MYTH 1 | IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME…
Probably some of the most deceptive and misused words in Hollywood history, "If you build it, they will come" from the movie "Field of Dreams" is a MYTH. To be honest, I wish this Myth were true. If it were true, our ministries would be packed to the walls with students that are being eternally impacted. Instead, the results we often get for the effort we put in can be demoralizing. This is largely due to the fact that we have bought into this Myth; If we build it, they will come.
The idea is that somehow, just because we took the time to build something, everybody will be excited and rush to see this new and awesome thing we have built. We believe in the back of our minds that the place will be packed, the resource will be gobbled up, the rage about our new idea will be world-changing; ALL SIMPLY BECAUSE WE BUILT IT!
Consider these Mythbusting questions:
- How will they come if they don't know about it?
- Will they come if it doesn't connect with them?
- Will they come if their friends are not coming?
Just because we build something [A new outreach, a new building, a new process, a new social media resource] does not mean that anyone will connect to any of those things. But there are ways we can turn this MYTH into a MUST and get results from the opportunities we build.
Here is where the MYTH becomes MUSTS:
1. Know Before You Build : The research that goes into a product before it ever gets to market is astounding. In 2013, Samsung spent $13.4 Billion dollars are Research and Development. Before one product ever hits the floor, they spend nearly 7% of their revenue just to understand the needs of their customers and how their products will be developed.* How much time are you and your team spending to understand the needs of the students you serve? Building a well-developed product is a MUST to break this MYTH.
2. Build & Test : Probably one of the most amazing examples of product testing I have ever read are the lengths to which Sesame Street went to ensure their programs would connect with kids. At the start of the Children's Television Workshop, researchers would note whether a test group of children were distracted while watching an episode. They would track their attentiveness every 7.5 seconds for an entire episode, logging nearly 400 data points for that particular show. Any segment that returned a less than 50% attention rate was completely reworked.** The ground-breaking success of Sesame Street cannot be argued. Are you testing your effectiveness? What is your measuring tool? What does success look like for you?
3. Make Adjustments : One of the greatest barriers to success is not being willing to make adjustments. It was not enough for Sesame Street to know that a segment was not testing well with the audience, they had to make changes. It is not enough for us to know that something is not working, we have to change stuff up, make adjustments to get better and better. There are two major mistakes many student ministries make when they are not getting results, and I STRONGLY encourage you to avoid both of these.
- KEEP DOING THE SAME THING ASSUMING IT WILL CHANGE: Unless something changes, everything stays the same. If it's not working, change something up. Of course you have to give a new idea time to have an impact, but at some point, if you are not getting results, change it up.
- STOP DOING IT BECAUSE IT'S "NOT WORKING": We also have to watch to not abandon an idea that is just moments from breaking through. This is why knowing your audience, accurately tracking data and measuring your success are so critical.
4. PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE : If you have done your research, you have poured over what success looks like, your team is ready, then the final piece is promoting like your life depends on it…because it does. Remember the first Mythbusting question I posed? "How will they come if they don't know about it?" In today's reality, there is little excuse for not being able to get the word out. Social Media is a HUGE resource for this MUST.
I am convinced that, to be successful, our MYTH: "If you build it, they will come" should actually sound more like this:
"If you research it and test the idea, build it and test it some more, promote it like crazy, keep promoting it like crazy, gather data and make adjustments to your approach, then promote it like crazy even more, they will come."
We would love to hear about what has worked for you, what has not worked, and how you have used these MUSTS to achieve greater impact with your students. Feel free to comment below.
* http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/market-testing
** The Tipping Point | Malcom Gladwell
