8 steps your church can take to get buy-in for your church brand.
Is your church currently in the process of unveiling a new logo? Or, are you working really hard to lean into the brand and identity you currently have? If so, you know it can be really frustrating when a staff member decides they want to design their own logo and graphics for their ministry or if they can't see the vision for your new church brand. Communications Directors often come to us for help when a staff member wants to create a new ministry brand that is completely outside of where they are headed with their church brand. Typically, the quality is severely lacking, and it feels like the ministry doesn't want to collaborate with the communications team. Does this feel familiar?
We've seen scenarios like this play out again and again. Here are 8 steps you can take to get internal buy-in for your church brand:
- The best thing to do is continue to build the relationship with this ministry leader. We would encourage you to have any additional conversations with this person over a cup of coffee or lunch. Would it help you to get out of the office with this person? Meet at a local Starbucks or Panera Bread?
- Ask him or her to summarize what they are trying to achieve within their ministry. What will success be as they build relationships, plan/execute programming, hold events, etc.? What does success look like for them with communications/marketing efforts? Take some notes. Help them see that you really care and are listening.
- Ask him or her to allow you to explain the church's big picture (the overall goals and focus). There is a communications and branding strategy that is in motion, and sometimes it's hard for other staff members to understand that, especially if they weren't involved in the decision-making.
- Don't feel like you have to come to a specific conclusion or make decisions about next steps at the end of your chat with this ministry leader.
- Ask him/her to ponder what you have shared and to consider how his/her ministry can be part of the overall goals and focus of the church.
- Express that you want his/her ministry to be part of the goals. The hope is that everyone will be united and moving in the same direction together as you continue in ministry and communications.
- Set up another time to come together. Discuss this continued processing and potentially some ideas for how his/her ministry will be part of this along with what they need to meet their goals as a ministry moving ahead. In all of this, gently keep asking this ministry leader/team what is "the why" in everything they are doing (ahead of "the what"). Keep asking how their strategy within their ministry area and with their key audiences supports and brings to life the church's overall strategy/priorities (they should be complementary and building with one another).
- Do some internal brainstorming as a communications team. Determine how you can continue to support/include this ministry moving forward.
These steps can turn a frustrating situation into a time to build relationships, gain mutual understanding and come together as a team under a unified strategy.
How have you sought internal buy-in? How did you bring everyone together?
