Did you see photos or TV footage of Apple employees standing outside their stores cheering and clapping as jubilant customers emerged with their just-purchased Apple iPhone 4? What brilliant marketing, I thought. People slept overnight outside the store, shelled out 200 bucks... and were made to feel like heroes, like a select and privileged group for doing so.
One online report said: customers "...enjoyed the experience of being backslapped through a tunnel of link-armed, whooping Apple employees."
So how can we create the same buzz and excitement among our congregants and parents so that they---in the words of Steve Jobs---feel like "Apple fanboys"? (Insert the name of your synagogue in place of "Apple.") Maybe we can write or call them to say thank you for being loyal members, feature family case studies in our synagogue bulletins, call parents to sign up for religious school (rather than waiting for them to register), offer loyalty rewards (like a free high holiday ticket for a guest), or invite them to a member appreciation Shabbat dinner.
How can you cheer and clap for your members?
