3 Ways That Integrated Marketing Can Fail for Nonprofits
	Posted by Joleen Ong at Jan 15, 2014 07:02 AM CST

Successful integrated marketing is not just about what you put out there in the world, but it’s also the internal process that counts. A common misstep that nonprofits make is to spend most of their time looking at the content that they will ultimately post, and neglect the critical internal factors that enable success, such as coordinating across departments. 

A strong integrated marketing strategy includes not only consistent brand messaging across all channels, but also an integrated internal team. Your audiences view and support your organization as a whole, not in fragmented silos of IT, fundraising, marketing, programs, or leadership. Streamlining the process internally to accurately represent the organization’s identity will help to ensure that you don’t confuse your audience with different personalities, opinions, and voices. 

Following are three common mistakes that can undermine your integrated marketing efforts:

#1 - Having Multiple Personalities 

Skilled marketers act as a sounding board and filter for their colleagues across all departments to ensure their organization’s messages are in alignment with its brand. But that never stops the perennial struggle between departments over territory. 

For example, when your program director’s intern creates your organization’s new “viral” video campaign, or your executive director gives an interview that strays from the position you’ve stated in press releases -- these inconsistent situations can make your nonprofit look like it has multiple personalities, and reveal a lack of organization within your team. The messages that your nonprofit puts out inextricably represent the entire organization, not just one department.  

Solution: Cross-departmental meetings should be mandated by leadership to enable cross-pollination between departments, such as thorough weekly checks-ins to discuss content for the week, or fundraising program proposals. Holding staff members accountable with feedback mechanisms like 360-degree performance reviews can also help to institutionalize collaboration as a key staff responsibility. 

#2 - Unclear Call to Action

Donors and the community are the lifeblood of any nonprofit, and their vote of confidence with their support signifies the public trust and credibility of your work. You need their support -- so ask for it, and tell them why. 

We’ve all received emails that are excessively long, and when you’re done reading, you’re not sure what exactly they want you to do. Read the new report? Attend an event? Sign a petition? Donate now? Messages that have too many asks will confuse your audience, and you’ll risk losing their attention. 

If your nonprofit has a lot of things to say, take the time to coordinate how to disseminate these messages, which channels to use, and when to push the messages. Some messages might better fit in a monthly newsletter, a weekly update email, or social media. With so many competing emails in your supporters’ inboxes, get their immediate attention by getting immediately to the point. 

Solution: Play into the principle of effective repetition by being consistent with what you’re asking them to do. Avoid multiple asks in one email message that direct you to different pages on your website; instead, prioritize what you want the supporter to do. Consider using images in lieu of more text, and embed a link where the supporter can learn more on your website. The bottom line: always keep the user experience in mind.  

#3 - Forgetting Your Colleagues are Stakeholders 

Getting internal buy-in is a critical factor for success. It matters what your supporters think of you, but your colleagues’ perception of you and your work is equally important. Marketing departments are inter-departmental support functions, and without internal buy-in for their efforts, you run the risk of misrepresentation. For example, if one team is writing a promotional piece about the impact of your nonprofit’s work in the field, and doesn’t consult the local program director, they run the risk of skewing the accuracy of the information, or missing out on a great story that your community might appreciate. 

And, it’ll help you avoid mistake #1. 

Solution: Your teammates were hired because of the skills and expertise that they possess for the job: tap into it! Building trust amongst your peers takes time and genuineness, but you can start with the most flattering question, “can I get your opinion on something?” Then, find a way to integrate this opinion into your work, and give credit where credit is due. It’ll help you out in the long run.  

How else have you seen integrated marketing fail? Leave a comment and let us know!