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Broadcast
September 2007
5 Minutes with…
BEN WATTS,
Sales and Marketing Director
EasyWorship
By Kevin Rogers Cobus
TFWM: Over your eight years in business, what are the three main factors that have led to your success?
Ben Watts: We really enjoy building lasting relationships with our customers and dealers in a way that puts the attention on God and builds His kingdom. Bringing it down to three specific things… First, EasyWorship’s owner and primary developer, Jeff Taylor, originally noticed that most houses of worship were volunteer based. This kept our team focused on creating a stable product that volunteers would find easy to use. Second, a number of quality dealers began to promote and sell EasyWorship around the world. Their hard work and belief in our product have been a major contributor to our momentum. Third, and most importantly, the real staying power behind EasyWorship’s growth has been the way Jeff and other leaders have modeled the heart of God day to day. In our marketing campaigns, the way we treat our customers and dealers, and our internal culture, these guys constantly remind us to keep the focus on giving God the glory and serving the church.
TFWM: Of the features in your product, which have been the most successful with churches and why?
BW: Every time we demonstrate EasyWorship at a conference, we look forward to seeing the look on a pastor or worship leader’s face when they see the quality of our text over live video and motion backgrounds. It’s the “A-Ha!” moment when they realize this kind of technology is within their reach. They also get excited when they realize that they don’t have to ditch hundreds of PowerPoint files they’ve created. They love the fact that EasyWorship imports .ppt and .pps files with numbered thumbnail support and then allows them to play, on click, all of the animations and transitions they’ve created for each slide.
TFWM: How is customer service for the HOW market evolving and how is Easy Worship responding to these changes?
BW: More and more Houses of Worship are investing in projectors, computers, mixers, and other multi-media gear in order to enhance their worship experiences. And even though EasyWorship is just one piece of the puzzle, our customer support team has been known to help customers with audio/video issues unrelated to EasyWorship. By retaining an experienced support team and by forging relationships with key audio/video dealers, we are able to help customers in these situations and direct them to knowledgeable companies who can meet their needs.
TFWM: What are typical problems a HOW would face that your products would solve?
BW: The majority of churches cannot afford the expensive equipment needed to display text over video. EasyWorship gives these churches a solution that is affordable without compromising quality. Another problem is that song lyrics and Bible translations are fragmented in multiple locations that have to be migrated to a common platform for display, e.g., PowerPoint. EasyWorship solves this by storing lyrics and Bible translations in a database, allowing users to search for a song or scripture and then drag-and-drop it into a non-linear presentation schedule that can be changed “on the fly”. Another time saver is EasyWorship’s Song Select Lyric Service. If users have an existing account with CCLI, they can log into their account from EasyWorship’s interface and immediately import song lyrics and copyright information to their song database. No typing required.
TFWM: Have you been receiving specific requests from churches that are driving new product development?
BW: The biggest request we get, hands down, is for a Mac version. No dates or promises at this point, but we are exploring it, and everything we’re developing now and in the future will be done in a way that is sensitive to a Mac version. Also, many of our international dealers and pastors are ready for a version of EasyWorship in their language. Translating the software and all of its documentation will be a huge task in upcoming years, but we believe the benefit it will bring to the church worldwide is worth the effort.
TFWM: What can houses of worship expect from Easy Worship in the next 2-3 years?
BW: Our development and design teams are in the process of re-building EasyWorship from the ground up. A primary focus over the next 2 years will be multi-byte support. Not just to provide Bible translations in other languages, but to make EasyWorship available to churches around the world in their native languages. And everything we’re doing right now from a code standpoint is sensitive to Mac compatibility, which we’re currently exploring. Houses of worship can also expect to see a presentation slide designer emerge soon. Current customers and onlookers know we’ve been working on this for a while, but the goal is a product that will compete at the level of Microsoft’s PowerPoint and Apple’s Keynote while meeting the specific needs of the church environment.
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