(How does this apply to the church?)

Thursday is Thanksgiving here in the US. I am reminded that the coming holidays are an excellent time to grow your customer intuition. More than an opportunity to send another tin of popcorn, the holiday season is an opportunity to connect personally with your customers. While not everyone has a lot of time to talk with you, many will appreciate the personal touch. Launch your contact manager or CRM system, pick up the phone and ask a customer these six questions:

-What have we done for you this year that has gone well and why? -What could we have done better? -What could we be doing better to help you and your business prevail? -Are you aware that we (also carry xyz products, can do xyz, etc.)? This is a great opportunity to make customers aware of new products or initiatives your company has to offer. This requires some skill and tact to gauge the openness and receptivity to hearing about these new things. Over time you will be able to determine your customers openness to your verbal communication. -Is there anything we can do for you between now and the end of the year? The last month of the year is a good time to ask for some additional business as many business leaders are spending the last of their budgets. Those who operate on a spend it or loose it budget may be especially interested in doing some year end business. -Would you like to hear more from us about (the topic of your email newsletter)? Ask them if you can add them to your subscriber list to receive your e-newsletter. Don’t forget to thank your customers for their support and their business. Your customers may like the holiday gift you send but they will really appreciate the personal attention and interest from you even more. Who knows you may gain some new business directly from these calls. You may not even see the results until the next buying cycle. Connecting one on one improves your customer intuition.

http://betuitive.blogs.com/beconnected/2004/11/six_questions_t.html