PyroMarketing

Home Improvement

[Please forgive the formatting.  This is what happens when you write your post in Word and paste it into Typepad.  Yeesh, I wish they would fix that.]

The most common question I get regarding PyroMarketing is, “How do I find the driest tinder?” In case you’re just tuning in, the driest tinder is PyroMarketing-speak for those people most likely to buy your product, benefit from it, and become enthusiastic customer evangelists.  They are the point of origin for all marketing fires and the place where you should concentrate your marketing resources.

Since I get the question so often I like to return to it now and again with examples from various businesses that illustrate what I’m talking about and, hopefully, provide you with insight into how best to gather the driest tinder for your business.  I thought I’d share a good example I encountered the other day.

The airport restaurant was crowded and I walked up to the last open table at the same time as another gentleman.  We each grabbed a chair, introduced ourselves, and sat down to share a meal; two hungry strangers waiting for our planes.  His name was Tom Capizzi, Jr. and he was headed to Wisconsin to race at Road America.

Racing was his hobby, but his day job was serving as president of the business his father had started 30 years ago, Capizzi Home Improvement, the largest home improvement and remodeling contractor on Cape Cod. 

We swapped stories about our families and our jobs.  And after I gave him a copy of my book, our conversation turned to marketing. “I’ve got to find ways to generate more sales leads,” Tom said.  “Okay, let’s talk about that” I said.  “Describe for me the people who hire your firm. What circumstances or behaviors call them out as prospects?”  Tom thought for a moment and said, “Well, we get a lot of roofing calls after a good rain, and we also get calls from new home owners when they discover problems with their house.”

“Great,” I said, “Let’s talk about those new home owners.  If people who buy new homes often hire contractors to fix problems once they move in, then your job is to identify new home owners and be there when they discover problems.  That’s not so easy for a radio or newspaper ad.” 

“What if you started a home inspection company,” I asked? “Most home buyers pay $500 or more for this service.  You could empower local realtors to offer your services for free to their clients and soon they’d be recommending you over existing inspection services.  Your inspectors could identify all of a home’s problems before the buyers moved in  Then your home improvement sales people could provide quotes on repairs.  Knowing the cost might even allow the buyer to negotiate the expense out of the home’s purchase price or make the repairs a contingency of sale.” 

“Or, how about charging a competitive price for the inspection, but giving that same amount back as a credit toward repairs made by your remodeling company?  Instead of trying to generate leads by spending money on traditional advertising, you would generate leads by way of a profitable business expansion.  You would create leads while making money!”

When asked to write a marketing plan most business people make a list of traditional advertising tactics and decide which ones to employ.  But I think there is a better way.  Start with a blank sheet of paper and ask, “Who are the people that buy my product and what circumstances or behaviors call them out of the crowd? How can we identify people in those circumstances and be there as they experience them?” Forget demographics.  A person’s age, race, sex, or income did not make them a prospect for home repairs or remodeling, but a behavior like buying a new house often did.  And forget traditional tactics.  The solution in this case wasn’t an advertisement, but a complimentary business.

Who are the “new home buyers” for your business and what is your “home inspection” opportunity? Discuss this question with your staff and see if it leads to new, innovative, and more cost-effective marketing plans.  I’d love to hear about the ideas you generate.  Leave a comment or send me an email if you have the time. 

I’d like to send a shout out to Tom with thanks for buying dinner.  To the rest of you I say…Spread the fire. GS

Applying PyroMarketing to the Church

Can PyroMarketing be used to grow a church?  I think it can.  In fact, you can see PyroMarketing principles in the life and ministry of Jesus.

I believe the best way to understand the marketing process, the way its messages are sent, received, acted upon, and spread, is to think of it as fire.  I call it PyroMarketing.  It’s the four-step process visible in successes like The Purpose Driven Life, The Passion of the Christ, and even the life and ministry of Jesus.  It is also the best way for churches to reach out to their communities.

Many churches shy away from marketing because they feel it is somehow incompatible with ministry.  I think this is because through the years unscrupulous people have exploited people in the name of marketing.  But that demonstrates the fallen nature of man, not the fallen nature of marketing.

Marketing is really quite simple.  I believe it involves connecting people with needs to the product or service that will satisfy them.  The deeper the need, the more likely they are to respond.  The more profoundly your product meets their need, the more satisfied people will be.  The more satisfied they are, the more people they will tell.  The more people they tell, the more you will sell.  Marketing, then, by my definition, is nearly indistinguishable from ministry and wholly appropriate for churches.

If the marketing process behaves like fire, then you should build marketing plans the way you build campfires.  Here are the four steps to PyroMarketing.

1.       Gather the driest tinder:  Focus your efforts and resources on the people most likely to respond. These people have the greatest need and will be most satisfied when you meet it.  What’s more, they will become unstoppable customer evangelists who spread your message through word of mouth to others. 

Jesus didn’t begin by speaking to crowds of 5000, he called the twelve disciples.  Those men were so inclined toward his offer that they left their families, their possessions and their occupations after a single exposure to Jesus’ message.  “Put down your nets and follow me…”

Who are the neediest people in your community?  How can your church meet their needs?  Is it single mothers?  Is it the homeless?  Is it divorcees?  Is it people with Aids?  Is it troubled teens?

Mass marketers waste millions of dollars trying to convince “attractive” audience segments to buy their products rather than speaking honestly to the people who already need what they offer.  Is your church making the same mistake? 

2.       Touch it with the Match: This means giving people an experience.  Experience is a shortcut to understanding.  If you want people to laugh, don’t tell them you’re funny, tell them a joke!  Jesus didn’t walk around claiming to be the Son of God.  He admitted that only reluctantly.  Instead, he touched people with the match by performing miracles—giving people an experience with those things only the Son of God could do.

Give people an experience with your church and its ability to meet their needs.  And, if people won’t come to your church to get it, then take the experience to them.  That’s what Jesus did.

What about letting people experience your choir or your praise and worship team through a series of free concerts in public settings and familiar venues?  People who have never been to a church may be afraid of “what goes on in there” but would gladly listen to your musicians in a local theater or concert hall.  Do you only provide nursery on for people who attend church on Sunday mornings?  Why not offer a nursery on a Saturday night so married couples in your town can go on a date?  If they experience your church on a Saturday night, they may come back on Sunday morning.

3.       Fan the Flames: People spread messages more effectively than advertising.  The fire is hotter than the match.  Fanning the flames means equipping people to spread your message to their friend, family, and neighbors. 

Jesus gave his disciples the great commission, but he also equipped them for effectiveness by sending his Holy Spirit.  Properly equipped, the disciples were an unstoppable force.  They walked to the ends of the known world and most died as martyrs passionately spreading a message that was not originally their own!

How are you equipping the saints to spread news of your church?  What if your Sunday morning bulletin was a self mailer that doubled as an invitation?  Describe the next week’s service and sermon topic and provide a space for people to write a personal note and place their own stamp.  Then encourage the congregation to send it to an unchurched friend Monday morning.  Imagine the impact if every bulletin on a Sunday morning turned into an invitation to the next Sunday’s service and at no additional cost!

4.       Save the Coals: Keep a record of the people you encounter through your marketing.  In other words, begin and maintain a consumer database.  Does your church have a registry of guests?  Do you keep a record of regular attendees?  Businesses know that their most frequent customers are also their best.  Do you know who attends your church each Sunday?  If you did, you could quickly identify those people most likely to serve, or evangelize, or give in a time of need. 

Jesus has a record of people and their deeds from the beginning of time called The Book of Life.  Yes, Jesus has a consumer database and, no, you cannot rent his list.

PyroMarketing is simple and it really works.  I’d love for churches to use it to advance the gospel and meet people’s needs.  You can learn more about the principles behind each step by reading the book.  However, because I believe in using PyroMarketing to promote PyroMarketing, I would like to touch you with the match by letting you experience the whole book for free.  Once you register, you can stream or download the audio version at www.pyromarketing.com.  Spread the fire.  GS

PyroMarketing and Financial Advisors

A financial planner wrote me recently with a challenge.  He had read PyroMarketing and believed in its principles, but wasn't sure how to apply them to his business.  In particular, he was having trouble touching people with the match (giving them an experience).  He had a great success rate when he could meet with clients, but getting the meeting proved difficult.  The advice I gave him is below.  How can you apply it to your business?

1. Who is your driest tinder, really? Is it couples interested in finance or couples interested in their marriage?  Find the true motivation and you'll find success.

Married couples fight over money more than any other reason.  If those fights threaten their marriage, they may seek the help of their pastor or a marriage counselor when what they really need is an investment expert.  Pastors and counselors want to help the couple, but lack the expertise.   

--Connect with pastors and marriage counselors in your area and offer to provide a free financial session for their clients struggling with money issues.  Suggest the pastor or counselor attend the session too.  The counselor will be more comfortable with your suggestion if they can attend., the couple won't feel threatened if their counselor is there, and you can touch THREE people with the match.

--Provide pastors and counselors with materials that help them refer clients to you for financial advice.  ("Save your marriage while you save some money")

--Most churches require engaged couples to attend premarriage classes.  Those classes always include a financial section usually taught by the pastor or lay-person leading the class.  Contact large local churches and offer to teach that session yourself.  Be willing to use their existing materials and supplement them with your own where appropriate.  Fan the flames by giving couples materials that help them tell their parents or engaged friends about your session.

2. People may be afraid of meeting with you because they don't know what goes on in such meetings, because they don't want to share their personal financial information with a stranger, or because they are embarrassed by the mess their finances are in.

To help people experience a meeting with you BEFORE they experience a meeting with you consider video taping a meeting with another client (with their permission) that you can send to people as an example.  Once they experience it on video tape, they may be more willing to experience it in person.

To help people avoid sharing their personal data offer to conduct your first meeting using example data.  Simply as couples about their goals or areas where they need help and then show them how your advice fixes that problem using an imaginary couple's data to demonstrate your principles.  Once they see the sense of your advice, they may be willing to try it with their own data.

3. Because most local cable systems have a monopoly their charter requires them to offer a community access cable channel.  People like you are free to create shows that the cable system MUST air.  There are restrictions on commercial use but that won't matter to you. 

Talk to your cable company about creating a financial advice program.  Let viewers send you email with their questions (save the coals) that you answer on air (touching them with the match).  If you give good advice and a way to contact you with questions (your email) then very soon people will be sending you messages requesting meetings.

4. When people struggle to repay their debts, creditors often turn them over to debt collection agencies.  What a bad idea.  Creditors get pennies on the dollar and lose a customer for life. Why not turn them over to a financial advisor instead?  They could help the person repay their entire debt dollar-for-dollar, get their finances in order, and keep them as a grateful customer for life.  Are there companies in your area struggling to get payment from their customers?  If they let them choose between meeting with you or being turned over for collections, I bet you'd find yourself counseling many people.

Good luck and spread the fire. GS
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