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2016 marks the eighteenth year I’ve been running Exodus, and (as if you didn’t already know) things have changed a LOT during this time!
In the beginning, I had the goal of running a different sort of Christian bookstore, avoiding fads and easy sales in favor of excellence of both selection and service. I think we’ve managed to accomplish that. We’ve accumulated an inventory of what we believe to be among the best homeschool curriculum, literature, and Christian books around. AND we’ve built a robust website that includes hundreds of our own reviews. There aren’t many companies like Exodus around!
But doing what we do comes with its own unique set of challenges. Home educating families are adapting to a new world, and many of you are struggling; many folks are reading less (or at least differently); and we face stiff competition from online competitors. If we're not going to follow the fads, we need to pay attention to what you, our customer, need. I think 2015 was a year we didn't do that very well, and as a consequence our sales dropped fairly dramatically.
Largely because of that drop in sales, but also because we want to continue discovering great books and writing reviews about them, we're currently in need of some sponsors to help us fund our 2016 Outside of a Dog Summer Reading Challenge (is that title long enough?!). Over the past three years, we've loved watching hundreds of kids exposed to some of the best literature ever written. On that level, it's been a great success, and we're excited to do it again. If you're excited too, please help! To learn more, or if you're interested in sponsoring our prizes, check out our sponsor page.
But I have to stress paying attention to you. Maybe the biggest way in which we're trying to be better listeners is with our first ever customer survey (should take 5-10 minutes). We would LOVE your feedback on anything and everything related to Exodus. As a thank you from us you'll get a coupon code for $5 off your purchase of $25 or more at the end of the survey, and if you're in the US, you can enter a drawing for a $50 gift certificate to Exodus (must enter by March 31).
Another area in which we're attempting to pay better attention to you is social media. We're increasing our participation, telling you what's going on around here, sharing fun things we're reading, and giving you a chance to chime in on the conversation. Our social media page has the full list of where we are on the web.
As I said, it's been eighteen years! Some of you have become like family to us, many of you are good friends, and we look forward to knowing the rest of you better! Thanks so much for keeping Exodus close to your heart, sharing with us your lives, and supporting my family and staff!
Eli Evans
Exodus Books
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