Personal Invitations, Website Bring Visitors
July 15, 2007
Here's what the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, CA (UUCB) learned about where its visitors came from in 2006, after implementing a procedure to better identify and track them (see story).The largest number, 39 percent, came because friends invited them; 30 percent found the church through its UUCB's website; 11 percent were invited by family, 10 percent had been Unitarian Universalist's (UU) previously (many of these came from nearby Starr King School for the Ministry), and 4 percent came because of public events at church. The rest came from various smaller categories, including mailers the church sent to the neighborhood.
The church used its new data on visitors to make changes in its outreach. Learning that few visitors found it in the Yellow Pages, it dropped its $4,000 ad. Instead, it publishes an adult education course catalog, which many visitors said brought them to the church for the first time.
The Membership Committee does its annual survey of visitors, using the website, surveymonkey, which allows users to tailor questions to their particular needs.
Forty percent of first time visitors come back at least once at UUCB. Between one-in-five and one-in-six eventually become members. "It's not hard to collect data on visitors on Sunday morning," says Linda Laskowski, who developed the tracking system. "Most are willing to fill out the form because they've come to church looking for a connection."
Laskowski offers this tip: Use check-off boxes whenever possible. "When we asked them to fill in the blank as to how they found us, only half did. But when we changed the form almost everyone would check a box. Have multiple cards to minimize standing in line," she says. "Let people fill out the cards in the service."
For more information contact interconnections @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
