ReachingTheCustomer.com

Practical advice you can use to
reach the customer today!

It's plain to see, there's competition everywhere! Just about every day you hear of other retailers outside of the Christian market selling our products. It's not our place to say whether that's good or bad; take a look at it from God's perspective - His word has become "mainstream." But it can hurt the Christian retailer if we aren't prepared to go the extra mile to reach the customer!

You spend precious time deciding which items to stock in your store, items you believe the customer will enjoy. You take the time to display these items in a way to draw the customer to them. You are constantly making sure that your store is neat and clean so the customer will appreciate the appearance. You set a mood with the music you choose so the customer will feel relaxed and be willing to browse. You've done all of this for the customer ...

SO WHERE ARE THEY?

In today's marketplace there are many choices for the customer - YOUR CUSTOMER! You must stand out! You must offer them something that others are not. You must be unique! The Bible tells us that we are to be a "peculiar people" and in Christian retail that means unique! But what does being unique mean? It means in order to reach the customer you must stand out; you must offer them something different. You must offer the customer something other retailers are not, will not or can not offer!

That's where ReachingTheCustomer.com comes in!

A Little History

My name is Todd Whitaker. I am the manager of New Life Christian Stores in Lynchburg, VA. I was asked to bring a devotion to CBA Advance '06 in Nashville for the opening breakfast. It was supposed to be an encouraging word to get the retailers into the mindset of making their stores all that they can be. So many stores were having problems and didn't know what to do to turn things around, so I tried to include some content about trying new things to help sales or cut costs.

As part of this, I started a how-to list to help out struggling stores. The devotion turned out to be very successful and many stores were interested in the suggestions on this "list" I had come up with. I had copies there and distributed them until I ran out. Christian Retailing magazine then asked me to do an article on the same subject. As the buzz got around, more and more people wanted to find out about this information. I decided to write short descriptions for each item and put them on the Internet for all Christian stores to see. So here we are. I don't claim to have all the answers and so I am asking for your help in building up The "How To" List even more with new and fresh ideas for our stores. If you have something we should add please click the "Send 'em Our Way" link and help add content to this site. Also be sure to click on the link to "Join The Group" and take part in exchanging ideas, asking questions and sharing about our industry with other Christian retailers.

If you have any suggestions or questions regarding a specific item on The "How To" List, feel free to email anytime and I will respond as soon as possible. Thanks for your interest and keep checking back for updates. And remember, everything you need to start reaching the customer is all right here in black and white!