest review.

          When we do marketing from the standpoint that the God started the church then we go back to the Bible; learn from the mistakes of the past, understand the basic depravity of the human condition and God's answer for it, and also realize that while there is nothing new under the sun what worked before likely won't work the same way now, and vice versa.

          This maybe a minute splitting of a philosophical hair, but perspective and perception all to often have everything to do with context and ultimately as you said relevance.

          Reply
          • tpaulding
            Monday, March 2, 2009 at 3:23 am

            Good point. Let me clarify though. What I was trying to say is that while THE product, Jesus, is fantastic and relevant, often the churches do not (re)present Him to be either fantastic or relevant. Not in the marketing side of things, but in "ministry" which is the church's products. Therefore, if that ministry/product is NOT perceived as relevant or whatever, the marketing won't matter.

            So, I think the challenge I speak of falls on the churches to present the Gospel, and the messages around it, as relevant. If that happens, the social marketing will happen. Then, tools like Facebook, Twitter and other things we put in their hands, will be most effective.

            Reply
  3. Jim
    Sunday, March 1, 2009 at 4:12 am

    i can't get past laughing at the sock-monkey! HAHA

    Reply
  4. Daniel_Berman
    Monday, March 2, 2009 at 3:36 am

    My guess is that many pastors would tell you they are doing the best they can (I can't speak from personal experience as I am not in the ministry), but I will say this is a deeper critique of North American Christianity as a whole.

    On the other hand, I have also learned that we all to often fall into the trap of, this or that is wrong and someone else should fix it. (I am not implying this about you, only in general) We need to realize that when we come to realize these weaknesses in the Church, we need to act with whatever resources we have our disposal, weak and broken as they may be. Something about whatever your hands findeth, do it with all thy might?

    For me its been the Issachar Network (http://issacharnetwork.org), and I will tell you its no easy road. What's yours TP?

    And to the readers of ChurchCrunch who haven't commented yet, what has God enabled you to do in the situation you find yourself in right now?

    Reply