If You Want to KEEP Donors, Try to DELIGHT Them
Many nonprofit organizations are struggling to keep donors and partners engaged and giving. Let me say this as emphatically as I can… There is no such thing as partner “loyalty” without partner “delight.”
People are much more discriminating in this day and age — and some are simply fickle -- quick to be wooed by the power of intense feelings, memorable experiences and superior service. Business author and consultant Tom Peters devotes several chapters of his phenomenal book Re-Imagine to the intense power of the experience in defining superior product, services and companies. It is this power that creates continuing customers – and the same is true in the world of nonprofits and the donors who support them.
As much as you might wish that your donors have “personal and relational loyalties,” the truth is that many of them will turn away from you without much hesitation – UNLESS you move well beyond simply “satisfying” them and begin to concentrate on DELIGHTING them. Especially in times where financial support decisions are difficult because of the choices offered, you need to think long and hard about how to stand out among the many choices that “compete” for your donors’ support dollars. Otherwise, when hard decisions must be made, you may not make the cut!
Take a lesson from Walt Disney. Uncle Walt knew that people, by nature, are motivated by the experiential. And he set out to create lifetime customers by managing as many aspects of their experience with his products. Whether at the movies, or at his theme parks, Disney knew that focusing on “making people happy” would be a powerful motivator for repeat business. In fact, Disneyland was, for many years, advertised as “the happiest place on earth.”
I witnessed this a number of years ago on a visit to Disneyworld in Orlando. It was early in the day. Walking through the colorful entrance to the park, I couldn’t help but notice a young mother, already haggard, dragging her four-year-old daughter by the hand through the throng streaming into Main Street USA. The poor child was wailing uncontrollably. And very loudly. Finally the frustrated lady could take it no more. She knelt down on the hard pavement, drawing the little girl’s tear-streaked eyes to her own. Practically shouting, the exasperated mother looked earnestly into her daughter’s eyes and said, “This is the happiest place on earth! BE HAPPY!!”
It’s a similar message you should be repeating to your organization's friends and financial supporters … but you must make certain that it is true. Ultimately, your word alone that you are doing good work – and doing it well – is insufficient. A significant part of your work, after all, is about ensuring that your donors continue to be supportive. And I would contend this aspect of your work in development is just as important as the work actually accomplished by your organization.
The equation is simple: no partners = no organization.
The Marketing Paradigm Has Shifted - Has Yours?
The discussion among nonprofits about the value of social media and Internet marketing is raging...sort of.
We've found among certain clients that this issue has become a dominant part of the strategic conversation. WIth others, it registers as simply one of many "popguns" trying to command the attention of the executive team and board concerned about the broader concerns of challenged capacities to deliver client service while suffering from understaffing and underfunding.
Here's why branding, marketing and the role of Internet and social media strategies MUST become part of the strategic dialogue...
Nearly all consumers (97%) now use online media when researching products or services, according to BIA/ Kelsey’s ongoing consumer tracking study. The misconception is that only young people use these technologies for shopping but in fact, nearly all of the buying public now use them. Marketing has shifted from a one-way broadcast to a multi-point conversation. In the past, communications were “broadcast” exclusively through mass marketing channels like radio, TV, newspapers and even the door-to-door distribution of directories like the Yellow Pages.
Not only are consumers seeking product information to drive purchase, they are also seeking information -- period. That includes information about every cause imaginable -- including yours. The Internet has become the most dominant repository of information readily available to anyone anywhere. And that knowledge is influencing not only alignment decisions, but also investment decisions.
But the most significant change in the past several years has been the movement from the Internet as "information repository" to Internet as "catalyst for community and conversation." And social media is responsible for this dramatic change, dramatically changing the landscape for marketers by enabling continuing "conversations" with customers and donors in real time.
In the past, for-proft and nonprofit companies marketed online by building Web sites and sending emails to subscribers—both “broadcast” activities in the sense that communication was one-way. Banner ads, news items, emails and other tactics drove prospects to Web sites where companies tried to communicate their messages and influence behavior. With social media, however, much of the communication is controlled by the target audiences. Members can ask their community about a product, service or company and get multiple opinions, recommendations or referrals. Conversely, members freely discuss their experiences with their friends and followers. Online, the new “word-of-mouth” is social media like Facebook and Twitter, which have more than 700 million members combined.
Social Video Channels
YouTube is now the second largest search engine, according to comScore, with 50% more searches than Yahoo! And 180% more searches than Bing. YouTube has 300 million visitors every month who watch more than 12 billion videos.
As a social medium, YouTube features user generated content and facilitates video sharing, commenting, rating and the ability to create special interest channels that attract friends and subscribers who share interests and can interact with each other. Users look for videos to entertain and inform. Businesses participate by providing answers to users’ questions, how-to content, product reviews, instruction, expert opinions, etc. It is a forum for establishing “social authority” that businesses seek for the topical areas most related to their services or products. According to Dr. Pamela Rutledge, Director of the Media Psychology Research Center, “One of the tenets of social media is that you can’t control your message, you can only participate in the conversation.” By building social authority in a subject area, a business -- or a nonprofit or ministry organization -- can participate in the “conversation” and become a relevant influence in that conversation.
What are you doing to engage your donors in meaningful conversations? Have you shifted YOUR marketing paradigm? Or are you just grinding gears?
Your ability to engage donors and partners using THEIR media of choice may play a very significant role in your ability to not only KEEP the ones you currently have, but also to FIND AND KEEP new donors and partners. The implications are staggering for your organization's brand, for your ability to recruit staff, for your ability to acquire and retain donors, and ultimately for your ability to remain relevant in your area of service.
If you're not having serious strategic conversations -- not about WHETHER to enter this arena, but about WHEN and HOW -- you must begin now. If you are afraid of the costs, the staffing needs, the learning curve, etc., you needn't be.
You must enter the conversation. Let us show you how.
Fundraising's Most Important Word
Many people have the wrong idea of marketing. They tend to equate marketing with selling. But that's a flawed view that prevents many organizations from achieving the type of success that can win -- and KEEP -- customers (or donors, if you happen to be a nonprofit group).
A good definition of marketing is giving people more and more of what they want and less and less of what they don't want. The emphasis here is, of course, on people, rather than on products. If you are truly sensitive to the needs and desires of your customers/donors, then the marketing messages you use to communicate with them will benefit greatly through the use of the most important word in marketing: YOU.
Ad agency owner Larry Thompson coined the term "you-focus" back in 1983 to describe the slanting of communications toward the reader / listener / viewer. In order to connect with the target customer / donor, frequent use of the word "you" is an essential element to establish an emotional connection and to help the prospect "see" his or herself as the beneficiary of your product or service. The superiority of benefits over features has long been established in marketing communications -- but that is so seldom the focus of sales or fundraising copy!
Organization-centric or product-centric copy tends to discount the significant role of the customer as the focus of marketing messages. Check your marketing communications, advertising or fundraising messages and circle every use of the words "we," "our," and "us." Now rewrite the copy to make it address the target audience liberally using the word "you" instead. Read the end result out loud and you'll notice a significant difference.
Marketing author and M/J vice president Barry McLeish addresses this concern in several of his books including The Donor Bond and Yours, Mine & Ours: Creating a Compelling Donor Experience. For fundraisers, these books are excellent in helping shift the focus to the prospective or already active donor. You can learn more about creating compelling marketing copy for fundraising communications through several articles in the M/J archives. If you want to REALLY reach your customers and donors, keep this mantra in mind: It's all about THEM, NOT about you!
The Power of Reference in Fundraising
By Jeff McLinden
Interesting how a celebrity death has such huge fundraising implications...
An article in today's paper mentions how Michael Jackson's death is a great reminder of the importance of having a valid will. Planned giving departments should be jumping all over this!
Whether we like it or not, the power of celebrity has a huge impact on the actions of a significant slice of the population -- for good or for bad. We've seen the "power of reference" at play in celebrity endorsements of charitable causes of all kinds. Bono makes a plea for clean water projects. Steve Green talks about his Compassion children. Jessica Alba (or any number of other actresses) doff their clothes for protests against animal cruelty. And people listen -- and act with their checkbooks.
But celebrity endorsements aren't the only "power tools" when it comes to fundraising. The "Power of Reference" is a significant factor from a variety of sources -- and is very important to people’s giving decisions. They ask friends, colleagues, co-workers and pastors “do you know anything about so and so...?” Testimonials should become very important to you. As well as “word of mouth.” Both enhance your credibility.
How can you tap into the "power of reference?"
If reference is important to your organization, where do you begin? How do you gain exposure through the kind words of others? Well, you can certainly seek testimonials from served clients or customers about the value of your work in their lives. That can be pretty powerful stuff. You can also seek out "delighted donors" who are willing to share with others why your organization has become one of their favorites. Begin an aggressive media and public relations campaign to gain visibility and (hopefully) favorable exposure that will help your image. Ask top donors and partners for referrals. You could even gain a celebrity partner who is eager to help your cause.
The lesson here is simply that if the only voice people hear about your organization, your cause, or your needs is your own, it's hard to be convincing.