More from Jay Conrad Levinson’s Guerilla Marketing Excellence, as adapted for church marketing. Part 1 of the series has a general introduction to Guerilla Marketing [Link]; Part 2 talks about the “designated guerilla” [Link]; Part 3 talks about setting goals for marketing [Link].

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Customer reverence, Guerilla Marketing’s golden rule #6:

Consistently display your reverence for customers by trying to help them with consistent follow-up.

We don’t have customers in churches, so let’s call this one “Reverence for members and friends.” The best way to elucidate this golden rule is to give you some examples:

1) When a newcomer visits your church, you should send them a note of welcome within 48 hours. The Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva has someone on their membership committee who sits down every Sunday after their third and final worship service, and hand-writes notes of welcome to everyone who signed the guest book. (This is one reason why this church now has three worship services.)

2) I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: send your newsletter to everyone who walks in your door, especially those who lives within an hour’s drive. It helps if your newsletter is actually fun to read, but even if it isn’t, send it.

3) Once you have your church database set up, why not send a birthday card to everyone in your list of members and friends (especially kids)? Part of reverence of members and friends is simply acknowledging that they exist!

4) Send the newsletter to everyone possible, including young adults in college and graduate school, anyone in the military, and anyone whose job has taken them out of town for a year or two. While you’re at it, send printed copies of sermons to everyone who can’t make it to church, no matter what the reason they can’t make it.

5) Once a year, mail a book of bedtime prayers to families with children, using copyright-free material. If you’re a real guerilla, you’ll point out in the introduction that the material in the book is meant to supplement what happens in Sunday school (that’s a way to build attendance). And mail a devotional book to all adults, pointing out that the minister(s) use these readings during worship services.

6) Send postcard reminders to people whenever it makes sense. Families with children have very little time to spare and I’ve found the especially appreciate postcards — they can read them without opening them, and then stick them on the refrigerator as a reminder. Church youth group event? –send a postcard. Special event after church? –send a postcard. Important committee meeting? –send a postcard.

7) Once a year, send out a CD of your organist or star musician performing on your organ, or your wonderful piano. Point out that this music comes from a recent worship service.

I can hear the cries now: “But we can’t afford to mail all that stuff.” Maybe, but maybe you can’t afford not to. Did you know that many newcomers to liberal churches fade away after a year or two? Sure, getting people into small groups is the best way to retain newcomers, but as Levinson points out:

If you don’t stay in contact with your customer, somebody else will woo that rare person away from you. On a constant basis, you must fan the flames of love and loyalty. This will prove beyond any words that you practice customer reverence, an automatic safeguard against apathy.

How do you already practice reverence of members and friends? How do you already keep in touch in ways that build loyalty, and build people’s spiritual lives? Share your ideas in the comments section!