I want to start with an explanation and end with an apology. As a veteran of the A/V/L industry and the house of worship market as a former pastor, I wanted to express my thoughts on how a very small group of the overall church community has been lacking in attitude and actions towards the […]
We do our best to help you sell into the house of worship market, but sometimes you have to know which churches you shouldn’t try to sell. Chances are, you’ve experienced this: the “cheap church.” Understanding the church buyer sentiment is one of the new columns written expressly for those in the A/V/L industry who […]
It’s obvious that I love helping churches. The columns here in rAVe provide years of insight and experience in the hopes of helping manufacturers, systems integrators, rep firms and A/V/L dealers understand — and profit in — the house of worship market. I’ve shared about the future of the church space in previous articles about […]
There’s a booming segment of the house of worship market that is led by young, tech-saavy pastors looking to leverage audio, video and lighting in creative ways. This group is made up of new churches starting from scratch or new churches launched by either a “sending” church or denomination, with some funding to help kick […]
You made the sale to a church, then you moved on to the next sale. Hey, that’s the sales cycle, right? Yes, but it’s not the customer experience cycle, which is the real paradigm that affects your ability to make future sales. The importance of taking care of customers who have invested into your brand […]
Shiny things get our attention, but usually more as a distraction than as a valuable use of our time. Marketing, it seems, often leans towards this bent with the promise of “better, faster, cheaper.” But what if the point of marketing was for serving the user instead of just pandering to the user? Two articles […]
It’s safe to say that just about everyone researching a product or company likes a good case study. The story. The context. The technology. Oh yeah: the marketing spin. Have you noticed that the majority of “case studies” covered in today’s trade publications are more hype and pull quotes than meaningful examples of need/challenge/solution? Surely […]
In the not-too-distant past, I knew of a systems integrator that boldly listed their “Top 10” clients on the back of their sales sheets. They were 10 churches that most pastors in the house of worship market would know. All were previous clients of this firm. The implied assertion of listing these ten churches was […]
Who do you sell to at a church? Who are the influencers and who makes the final budget decisions? From senior pastors to tech directors to volunteer leaders, churches have a wide range of influencers, recommenders and decision-makers. It’s important to understand when you’re talking to a buyer — or not — when working with […]
The forward march of technology has usually meant faster, better, cheaper. In addition to this axiom is a near-future trend for the house of worship market: immersive venues. When was the last time you sat with a close friend, in close proximity, for a very personal conversation? As your mind recalls this moment, chances are […]
Did you notice the word “church” in the company name below the person’s name on their InfoComm badge? A lot of churches showed up at InfoComm to see what’s next on the technology horizon that they can fit into their budgets for the next fiscal year. And a lot of them left with the Post-Infocomm […]
A presenter. A presentation. Audio. Video. Lights. Control. This is the staple scenario for corporate, education, government and military applications in our industry. In the house of worship market, it looks identical. A pastor. A sermon. Audio. Video. Lights. But no control. In any other market, giving the presenter a control solution — from a […]
What started in 1981 as a 23 person weekly Bible study above a local bank is now the 2,500 member Family Harvest Church (FHC). Based in Tinley Park, IL, FHC is a multiracial, multi generational and nondenominational church that prides itself on using technology to keep the community informed and connected, as well as gain new […]
In today’s rANts and rAVe’s, Gary Kayye interviews rAVe HOW [House of Worship] columnist Anthony Coppedge to get an update on where the house of worship market is. And, he not only offers tools and tips for selling systems to churches and other houses of worship, but also explains the value proposition pitch to the […]
It’s been said that video without lighting is just radio. The point being that it takes great lighting to make great video and a story isn’t complete without compelling audio (most of the time, at least). With YouTube stats setting records every year, we’re clearly a video-obsessed culture here in North America. It is no […]
By Anthony D. Coppedge House of Worship Technology Consultant The traditional sales pipeline and funnel effect says that the bigger the funnel at the top, the bigger the pipeline of leads. I’m not going to argue “sales physics,” but I will say that there is a unique dynamic in the house of worship market when […]
The House of Worship, or “church market,” is one of the least understood and underserved vertical segments of the audio/video/lighting industry. Over the years, manufacturers and systems integrators have had a wide range of experiences with many of the varying denominations and associate this market with a 1950’s view of church. However, of the approximately […]
