Call us now on: (01908) 239971
Call us now on: (01908) 239971
Milton Keynes Christian Centre (MKCC) is a rapidly growing church in Milton Keynes that welcomes people from every culture and background. However, reaching people who are new to the area presents its own challenge
In a modern, fast-moving city, this challenge was best met by a presence on the internet. It would allow potential visitors to learn something of the church before making a decision to attend or get involved in any activities or services.
MKCC’s previous online presence was simply some basic information on MK Web that pointed potential visitors to the right venue, but it didn’t explain what the church was all about. MKCC wanted potential visitors to have some experience of the church before even walking in the door.
The Centre also runs The Ultimate Event, an annual event at Alton Towers that attracts 12,000 young people. The administration of the event was proving difficult, with staff and a large team of volunteers struggling to keep up with telephone enquiries and ticket sales. It was clear that a website could really help relieve the administrative burden in managing the event, as well as help market and promote the event itself.
Pastor Billie Ritchie set about trying to find someone to help create two separate websites to start to make a difference for the church.
Prominent Media came highly recommended, and Billie met with Iain Row, managing director and senior web developer, to talk through some ideas.
“I was worried that if I was at the mercy of those with more knowledge, I might be sold a sledge hammer to crack a nut,” says Billie. “We didn’t have crazy amounts of money to throw at it, and I was keen not to spend any more than was really needed. The site needed to start small. Iain understood what we wanted and talked directly to our concerns. He also understood fully about the cost issue.”
Billie also wanted to make sure that he had regular communication with the person actually creating the site and that he could talk to that person at a non-technical level.
As a small company with a proven track record, Prominent Media offers both reliability and personal attention, which was perfect for this project.
Iain instantly saved MKCC substantial financial outlay by building a simple website that had the capability to grow in stages. This meant the Centre could spread the cost and allow the site to evolve to suit the needs of the church and the wider community. The site started as an online brochure that could communicate information to the 700 people who attend the church.
Prominent Media also created a separate website, www.ultimateevents.org.uk, to publicise The Ultimate Event, including FAQ’s and event details, etc. Again, this site was initially a brochure, but its impact was substantial. Staff and volunteers were spending less time fielding phone calls because people could find the information they needed in seconds on the site.
Both websites – developed, managed and maintained by Prominent Media – have now grown into dynamic resources. Those initial brochure sites are now fully-fledged marketing and administrative tools, promoting the right image for the organisation and significantly reducing the demands on staff and the need for so many volunteers.
MKCC maintains an average of 4,000 visits per month and Ultimate Events attracts 12,000 visitors. The sites are interactive, allowing visitors to purchase tickets for events, contact the church, subscribe to an e-zine and download videos, literature and podcasts. 60% of tickets for www.ultimateevents.org.uk are now bought online.
Prominent Media and MKCC continue to work together to develop each project further.
“We’ve always been very happy about the way it all works. We can have a discussion about what we want to do and where we want to go with the sites. Then Iain gives us a costing and we make a decision. It’s useful to maintain a relationship with the same company as the websites grow.”
Both sites are continually changing to meet the challenging needs of the Centre. In the future, more e-commerce options will be added to the MKCC site to allow online giving and the purchase of products.
Eventually, MKCC will have even more control over the content so that individual content contributors can log in and change the information they personally manage. This is part of the plan to give the site back to the church community, but with continued support from Prominent Media.
Bill Ritchie, Ultimate Events“We’ve always been very happy about the way it all works. We can have a discussion about what we want to do and where we want to go with the sites. Then Iain gives us a costing and we make a decision. It’s useful to maintain a relationship with the same company as the websites grow.””