Are Your Silos Costing You Money?
	Posted by Guest Blogger at Jan 03, 2013 07:04 AM CST

This post was written by guest author Chip Grizzard, Chief Executive Officer, Grizzard.

I’ve written several blogs on organizational silos and why it is important to break them down in order to maximize your fundraising. According to a blog by Giselle Abramovich, “There are more ways than ever for marketers to reach consumers. That’s put more pressure than ever on brands to come up with integrated approaches, a topic that’s been hot in the marketing industry for years. The key for brands looking to take an integrated approach is to have strong collaboration and communication between teams.
 
Couple this with the fact that blurry lines can exist between who owns each channel, and you can see how brands appear to have disjointed marketing efforts. Because of culture, budgets and structure, each function is isolated and measured on its own results. Each department has different structures driving their decisions, and there are no incentives to collaborate. Today, more than 70% of first-time donors check out an organization’s website before donating. Yet, many organizations still have not integrated their online and offline messages.”
 
An integrated approach ensures that all the touch points work together to deliver a consistent branded experience to the donor. This can lead to a better donor experience, increased loyalty, and better campaign results. Check out this article on our work with the Michigan Humane Society.
 
The organization broke down its silos, accepted a common goal, shared budgets, and “That determination paid off in a big way. Just through direct mail, MHS brought in about 4,800 brand-new donors, a 148-percent increase. In addition, 1,000 lapsed donors were reactivated. Through May 31, the value of those 4,800 new donors was $172,000. At the same time, website traffic during the campaign more than doubled, and online revenue increased by 28%. MHS also increased its overall revenue by 8.6% and grew its active donor file by almost 13%.”

Do you need to break down your silos?  It’s costing you money the longer you wait.