When guests give you their names, follow up immediately
When guests give you their names, follow up immediately | by CGM Staff Writer
Marketers will tell you that Monday is the most important day of the week because it sets the sales tone for the week. Business strategists will tell you Monday is the most important day of the week because it’s your most productive day. Church leaders might not know it, but Monday is actually the most important day of the week for churches, too. Why?
Guests who attend your church need a way to provide you their names. Perhaps you get their information from a visitor-information card or your church app. In whatever way you collect it, the most important thing is to do something with it.
Typically, church life operates from Sunday to Sunday, so a church staff is always looking to the next Sunday. Many of us give a sigh of relief on Mondays. Some church offices are even closed on Mondays because we think in terms of a seven-day cycle.
The people who attend our churches don’t think in the same seven-day cycle. For them, once they get to work or school or wherever they’re going on a Monday, they’re already forgetting the sermon, or how great you made them feel while they were with you. By Monday afternoon, they already think of the weekend as something that has passed. They’re into their weekday cycle now and looking forward to the next weekend.
So, when is the best time to greet a new visitor or follow up with someone who has come a few times? The answer is: immediately. If you have a church app, then before people get home on Sunday, they could have a beautiful video sitting on their phones or in their inboxes featuring the pastor welcoming them. If you’re not automated, then you must send out your communication on Mondays.
Sounds pushy? It isn’t. Hanging back or acting slowly after you meet someone is not necessarily perceived as being polite today. Once people share their contact information, guess what they are expecting? Contact! People are constantly bombarded by social media and advertisers who are eager to grab their attention. After they share their contact information, the longer you wait to connect with them, the more separation comes between you, and the less they believe you’re interested in them.
Make sure your first response to guests occurs by Monday night — either via texts, phone calls, emails or something else. If your new-visitor system includes snail mail, make sure the card or letter is dropped in the local post office on Monday so they get it early in the week. It still better to reach them through another method before the snail mail can get to them. After all, there’s a reason it’s called “snail mail.”
When you contact your guests immediately, you help them remember the positive experience they had when they were with you. When you prolong that great feeling and show you care about them, you’ll greatly increase the likelihood that your guests will come back to see you again. CGM
