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Frequently asked questions |
(No we don't own any airplanes.)How are you different?
What services do you offer?
How much does it cost?
How can I maximize cost savings?
What does it mean that you support church planting initiatives?
Can I use my own design and still use your services?
Why use Church Marketing Solutions for printing instead of a commercial vendor?
How are your vendors selected?
What mailing list services are available?
How do I get started?
How did Church Marketing Solutions get started?
How do I contact you?
How are you different?
We know marketing, but ministry is our passion. We are driven to do what we do because we have a conviction that those in the church should be among the most creative communicators on the planet. If we can make a contribution in that direction, our efforts would be worth it.
We should say that there are a lot of groups out there who do parts of what we do, and we partner with several such firms. We do not see this as a competition, but rather as an opportunity to work together to help expose the greatest number of people ever to the best message ever.
In all we do, we value excellence, creativity, effective communication and world-class customer service. We are committed to keeping prices affordable for churches to help them get the best value for their marketing dollar.
We value and seek to support church planting in any and all ways possible—it is part of our DNA.
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What services do you offer?
Church Marketing Solutions offers a wide variety of services designed to help you reach your community:
- Logo / Brand Identity Package
- Logo / Full Identity Package with Stationery
- Brand Strategy and Implementation
- Church Planting Packages
- Web site Design
- Direct Mail Campaigns
- Brochures
- Posters / Banners / Signage
- Consulting / Project Management
- Other Design Services
- Other Print Collateral
- Free Demographics Reporting
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How much does it cost?
It costs exactly the right amount.
That may sound odd, but we want to work with you to come up with a solution that best serves your needs, and your budget. We’ll work with you to determine the scope of your project needs, talk through possible options and then we’ll provide a quote (or will quote several options) to help you make the best decision in your context.
As stated above, we are committed to keeping prices affordable to help you get the best value possible for your dollar. We understand that efficiency in cost will allow you to do more with your communication and we are always looking for opportunities in that regard.
Our method in project planning is to be customer focused rather than product focused. We believe that good stewardship is based on maximizing impact and not solely based on lowest possible cost. Our goal is not to make a profit. Our goal is serve God and to serve you with a business model that is sustainable, scalable and effective.
To get started with a basic quote on a direct mail campaign click here.
For other questions about budget and cost, please give us a call at 866-342-5264. We look forward to the opportunity of working with you!
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How can I maximize cost savings?
Great question. There are three basic things you can do to have a hard dollar positive impact to overall cost.
1) Start early.
We can’t emphasize this one enough. Doubling of project timelines will consistently save you hundreds (perhaps thousands) of dollars each year.
If you start the Easter campaign in January, we can save you money.
Using postcards as an example, one of the things we do to be cost effective is called “Cardpool.” Whenever possible, we “pool” cards from several churches together to increase the volume of cards being printed.
As the volume of cards increases, all churches share in the reduced print cost per card. Our printer benefits from print efficiency so we are able to pass the savings on to you.
Each church can use their unique card design and still benefit from the pool.
Coordinating a large number of postcards from different churches into a print pool is a complex undertaking and it takes time to put it together. We need a longer time to proof all the involved pieces (we can’t print until they are all approved), and we’ll need a window of time to print, instead of pushing it to print as quickly as possible.
Sometimes we can do it, but the tighter the timeline on a project, the less likely we will be able to put it into a pool.
Plus, with significant lead-time, we will have time to guarantee the lowest shipping rates for your mailing as well.
2) Call Your Friends.
Do you know another pastor, church planter or church in your area? Are they doing a campaign in the fall? Are they planning events for Christmas or New Year’s?
Coordinate your printing / mailing projects and you can create your own CardPool. We’ve seen several churches partner in this way and seen them all benefit from the savings in print costs.
The critical factors are not design or location, you can be on opposite sides of the country with completely different cards. But if your timeline is similar, chances are very good we can pool your printing with great results.
3) Design Well.
Take time for the design / concept cycle of your project. Prepare your message with thoughtfulness, excellent writing and great ideas. Rewrite it, rework it, question your communication from a variety of perspectives.
Time to write, reflect and sharpen design will make your piece more effective and will increase the impact of every dollar spent.
If you schedule this part of your project in weeks, not in hours, the time and money spent will be a great investment.
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What does it mean that you support church planting initiatives?
We value church planting and believe that starting new (and reproducing) churches is one of the most effective means to reach the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Church Marketing Solutions was founded by church planters with a passion for helping new churches. We support church planting and church planting organizations directly and through marketing support at every opportunity.
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Can I use my own design and still use your services?
Yes. We actually like to encourage this, simply because your designer will be engaged in the vision and purpose of your church and this will reflect in their design. Please note that there is a small upload fee, as our designers will review the file for print specifications, then upload it to our printer. We can help by providing your designer with exact specifications and format to help with the designing of your own card.
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Why use Church Marketing Solutions for printing instead of a commercial vendor?
We have negotiated reduced prices through our preferred vendors. Because of the high volume of work generated by Church Marketing, our vendors are able to offer Church Marketing better prices than are often available to individual churches. Depending on the size of your print job, you could save significantly compared with standard printing prices.
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How are your vendors selected?
A proven record of low cost, high quality, and solid customer service are requirements in selecting all of our preferred vendors for various services.
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What mailing list services are available?
We can help create a targeted mailing list for a direct mail campaign. Our mail shop will purchase a list for your campaign and label cards with the area that we have helped you select.
But we don’t create or offer mail lists directly. There are companies that specialize in mail lists with complex and customizable criteria that we can recommend if needed.
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How do I get started?
Give us a call toll free at 1-866-342-5264 or request a quote for any sort of project.
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How did Church Marketing Solutions get started?
Church Marketing Solutions was started by a group of church planters from New Life Christian Church in Centreville, Virginia (near Washington D.C.).
In 2000, New Life was extensively involved in direct mail marketing (over 200,000 cards per year). In preparing to double their mailings with the start of a new church campus in early 2001, New Life conducted a detailed review of their marketing process and found significant potential for cost savings.
In that review, they discovered that they were unnecessarily spending thousands of dollars. New Life discovered that an understanding of the postal requirements and taking advantage of all the discounts available in the preparing of direct mail could result in a more effective process.
Through an improved understanding of the postal requirements and the direct mail marketing process, New Life increased their mailings by over 50% for the same cost.
In talking with other churches, New Life found that many churches were having a similar experience in failing to obtain the lowest possible prices when using direct mail marketing.
Church Marketing Solutions emerged from New Life's desire to share their first-hand experience.
We incorporated in the state of Virginia on September 4th, 2001.
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How do I contact you?
Contact us toll free at 1-866-342-5264. Our toll free fax is 1-866-342-5261. Or email us, at:
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