With market share diminishing for Christian stores, Tom Lacey, church-program coordinator for Cedar Springs Christian Stores in Knoxville, Tenn., educated his fellow retailers in the Wednesday workshop Connecting With Ministry Leaders.

Urging retailers to stress their value to their core customer base, Lacey focused on connecting in the store, in delivery, in promotions and through events.

In terms of delivery, for example, Lacey encouraged retailers to obtain standing curriculum orders. In the area of promotions, he suggested stores consider mailing church-supply catalogs only to their best customers in the interest of seeing the best return for their limited resources.

Lacey also focused on knowing the local churches because nearly half of pastors recommend certain books or music to their congregants.

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