This post was written by Vinay Bhagat, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer from Convio.

Most nonprofits today are engaged in some form of multi-channel marketing, yet to date, most integrated marketing measurement efforts remain pretty immature. Working with one of our clients, CARE, Convio has completed a deep dive into multi-channel metrics. This report follows on from the first study on multi-channel engagement we completed in 2007. Our key findings are as follows:

• Multi-channel engagement pays off: Donors giving both online and through traditional offline channels demonstrated the highest annual financial value, returning on average 46 percent more than donors giving only through direct mail.
• Acquisition sources drive differing values: Online acquired donors have a higher frequency of giving if they only give online, but are less likely than traditional offline acquired donors to give frequently if they are a dual channel donor. Donors originating as online donors have much higher annual value than donors who originate as activists.
• More migration online to offline than vice versa: 10 percent of online acquired donors give offline, whereas less than 2 percent of offline acquired donors give online. This phenomenon is likely best explained by treatment strategies deployed and differences in life stage. However, his does not take into consideration prospects receiving direct mail that chose to give online instead of responding by mail.
• Online acquired donors who cross over to activism give more frequently: Online donors who cross over to advocacy give 46 percent more often. This suggests they are excellent candidates for monthly giving.
• Channel behavior correlates strongly with age: Not surprisingly, 60 – 90 year olds are predominately offline donors. In fact, 78 percent of offline only donors are over 60 years of age, whereas 76 percent of online only donors are under the age of 60. Dual channel donors split the difference, 50 percent of them are over/under 60.

Access the full report here.