Retain and Acquire.
Every organization needs to figure out how they will acquire new "customers" or people who are interested in what the organization has to offer. Then they have to determine how they will retain those people.
In terms of the church, we call the acquiring - evangelism strategies. And if the stats are true, most churches are doing poorly with their acquiring strategies. We don't grow because our acquiring approaches are out of date or because people are not interested in the "product" we are "selling."
But, even when we have customers, we can't assume we are going to keep them. We have to work to develop "loyal" customers. Even more, we have to work very hard to turn loyal customers into "raving fans" who become the best advertising for us which leads to more acquiring.
Here is a reality that EVERY organization must face. It does not matter what line of work, what the type of business, what the product, what the experience . . . we are all affected.
Our customers, our clients, our congregation, our consumers --- they get bored with what we are giving them.
It is not that familiarity breeds contempt (although it may in some cases do so). But it is that familiarity breeds complacency.
It is the "been there, done that, heard that, saw that, experienced that" problem.
Is that it?
Is that all?
When people start asking that question, and they are asking it internally before they say it out loud, we are in trouble.
This is simply human nature. It is not even sinful human nature. It is just human nature. Now, what we may do with our boredom and complacency may be very sinful . . . but the experience itself is just what is involved in being human.
However, this experience is exacerbated because we live in an Entertainment Culture with approximately a gazillion options that are easily accessible. So, the ease and speed with which we become complacent is accelerating.
Added to this overload of possible experiences is that fact that the Competition is out there, it is growing, in fact it is multiplying, and it wants your customer. Brand loyalty is a thing of the past. It no longer matters what you did for people yesterday. What matters is what you are doing for them today. And if you aren't doing much . . . the Competition is there to snatch them up.
The complacent, bored customer always asks: What is in this for me? Now, we may bemoan this. We may rail against it. We may be frustrated and even angry about it. But the fact is - that is exactly what the customer thinks.
The world of business tells us that we must constantly work to gain new customers. We must constantly work to keep current customers satisfied. Failure to do either means your organization is going to go out of business.
I know that many Christians will just ignore this, thinking it is misguided insight from the world of business and that it is the wrong metric for Christians and churches to use, and that we will be led down wrong paths for thinking like this.
I'm sure they will be saying the same thing when they finally close their doors and put up the sign "Out of Business."
I think this is an idea worth considering. If your customers, if your clients, if your congregation members are leaving - they are doing so for a reason.
Brian Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International
