This morning I was reading an article over at Church Relevance, in which he gives this quote from Robert Stephens, founder of Geek Squad:
“Marketing is a tax you pay for being unremarkable.”
To understand the quote, you must realize that by marketing he’s talking about promotion: the ads, flyers, radio spots, etc.
This quote gave me a catalyst to begin thinking about something else. Recently, Starbucks launched their first TV advertisements here in the US. But consider what Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks and idol of caffeine addicts everywhere, said just a decade ago:
“By its very nature, national advertising fuels fears about ubiquity.”
Starbucks themselves have said that national ads state ubiquity. In choosing to run these ads, Starbucks has established themselves as the McDonalds of the coffee industry. They’ve gone back on their ideals, what made them remarkable. Starbucks was held up as the poster child that word-of-mouth is better than any TV ad or billboard, especially if you get your words into the right mouths. They can’t claim that title anymore. Their rapid growth has caused a decline in quality.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d still choose Starbucks over any other coffee place, and it’s still a very awesome, remarkable coffee shop. But they’ve fallen below what caused them to be remarkable: being better than everyone else at what they do. So now they have to pay the “marketing tax” to maintain the hold they have. They’ve gotten too ubiquitous, and feel comfortable where they are, a dangerous place for any business to be.
A ministry that is remarkable will get people talking, no doubt. A one time remarkable thing won’t cut it though. You’ve got to provide a consistent pattern of remarkability, or you’ll get a word-of-mouth blitz, then see a sharp decline. Find out what works. What works in LA (Los Angeles) may not work in LA (Louisiana). What works at the church next door may not work for you. Don’t become ubiquitous. Allow yourself to push boundaries, go beyond, and find out your potential. Do something uncomfortable. Because the way I see it, remarkable is the only way to keep your ministry alive.
Evan I truly enjoyed this post and couldn’t agree more. I too love my Starbucks as well, actually my wife is a shift manager there as well.
While I agree with what you are saying, the dangerous thing is that most children’s ministry leaders will read this and translate “being remarkable” to having “stuff” that impresses rather than having substance, connection and community. Too many times, we in the children’s ministry world spend so much time, effort and money on trying to have the biggest and most impressive environments, curriculum, toys, etc. but the substance is left behind. Don’t get me wrong… the “stuff” is OK unless it overshadows the substance. Substance is what makes a CM remarkable. Community is what makes a CM remarkable. Meeting the spiritual needs of the families in your church is what makes a CM remarkable. The rest is just taxes.
Henry, you make a great point. That’s kind of what I was trying to get at by saying that remarkable is not “flash-in-the-pan”. Remarkable lasts longer than a flashy set, great graphics, or amazing music. It’s an endurable theory, not an object. We’ve been given a charge to keep, and that is to be our mission. If we can adhere to that, we will be remarkable.
That is Starbucks issue right now. They’ve put away “customer first, at any cost” to “cost first, at any loss of customer”. You are constantly marketing yourself. Every detail is giving an impression of you. Never assume you have a second chance, because you might not.
Henry, I do totally agree with you. Great addition!