Thursday Three For All: Church Hospitality, Impressing First-Time Customers, and Airport Runway Dog
It’s Thursday, kiddies: the day when I roll out a few things I’ve been reading over the past week. Three of ‘em, to be exact. Enjoy. (Remember: click on the big bold print to read the entire article.)
The Hospitality That Makes a Church Stand Out
(via @trevinwax) Intro
What makes welcoming difficult these days is that many believe this posture requires an affirmation of identity and behavior. We see this belief most often in matters related to sexuality, but it is increasingly true of political affiliation, whether on the right or the left. That’s why I’ve written that churches should welcome everybody and affirm no one. The church does not exist for the affirmation of its members but for the transformation of its people into the image of Christ.
Still, we welcome. But what does this welcome look like? And what role does hospitality play?
5 Ways Your Business Can Impress First-Time Customers
(via @helpscout) Hopefully you’ve been around here long enough that you know that I know that churches are not a business. And our guests are not our customers. That said, I firmly believe that we can learn from the intentionality of the for-profit world. To paraphrase a friend, “Let’s not allow a secular business to care more than we do about the people who walk through their doors.”
Return customers are not important; they are essential.
Loyal customers play a vital role in the success of a business — this is no longer in question. The new question is, how can small businesses ensure that first-time customers become loyal customers?
Small businesses can use these five universally applicable strategies to increase the likelihood that new customers become repeat customers.
Hardworking Dog Clears Birds From Airport Runway
(via @laughingsquid) He’s a good boy. And those sunglasses…
photo credit: Jason Mathis
