Starbucks is Stupid: The Boiled Peanuts Sales Model - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media, and Strategy Blog

Seth Godin, a marketing guru with an actual working brain, recently shared a funny story about a hobby shop near his home. It could've been the coolest little model train retailer in the land. But the owners are quickly settling into general store mediocrity. According to their billboard, model train fans are also interested in coffee and lottery tickets.

My local version of the sell-everything, lost in the shuffle store, actually lists boiled peanuts as one of their staples. Did I miss the Jimmy Carter comeback tour? Has half of Georgia migrated south to the Tampa metro area? Nope. But just in case you get a hankering, rest assured that boiled peanuts are always available there. Pig's feet and hummus distributors are reported to be in talks with the store as we speak...

Over the last few years, Starbucks has fallen victim to this boiled peanuts sales model. Instead of focusing on their core offering--coffee--and building loyalty & customer affinity around the fruit of the bean, Starbucks has diluted their brand to the extreme.

SBUX now sells breakfast sandwiches which overpower that classic fresh ground coffee smell and clutters their stores with a literal boatload of overpriced CDs, DVDs, teddy bears, candy, bottled smoothies, and even picnic sets. Did I mention they also sell all the requisite coffee/hot drink crap--including coffee mugs, coffee pots, press pots big and small, travel mugs, tea sets, and tea bags?!?

Exit CEO Jim Donald. Enter Starbucks founder Howard Schultz.

Like every good former Starbucks drone, I know that back in the 1980s Schultz saw the coffee house revolution coming and bought out his Starbucks partners, who wanted to keep their stores a simple coffee and tea wholesaler. The rest is capitalist history...

Upon his return in January, Schultz confessed that Starbucks had strayed from its coffee core and promised a quick return thereto (and to the profitability that comes with it). That's easier said than done, but Schultz recently showed his java resolve by closing all North American Starbucks stores for three hours, for the sole purpose of indoctrinating, er, educating baristas about the wonders of the bean. I'll keep you posted on their progress...

In the meantime, think about your ministry or business and how to avoid the boiled peanuts model.

For ministries, your job is to bring glory to God and tell everyone about the good news of Jesus Christ. That is, that Jesus was God and that He lived, died, and rose again, just as He promised. And you're to encourage folks to walk with Him who is not just a mere good teacher or the ticket to your best life now. Jesus Christ is truly, to steal from the late great Francis Schaeffer, the God who is there. If you're not proclaiming as much, Scripture says you are missing the mark.

Likewise you business owners/execs should learn from Starbucks' mistakes and streamline your product mix. And cut ventures that detract or distract from your core competencies.

One last story...A friend of mine is an extremely successful architect in a major U.S. city. His main office is located in an uber-cool, turn-of-the-century brick building that once served as a train depot. In fact, box car tracks still run past the loading dock. Very cool, indeed.

One day I asked my friend if he owned the building. Though he certainly had the money to buy it, he said no. When I asked why he didn't own the building, my friend put it bluntly: he isn't in the real estate business.

So I ask you: what business are you in? Are you in the coffee business? Then why are you diluting your brand by making movies about spelling bee champions? Are you in the model train business? Then why are you advertising lotto tickets?

Think about why you're in business and hone your offerings accordingly. Scripture says a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. It's just as true for business as it is for ministry and walking with Christ.

Starbucks is Stupid...Dunkins Donuts is Ingenious - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

Yesterday my beautiful hunk of Detroit steel needed new tires and an alignment fix, thus I was forced to hole up in Dunkin Donuts for a couple of hours. As I sipped my blueberry coffee (yes, I pollute my coffee on occasion) and gazed upon the bright but not too bright Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins ice cream shop color scheme, it hit me again: Starbucks is stupid and Dunkin Donuts is ingenious.

Don't get me wrong. I love Starbucks! I became addicted to the "bucks" after a stint there in college. From then on, I've taken great pleasure in converting friends to the glories of the true fruit of the bean. But, as you may have heard, Starbucks is hemorrhaging money like a wounded animal. In fact, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz recently returned as CEO in hopes of righting their cash cow.

In a nutshell, Dunkin Donuts--which sells 40,000 cups of coffee/week--is succeeding because they keep trying and remain humble. New product rollouts, discounts, fun promotions, and brilliant marketing that pokes fun at Starbucks, all conspire to build group identity and loyalty among their customers. Not so with Starbucks.

Even when I worked at Starbucks way back when, they were arrogant. They discontinued frequent shopper cards because "Starbucks is a premium brand." Affinity groups were unnecessary. Four dollars was a bargain for a latte. And forcing customers to pay T-Mobile for in-store internet access was part of the privilege of being a Starbucks customer. Then their stock tanked, free-falling from a high of nearly $40/share in May, 2006 to yesterday's close at $17.99.

I hope you know what this cautionary tale has to do with your ministry or Christian business.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is extraordinarily clear: "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:14) The Psalmist chimes in likewise: "You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty." (Psalm 18:27) As with the Apostle Peter: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time." (I Peter 5:6)

Think about yourself and your ministry or Christian company. Are you trusting God or are you arrogantly enjoying the successes He's brought your way and congratulating yourself for the same?

Proverbs 28:26a tells us, "Whoever trusts in himself is a fool." Where is your trust? Is it in Christ Jesus our only Hope? Or are you reveling in your own greatness?

If you're arrogant, repent. If you're legitimately seeking Christ and for His Spirit to work through you to exalt the Father and expand His kingdom, then pray that He keeps you on the straight and narrow.

Tomorrow I'll discuss the watering down of the Starbucks brand and core offerings and their implications for your ministries and Christ-centered businesses.

The New Indiana Jones Movie and Your Ministry - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

Go with me here...

As many of you may know, a new Indiana Jones movie is coming out this summer. It apparently features 60-something American actor Harrison Ford pushing around a walker and popping arthritis medication, as he battles the bad guys in an action-packed adventure for the whole family. Kidding...

Actually, I have no idea what the plot is for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. But that's not the point. I mention the movie to point out how they're promoting the film with great success and how you can use the same tactic to advertise your ministry or Christian business.

Say it with me: widget. A widget is a simple little tool that can be easily placed on blogs, websites, and elsewhere, that promotes something and is able to be shared with others. Notice the widget on the left of this post, offering you a chance to chip in a few dollars/pounds/rubles to support the Lucky Rock (your author's non-profit ministry).

The Indiana Jones marketing folks, geniuses that they are, created a trailer and then hired a company to make a widget out of it. The result--literally millions of people have watched the trailer! In fact, on the heels of the mind-boggling success of the first preview, they're now putting out a second trailer via widget. Read the Hollywood Reporter story about it here.

"I think the reason that studios are excited about widgets is that word-of-mouth and buzz is what Hollywood is after all the time," said Peggy Fry, senior vp sales and client services at Clearspring. "If you think about it, what a widget is, it's a digital version of word-of-mouth."

Now consider your ministry or Christian business. Do you have sermon audio, testimonials, video, music, or other content? What about links to key info on your website such as model homes, tax advice, investment insights, etc? You may not have all the advance buzz of the latest Hollywood blockbuster. But you likely have a group of partner ministries, supporters, or contractors that would be willing to help spread the word.

You can build a widget out of just about anything. And the cool thing about widgets is that pretty much anyone can copy and place them on other websites and blogs...the very definition of viral marketing!

I hear a bunch of you saying, "Hold the phone! How in the world do I build a widget?" That's where SproutBuilder comes in. I blogged about it extensively here.

Sprout is a free, web-based service (meaning the interface is online like Hotmail and others), that allows you to build, store, and publish slideshows, audio jukeboxes, link lists, and a bunch of other media. Log onto SproutBuilder.com, sign up for a free account today, and start building. If enough of you ask for it, I'll soon post a SproutBuilder tutorial.

Think about what your ministry or Christian business offers. Then think about how you can make it go viral.

Say it with me...widget.

Another Thing About Story Blogging - Ministry & Business Marketing and Strategy Blog

Yesterday I offered some quick tips on how to tell your ministry or Christian business story through blogs -- story blogging. To take it a step further, you can, in fact, dedicate an entire blog to just success stories or testimonials about your organization.

Case in point, check out the Crown Financial Ministries True Financial Freedom Stories blog. I volunteer with Crown here in Tampa, Florida and I built the site to showcase all that the Lord continues to do through Crown to help folks manage money and their whole lives, God's way. The blog features testimonials, audio from Crown's daily Money Matters show, and links to key Crown websites including giving opportunities.

How could you build a similar blog for your ministry or Christian business? Or how could you incorporate some of these elements in your existing website?

Don't just relay bland facts and figures (service times, location, etc.). Communicate the Holy Spirit's work through you as evidenced by changed lives. For you Christian business owners, convey your biblically-inspired honesty, hard work, and excellence as experienced by your many satisfied customers.

Happy Story Blogging...

Telling Your Story...through Blogging - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

By now most of you have heard about the wonders of blogging. Since you're reading this, you've obviously seen a blog and have some idea of what it's about. You may even read many blogs per day or week.

For those of you operating Christian ministries and Christian businesses, blogs can be a great way to tell your story and to steer what's said about you online. Notice I said "steer," not "control." Control of what's said about you online and your media, long ago went the way of Bill Clinton's virtue. So how exactly do you use blogs to tell your story and steer what's said about you, to the glory of God?

Here are some simple tips...

1) What are you passionate about? What gets you up in the morning/keeps you up at night? What has God led you to do about it? Blog about these things. Your vision and values drive your work and talking about them is a great way to communicate your niche in Christ's kingdom.

2) How do you accomplish your work? Do you teach English as a second language, provide food and shelter, or preach the gospel through media? Blog about it. Your philosophy of ministry -- both in your approach to the lost and those who know Christ, and the nuts and bolts of advancing Christ's kingdom (such as broadcasts and/or building projects) are part and parcel to your unique place in the Body of Christ. Tell others about it.

3) Facts and figures. Without going into gory detail, give folks an idea of the size of your ministry, your financial needs, your impact, etc. You'll usually want to weave facts and figures into an overall narrative which includes the things mentioned above and...

4) Action steps. What do you want people to do about it? You can mention your wish list in your blog posts and communicate the same through links to other important pages. You could also show an attractive ministry graphic or link to a page of testimonies from folks whom the Lord has blessed through your work, with an accompanying donation or prayer chain link.

Not coincidentally, these blogging essentials comprise what should be included in almost all of your ministry communications. Vision & values, philosophy, facts & figures, and action steps should be a part of nearly every letter, email, and promo video you send (with exceptions made for personal thank you notes and the like).

One last thing...I mentioned the value of blogging for steering what's said about you online. Telling your story through the above steps, by the work of the Holy Spirit, will help friends and potential partners see the value of the Lord's work through you and compel them to jump on board. On the flip side, telling your story through blogging will also dampen the impact of false or misleading information disseminated online by folks who don't have your best interests, much less the Lord's will, in mind. Assuming that your ministry is actually biblical, click here for more on defensive blogging.

Christian business owners should approach blogging in much the same way. Use online storytelling to interest folks in your business, set yourselves apart, and bring in new customers -- to the glory of God.

If you already write a blog, but you realize that it's in serious trouble -- either in appearance and content, check out this post on revamping your ministry website. Happy blogging...

Proxiblaster BlueTooth Ministry Update - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

One of my maxims in delivering my oh-so-brilliant thoughts to the world is that I will be equal parts practitioner and theorist. Hence, I ordered the Proxiblaster BlueTooth hardware and software that I recently blogged about.

I've also started building ads using the free, online Sprout Builder. I'll be sure to keep you posted on my personal case study with Blue Tooth ministry and evangelism.

If you have any questions as you dive into BlueTooth, send 'em my way. If you're wondering what in the blue blazes I'm talking about, check out this quick primer.

Before I go, let me offer one more Blue Tooth marketing idea for Christian businesses. Realty! With BlueTooth proximity marketing, your flier box will never again be empty! Blue Tooth prospective buyers simple property info including square footage, price, and more. FYI, I found a company offering to set up this service for realtors. But it's so easy, I recommend you just buy the hardware/software and Blue Tooth without outside help.

Happy BlueToothing...

I Almost Forgot...Sprout Also Comes with Stat Tracking! - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

One more thing about Sprout--the incredible new web-based program for easily creating cool content for your website, email newsletters and more.

Sprout also features click-tracking for every project. Thus, a media player featuring your own custom graphics, such as the one found at the top-left on the new Crown True Financial Freedom Stories blog, takes just a few minutes to build with Sprout and allows you to accurately gauge visitor interest and tweak your offerings accordingly.

What are you waiting for? Sign up for a free account today and Sprout some cool new content, to the glory of God!

Has Your Ministry Sprouted Lately? - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

I know, strange headline. But the question pertains to a new technology that you don't have to possess an advanced computer sciences degree or be the church "techie-in-residence" to use to greatly impact your ministry.

Sprout is a new web-based program from the makers of ChipIn. ChipIn produces cool widgets to enable folks to give to ministries and other non-profits online. See the eye-popping Chip-In widget to the left of this post, through which you can give to Lucky Rock Ministries and keep this blog rolling. Check out a short video of the Sprout Builder demo launch here.

Sprout is nothing short of awesome! If you're like me, you want to create cool, interactive stuff for your website, emails and more that the Spirit might use to push believers and non-believers alike toward Christ. Unfortunately, even the best software, such as Flash CS3 doesn't make it easy to create "rich content." Thus, most ministry folks are left out in the cold.

Enter Sprout.

Sprout allows you to build jukeboxes, slideshows and other cool stuff through a simple drag-and-drop interface. Sprout even allows you to upload "assets" such as pictures, music files and sermon audio/video. For an example of what you, yes you, can do in just a few minutes with Sprout, check out the audio player found at the top-left of the recently-created Crown True Financial Freedom Stories blog.

Some of you more tech-savvy readers will find Sprout doesn't let you do all the really cool Flash fly-ins, etc. But Sprout isn't for the ministry tech gurus who know ActionScript, Flex, and Flash. It's for folks who want to create cool content on the fly.

Though Sprout is still in beta-testing, this program delivers. I strongly encourage you to sign up for a free account today and have some fun. And if enough of you ask for it, I'll soon post a mini Sprout tutorial.

Sprout often. . .

Why You Should Care About Big News from Google at the Mobile World Congress - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

As I watched to this morning to a video featuring Google's VP of Mobile, my wife asked me why I'm interested in what's happening in emerging mobile markets. So why should we, as those seeking God's glory and to advance His kingdom, care about what's happening with techno growth? I'll get to that question in a second...

One oversized piece of news from Google out of this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is that IPhone users are accessing Google's web searches 50 times as much as those without the IPhone! Google's VP of Mobile explains why in the clip linked above. Also in the clip is news that Google anticipates mobile search to overtake PC-based search in the next several years. The takeaway for ministries: mobile is and will be a huge mission field/equipping territory going forward and you should plan your ministry accordingly (including subscribe by cell phone, Blue Tooth alerts, handheld bible study tools, and more).

Back to my wife's question...Why should we care about what's happening in emerging technologies? Because knowing what's coming & getting ahead of the curve should afford us an incredible opportunity to plan and successfully execute ministry, for God' glory!

You may be thinking, "I'm the pastor of a small church in the middle of Indiana. What does a Chinese mobile provider have to do with me?" Let me answer your question with a few questions of my own.

Do you support missionaries? Do you pray for & give to overseas ministries, or plan to do so in the near future? Wouldn't it be in keeping with Jesus' command to be "wise as serpents" for you to be able to better evaluate ministries in China, India, Africa, and beyond, based on their use of mobile technologies that are exploding in those locales?

For you parachurch leaders, what are you doing to tap the burgeoning mobile market? Are you delivering ministry alerts to members' cell phones? Are you Blue Tooth broadcasting at major events and on Sunday mornings?

The bottom line for this blog and the Lucky Rock ministry is to bring glory to God by "equipping the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the Body of Christ," primarily through better ministry strategy, with a special focus on staying ahead of the technology/marketing game and directing ministry accordingly. Don't let your ministry lag and don't fool yourself into thinking it's too hard to keep up. God will supply all the wisdom & insight you need and He will provide the human resources (including yours truly) to capitalize on the incredible tools at our disposal to spread the good news of our great God and King, Jesus Christ.

Try reading your Bible with forward thinking in mind and start praying about how to revamp your ministry to more efficiently build people in Christ and make new disciples. Then subscribe to our blog, link to us, and tell others about how they too can "get 'er done" for Jesus Christ.

PS: One more Blue Tooth broadcasting idea...For major evangelistic events such as Luis Palau Festival or other mass gatherings, why not broadcast Blue Tooth invites to the surrounding community throughout your activity? If you really want to go nuts, you could set up Blue Tooth units at large participating churches, which would help spread the word beyond the immediate vicinity of your venue. This would be especially strategic if your conference spans several days.

Your Website - Is It The Taj Mahal Nobody Knows About? - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

One of my biggest frustrations as a sometime web designer and full-time ministry consultant is the near-universal tendency of ministries to spend all of their web budget on a killer-looking site that nobody outside of their members/friends ever sees. Ministries usually don't realize that optimizing their sites to be picked up by the major search engines, especially Google, is just as important as building a fabulous web home.

Before I dive into quick fixes for your website search rankings, let me say that search engine optimization (SEO) is not just about adding a couple of things to your site and watching it zoom. You must feature a solid amount of content people actually want, organized in a way that's easy to navigate and keeps people coming back for more. That said, and no offense to the SEO pros reading this, you can make some simple changes to your website that will make it pop in search engines. How do I know? Because these changes have done wonders for me.

1) Page title. Check out the top navigation bar in Internet Explorer or Firefox the next time you visit one of your favorite websites. It doesn't just list the organization name; it describes the ministry. Churches should include their geographical area, ministry distinctives, and denomination. Parachurches should detail their location (if pertinent) and ministry focus, in general terms like "Evangelize Africa," or "Feed America's Poor". Keep your title to just two or three key phrases that people are most likely to use when searching for your kind of website, then list your ministry name.

2) Description and meta tags. For those of you who don't know, meta tags, often in the form of keywords, feed information about your website content to all the search engines and crawlers that visit you.

I can't tell you how many times SEO experts have declared, "Meta tags are dead!" If that's the case, why do all of the best-optimized websites still use them? List the keywords that describe your ministry, such as "Orange County Baptist Church, biblical teaching, poor ministry, financial ministry, web ministry, web outreach, free plumber, free auto repairs." As with your page title, the trick is to use keywords and phrases that people are most likely to punch in when searching for your website.

3) Label all your photos. You do have lots of high-quality photos that tell your ministry story, don't you? Use alt tags to label all of your ministry photos.

Search engines don't read photos, they read text. And alt tags give Google and friends something to chew on and will pop up if your photos don't load. Consider tags such as "Heights Calvary Chapel in Chicago city-wide baptism," or "new Northpoint Atlanta community center opening."

4) Make your site contagious. Offer ways for people to subscribe by email, mobile, rss reader, and whatever else and be sure to include means for people to forward your page to friends by email, text message, etc. "Viral" websites get linked to more often, which leads to hire search engine rankings. Which brings me too...

5) You like me. You really like me! Links are a great way to boost your search engine ranking. In search engine-think, if other sites like you, you must be important. If you support or partner with other ministries, be sure to swap links with them. And if you have a blog, list it on all the major blog search engines (put in a Google search to find them).

Hopefully these tips will greatly improve your site's visibility and ministry reach. (For quick fixes to your website itself, check out this recent post.)

If you implement these changes and they work for you, I'd love to hear about it. In that event, I'd also love for you to send a few bucks our way so we can help other ministries.

I freely invite any SEO pros to add their suggestions/corrections via commenting on this blog. Let's work together to improve ministry websites, to bring God glory and advance His Kingdom...

Internet Evangelism Day - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

Quickly...Check out the Internet Evangelism Day website. Though they obviously focus on a once-a-year push for web-based ministry, IED also offers great resources on all sorts of ways to use technology in ministry. Enjoy.

I'll post another column later today...

Blue Tooth Location-Based Mobile Ministry - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

What in the Wide World of Sports is Blue Tooth, location-based mobile ministry? It's a means of effectively reaching folks that is easy to accomplish and could absolutely revolutionize your ministry impact. In a nutshell, Blue Tooth broadcasting (BTB) through a simple USB adapter or through a Blue Tooth transmitter, will allow any computer to become a broadcast hub for your ministry.

Though I'm still in the midst of feverish research and gathering price quotes, I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am about the ministry prospects of Blue Tooth broadcasting. For all you techno-challenged folks like me, let's briefly survey the technology involved with BTB. Then I'll offer a few ideas for using Blue Tooth broadcasting in your ministry.

Thankfully, the technology involved in BTB is quite minimal. Basically you need a Blue Tooth dongle (a silly word, indeed) or a Blue Tooth adapter, and software to run an ad campaign to folks within range of your transmission. The BT transmitter sends out a signal to any passers-by with Blue Tooth devices and lets them know that content is available. If recipients opt-in, then they'll get your ministry info, links to websites, coupons, and more (the possibilities are pretty much endless).

Proxiblaster has the best deal I've found for Blue Tooth ad software ($129) and they offer a n affordable long-range dongle (range up to 900 feet for $129). They also sell relatively cheap software that will run campaigns on multiple computers ($199). No, I don't work for Proxiblaster; they're simply the best BTB solution I've found thus far.

Onto the ministry possibilities...

With Blue Tooth your church could:

1) Send church invites and evangelistic info with web links to folks in your neighborhood.
2) Give attendees the opportunity to learn more about specific ministries, without their ever having to stop by a ministry table or fill out an interest survey. Blue Tooth could be especially helpful during ministry fairs and serving-focused teaching series.
3) Offer coupons for discounts at your church bookstore/coffee shop.
4) Send missions updates, prayer requests, and more to interested members.
5) Broadcast church info to folks visiting your church for a major outside event (concerts, bible conferences, etc.).

For ministries who regularly host conferences & events, you could:

1) Gather contact info through a simple form Blue-Toothed to a attendees. As a former fundraiser and event organizer, I know follow-up is an incredible challenge after ministry dinners and conferences. Folks who are jazzed up/thrilled/inspired at events, often fail to provide their contact info/avoid you like the plague after an event. Not anymore. With BTB, you could capture their contact info, interests, and maybe even donations at the event!

2) Blue Tooth a simple menu that allows folks to choose the ministry(ies) they'd most like to receive info on. If you've got a new project requiring funding for personnel, technology, and more, you could recruit folks to give to those things they're most interested in. Or if you're running many different ministries with diverse focuses and goals, you could use Blue Tooth to capture attendees most interested in specific projects/ministries.

A few closing thoughts...

In case you missed it, BTB is permission-based. Folks have to opt-in to receive content. You won't just be spamming them into oblivion.

No more "kitchen sink" follow-up letters. Through BTB you'll already know what the folks you're writing to are most passionate about. Rather than throw all your projects into your ask letter and hope something jumps out at them. BTB should empower you to highlight specific opportunities they've already expressed interest in and perhaps even help you tailor the gift amount you seek.

Best practices worth mentioning. Proxiblaster also offers an informative guide to BTB content. Among their tips, they suggest you keep file sizes to 10k or less and post signage letting folks know they can receive your Blue Tooth content.

I'll keep you posted as I dive deeper into BTB. If you're already using Blue Tooth location-based marketing, I'd love to hear about your successes and failures.

Read the next installment in this series here.

Happy Blue Toothing...