An Argument for Automating Your Christmas Follow-Up
You know I’m a huge believer in the art of the follow-up phone call for first-time guests. If you don’t know that, here’s a whole series of articles. (In the words of the Ghost of Christmas Present, “come in, and know me better, man.”)
But if there’s one time of the year I believe you should hit the brakes on follow-up, it’s Christmas.
Well, hit the brakes might be a bit much. Maybe switch to cruise control. Or – for you Tesla fans – turn on FSD (supervised).
Because the reality is, Christmas is a time when you’ll have a lot of unchurched guests’ attention. They’ll be there on the Sunday before. They’ll hold a candle and sing carols on Christmas Eve. They’ll dress up in a scratchy wool sweater and drop by, if only to get Grandma off their back.
But Christmas is not a time that’s known for sustained attention. On the afternoon after the Sunday service, they’re going to rush to yet another Christmas party. Once the candles are extinguished, it’s back to Aunt Fay’s for ham and presents. And don’t even think about making a call the morning after Christmas Eve. That’s Christmas Day, you ninny. And that’s enough to get you on the naughty list.
A few years ago I wrote a post called Don’t Forget Your First-Time Guests this Christmas! In it, I offered five reminders for how your Christmas follow-up plan needs to be different from the other 51 weeks of the year.
Today, I want to drill down on points 4 and 5 from that long-ago post: Send a “day of” email or text, and Give your follow-up team a TEMPORARY reprieve. (You’ll need to read the context in the original post, then come back here for the double-down.)
Five reasons why automation at Christmas is the best gift you can give:
1. Your guests won’t absorb anything beyond it.
Think about the dump truck of inputs and distractions that we already deal with the week of Christmas: last minute shopping! Wrap those gifts! Prep that casserole! Buy that gift card for your mother-in-law because she always finds a way to subtly ask for the receipt for any piece of clothing and you’re kind of over the whole charade that you know what style she likes so let’s just show her how much you love her in dollars’ worth!
Now add to that a phone call or live text from a staff member at the church you visited, and ask how dialed-in you’d be. Would you appreciate it? Sure. Would you do anything with it? Probably not. It becomes one more piece of white noise that is the blizzard of Christmas week.
2. Your staff (or volunteers) will figure out how to avoid it.
Those who do first-time guest follow-up on a regular basis are committed to it and passionate about it. Except when they’re not. And Christmas week is one of the times it’s all too easy to skip, because after all … it’s Christmas week.
That automated text or email captures the spirit of the follow up without relying on the person doing the follow up. There’s no reason to fight human nature or shame our staff into compliance. Just roll with the punches this week and realize that your normal humans have a 95% likelihood of not following through on follow-up.
3. You’ll only do it because you’re guilted to it.
If we’re honest … really really honest … we get through our Christmas services and just want to either (a) lapse into a quick coma or (b) move on to the family gatherings. (I realize there are many of you out there who are far more spiritual than I am. Thou do thee, boo.)
But I think I’m safe to admit that even if we’re doing it, our heart is not in it. Our mind is distracted. So again, let’s not fight human nature. Let’s give our guests our best and full attention … a few days from now.
4. In the worst case, you’ll end up forgetting it.
Good intentions are one thing. Good execution is another. If there’s ever a time we’re likely to forget our normal rhythms, it’s Christmas week. In an effort to remember your guests, you can actually make them feel forgotten because you didn’t play the safe game of automation.
5. You offer a placeholder that points to the future
Finally, automating that process – in addition to being simple and reliable – drops a bread crumb that leads to a bigger meal. If I can go back a few decades and use some dating terminology, a phone call the day after the first date is a sweet, nice touch. Radio silence for two weeks and then calling is a display of antisocial or psychopathic behavior.
An automated text or email acknowledges the guest’s visit, gives them some “what’s happening next” information, and lays the groundwork for a personal follow up after the holidays have passed and lives are back to normal.
