Christian Retailing

GENI: An important niche category Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 23 June 2010 10:49 AM America/New_York
A message from Geni Hulsey, president of the Church Bookstore Network:

In recent days, I have found myself in the role of caregiver for my mother, a friend of many senior adults who need special care and even having to say goodbye to some special elderly friends.

When I realized my mother was beginning to show signs of dementia and then recognized how many friends were dealing with the same thing, I had to acknowledge how unprepared I was to be an effective caregiver.

What do you suppose was the first thing I did when I realized I did not have any good information on the subject? Started searching for reliable books, naturally. And I found some great ones, whose titles I will share with you—but first I want to talk about a sometimes-forgotten category in your store.

Do you have a "grief," "bereavement" or "caring" section? Depending on the demographics of your congregation, this could be one of the most important categories in your store. Sunday school classes, small groups, staff and individuals in churches are always looking for cards, gifts and books to give to those who need encouragement, information or condolences.

Even if your congregation is mostly younger—say, under 40—they have grandparents and other relatives who fall into the category of senior adults, and may find themselves in the position of part-time caregiver or in some other role that falls into this category.

The space allotted to this need does not have to be large. It only needs to have good signage so that customers easily see it when they come into your store. It should contain an assortment of products so that the customer does not not have to go to several different areas of the store to find what will work in his or her circumstance.

Check with each of your gift companies for items that fit into this category. For instance, I remember a little box that was made especially to hold the wedding ring of a spouse or parent who had passed away. I gave one to my mother when my dad died, and she has treasured that special box in which to keep a very special ring.

There are many other items—picture frames, items to be used at the cemetery, guest books for the funeral. DaySpring and other card companies have individual and boxed sympathy cards. It would be good to keep a few of the boxed cards in this display so that your customers see them with the other items.

Of course, there will be many who, like me, will be looking for information. And for that you need some really good books included in your display. Some that I have found helpful in various situations are:

Setting Boundaries With Your Aging Parents by Allison Bottke (Harvest House Publishers). Your parents don't even have to be ill or disabled for this book to be useful.

My Mom Has Alzheimer's by Linda Born (Bridge-Logos Foundation). This book is a blessing for the novice and the experienced caregiver.

Stages of Senior Care by Paul and Linda Hogan (McGraw-Hill). Available through Spring Arbor, this book walks you through the various stages of care that you may be confronted with as time goes on.

The Boomer Burden by Julie Hall (Thomas Nelson). This addresses something that we will all have to face at one time or another-what to do with all of the "stuff." It goes into detail about the value of the many things that our folks leave behind and how to deal with it all.

If you do not have this category yet, I encourage you to really give it some serious thought. Baby boomers are being faced with these kind of situations every day. Your customers will be grateful that you have thought of this very critical, but niche category.

 
INSIGHTS: Business-card basics Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 23 June 2010 10:46 AM America/New_York
by Teresa Nardozzi

Business cards for your staff will not only help promote your business, but they also could promote something even more valuable than potential customers—employee loyalty.

When you invest in your employees and give them "ownership" by printing personalized business cards for them, you are saying, "I value you." You are building them up and showing them respect by involving them in the ministry of your store.

When printing business cards, you must make a purchase of usually around 250 cards for each person, so be sure to wait until the employee is past the "trial" period, is proving to be a valuable employee and is planning to stay at the store. But after that, don't hesitate to spend some money on personalized cards.

Business cards with a blank space for a name to fill in not only look unprofessional, but they also communicate that the store can't keep its employees. Personalized business cards are worth the investment.

Your store business cards should look different than those used by the other church staff. Having a card specific to the store will minimize confusion about who to bill and where to send products when you are ordering at conferences or conventions. Also, it will give your store its own identity, which is especially important if your store had an outreach to the community outside the church. It will make a statement that a potential customer doesn't have to be part of the church to frequent the bookstore.

Include the following information, at the least, on the cards:

- Name of the store
- Name of the employee
- Store address
- Store phone number
- Store e-mail address
- Store Web site.

If your store has a slogan or a catchy mission/vision statement, consider including that on the card as well. It will give the customer a stronger sense of what the bookstore is all about. Also, if you're a CBA member, consider paying the fee to include the CBA logo on your business cards.

-Teresa Nardozzi is the former manager of Charis Christian Bookstore at First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks, Largo, Fla. She founded the store in 1985.

-Click here to read the complete article: http://www.thechurchbookstore.com/a.php?ArticleID=16602

 
PICTURE OF THE WEEK: Personal picks Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 23 June 2010 10:40 AM America/New_York
Personal recommendations go a long way, especially when sales associates are also part of the same "church family" as their customers. But it is not always possible to find the time to speak with every shopper, especially on a busy Sunday morning. Highlighting staff picks by gathering some of their recommendations together in a featured display—such as here at Bethlehem Bookstore at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minn.—can help.
 
ADVICE: Dear Betty Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 23 June 2010 10:38 AM America/New_York
Do all stores offer employee discounts?

I'm sure there are some stores that do not, but I would venture to say that most stores do offer some type of perk to their employees. The better question would be, "How much should I offer?"

Discounts vary from store to store and usually range between 10% and 30% off regularly priced merchandise. When dealing with sale merchandise, there is little or no discount offered.

Normally, discounts are given to employees who work a minimum of 20 hours per week. Yet, in some stores staffed primarily by volunteers, discounts are offered to everyone. It all depends on how much you can afford to invest back into your team.

Discounts are a wonderful attraction to potential workers and can be a blessing in disguise-many store managers who do offer discounts find that their own employees are often also their best customers.

Got a question for Betty Bookstore? Write to her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 
CULTURE WATCH: Pro-life divisions Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 23 June 2010 10:34 AM America/New_York
Abortion continues to divide the country, with Americans lining up fairly evenly on either side of the issue, according to a new study by The Barna Group.

While 49% would prefer to keep abortion legal in all or most cases, 42% believe it should be made illegal in most or all instances.

However, only about one-third of the 1,000 people polled took a strong position on one side or the other. Just 15% thought that abortion should be legal in every situation, while 19% preferred that the practice be illegal in all cases.

Most others held moderate views: 57% expressed a mildly supportive or unsupportive opinion. Compared to tracking data conducted in the 1990s and early 2000s, the new research suggests that Americans are more likely these days to take a "middle ground" or a "not sure" position toward abortion.

Among evangelical Christians, 78% said they believed that the practice should be illegal in all or most cases. Non-evangelical, born-again Christians favored making abortion illegal (55% illegal versus 39% legal), as did active churchgoers (60% versus 33%) and non-mainline Protestants (58% versus 34%).

Researchers found little difference in views among born-again Christians under the age of 45 and older generations of Christians. Overall, 61% of 18- to 44-year-old born-again Christians said they wanted to see abortion be illegal in all or most cases, compared to 55% among born-again believers ages 45 and older.

Source: The Barna Group

For more information, go to http://www.barna.org/barna-update.

 
ANSWER OF THE WEEK: Small group resources Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 23 June 2010 10:30 AM America/New_York
We asked: How do you connect with and promote to small groups in your church?

For our church store, we cultivate a relationship with the staff person in charge of small groups. We touch base periodically to discuss the direction the church is leaning toward recommending group studies. Sometimes the church at large is studying a particular book and we carry that in the store.

We also let them know of new resources available, and they let us know what group leaders are looking for. We also work with individual group leaders, doing research on resources for particular topics or biblical books. A small group leader can "borrow" up to four books or study guides from the bookstore, if needed to review or share with their group, and return them in "sellable" condition within a week.

The leader can place an order for the total quantity of books needed by the group and receive 10% discount if ordering 10 or more. The leader can have individual group members come to the store to purchase their own copies or the leader can purchase the total quantity of books and let the members reimburse them.

Diane Busch, manager
RiverTree Christian Church Bookstore
Massillon, Ohio

 
QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Trial and error training Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 23 June 2010 10:28 AM America/New_York
Sometimes, we learn the hard way. What is one of the biggest mistakes you have made as a manager, staff member or volunteer at your church bookstore, and what was the lesson you learned as a result?

Share your experience and insights with others by e-mailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 
SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 23 June 2010 10:27 AM America/New_York

"Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor."

Eccl. 7:12, New International Version