Take a Common Sense Approach to Multi-Channel Marketing
It’s certainly true that multi-channel marketing has been around for as long as marketing has been around. Communicating with your audience via printmedia, radio, television, mail, phone, Internet and email is a regular part of most marketing plans. The challenge for fundraisers is to understand how best to use limited resources to make the most impact on your overall fundraising efforts. And with shrinking cost budgets and conflicting input from internal departments, the challenges can seem quite daunting indeed!
In fact, some of the most common things I hear from nonprofit direct marketers are “I just don’t know what will make the most impact for the least cost”, “We’ve tried multi-channel approaches but the cost isn’t easy to justify when the results are so minimal”, or even more bluntly, “Email fundraising doesn’t work well for us and our board hates telemarketing, what can I do?”.
If you, too, are still struggling to find the right method for integrating your fundraising, my advice is to keep it simple at first: take a common sense approach. What does that mean? Let’s say you are planning a non-fundraising event, like a reunion of a fairly large group of people. The last thing you’d want to do is just plan on sending one invitation and hoping everyone comes. That probably won’t work very well! You really want to do several things:
Step One -- Get the Word Out!
This step isn’t designed to get immediate responses, so you need to use a fairly inexpensive option here. Try mass media, particularly if your communication staff can get you media attention for free. Post info on your website, so interested parties will know there’s something important happening. Then, use email and blast everyone you think may be interested. If your budget can support it, DRTV or radio can be an effective option, but be prepared for this step not to generate fast and easy money. It’s really a “Save the Date” type of message and an opportunity to showcase special or exciting opportunities.
Step Two -- The Main Ask
Next, mail that invitation. Make sure it contains all critical information. Since this is a mailing, make sure you include a response device and reply envelope. This is the easy part for most of us; it’s what we do every day. Make sure that it relates creatively to what’s posted on the website and sent via email. Because timelines for mail are longer than email, you’ll likely create this piece first. Make sure the elements are appealing for multiple media types.
Step Three -- Reinforce
Follow up the invitation with an email to reinforce the invitation. Messages here just need to be simple -- “Have you seen our invitation? Have you responded? We are counting on you!”. At this point, your message needs a clear option to participate online, “Would you like to participate now? Click here!” This step is an important one, as it ties back to the mail piece. You may find that few people actually choose to transact online, but you will also find that sending an email reminder will boost mail response rates, sometimes significantly.
Mail reminders work well, too, typically generating response rates between 30-40% of the original invitation mailing, and the costs can be low, because the package can be simple. Just make sure the creative matches the original message!
Step Four -- Gather Up the Important Stragglers
At this point, it’s almost time for the event (or the end of your fundraising campaign!) and there are going to be some non-responders. Here’s where a phone call can make good sense. There are some people that your reunion (or campaign) would be incomplete without -- people who made an important contribution to the group. Carefully select your target audience and spend the money to gather up the ones who are most likely to want to be involved. (You hear a lot of marketers telling you that phones are best for lapsed donors -- it’s true! And, if you’re new to tele-fundraising, selling a lapsed reactivation phone strategy to your board is usually easier than asking permission to call all your current donors.)
Step Five -- Thank People
Once the event is over (or your campaign is finished), use your website and email to thank your participants, and talk about what a difference their participation made. Make sure that you also send a thank you letter, too. It’s just good manners!
Keep it Simple, Keep it Consistent
Making sure that you are contacting your audience with the right channel at the right time with coordinated messaging and creative will boost your overall responses. And it doesn’t have to be complicated -- just ask yourself what approach makes sense at each step of the way.
And Lastly – Don’t Forget to Test!
And of course, take the opportunity to test each of the approaches across the entire campaign. If you are adding an email announcement or reminder, separate out a test and control audience and follow them through the entire campaign. You can’t just measure one touch at a time, as the effect of all these touches is cumulative.
Just Say No to Developing a Multi-Channel Strategy this Holiday Season
Guest blogger Chas Offutt is Senior Strategy Consultant at Blackbaud.
Okay, now that I have your attention, how can I say such a thing from a perch of all things multi-channel?
It’s simple. Multi-channel marketing is a strategic approach, or a paradigm shift that defines your organizational structure, departmental values, and relationship to donors. Year-end fundraising, on the other hand, is not about building your organization’s theme song; it’s about capitalizing on recruitment from the year and raising money. A lot of money! For many organizations, this equates to more than 40% of total annual fundraising.
This is not to say that multi-channel marketing is not an effective approach to fundraising (because it definitely is), but if you’re new to the multi-channel arena, year-end is not the ideal time to define your strategic program. Let’s be realistic: You’re already balancing quite a few balls in the air as the most important time of year looms, and the last thing you need is to be overwhelmed with defining a multi-channel strategy for your organization.
That said, there are five things you can do today in preparation for the year-end push that will raise more money, help inform your multi-channel strategy (beginning January!), and build departmental inroads:
- Let direct mail drive the bus. Preparing the mail piece is extremely important -- as well as time consuming -- but will undoubtedly raise the bulk of year-end dollars. Why share with only your direct mail audience? Repurpose the messaging concepts and visual imagery for a multi-part email series to ensure a consistent year-end ask.
- Lengthen the holidays. Want a year-end gift that keeps on giving? Easy: spread out the holiday spirit. A successful year-end campaign can be broken into three phases to help diversify the offerings during: November gift giving (e.g., gift catalog); December appeals (e.g., annual fund multi-part email series; see above); and December 30th and 31st tax-deductible benefits (e.g., last chance to give).
- Predice future value from history of giving. To be relevant to donors, recognize your audience’s past giving, and message -- or strategize -- appropriately. Remember, frequency of pre-giving is a predictor of how valuable they are in the 24 month period. Essentially: segment, segment, and segment your audience!
- Appeal to emotions. Pull on those heart strings, but remain positive. A successful emotional tug uses imagery to align dollars to the services provided. Not only does it provide a tangible breakdown of the financial impact, but it also allows your donors to more easily digest your program’s needs.
- Capture and convert visitors online. We all understand the goal during year-end is to convert donors, but it needs to be hyper clear to your website visitors. If a donation button should be found in two seconds or less, your year-end ask should greet all visitors. A great tool to welcome visitors to your website and convey a timely message is the use of a Lightbox. Don’t make a donor search to make a gift online!
In summary, year-end is not about crafting your organization’s multi-channel marketing strategy: it’s about raising money. If you’re new to the multi-channel playground, don’t worry -- and more importantly -- don’t rush it. Multi-channel marketing is a cultural shift for many organizations, and adoption can take some time. Be sure not to let the transformation compromise your year-end objectives. A successful year-end campaign that adheres to the five steps above will inevitably pave the way for your organization’s multi-channel strategy in 2013.
Share, Like and Post | | Article Link | CommentOne Nonprofit, Two Great Results
At Avalon, we work to ensure donors have a seamless and consistent experience across messaging systems each time they’re approached by an organization. And we believe in the importance of using multiple channels to increase donor engagement and uplift response. This belief comes from experiences like the ones I share below. We worked with the League of Women Voters last year on two very successful campaigns -- success that stemmed from the use of a secondary channel, uplifting the first.
In this first example, we used telephone calls to increase response from a targeted direct mail package, aiming to upgrade members.
Objective: To target strong leads within the League of Women Voters’ existing marketing programs to grow the organization’s Leaders for Democracy, a special $1,000+ group of donors.
Strategy and Audience: We created unique targeted models for the mail and phone, using a detailed donor profile of current $1,000 League donors with a modeled algorithm identifying the best potential candidates to invite to join the Leaders for Democracy program. The audience consisted mostly of donors with the capacity to give in large amounts (single gifts of $100-$999.99), as well as multiple years of giving. We designed an upscale invitation package in a highly personalized, special UPS envelope, with messaging that emphasized the benefits and exclusivity of joining the Leaders for Democracy. We followed up the invitation with a high-touch phone call.
Results: The exclusive package, in conjunction with targeted modeling, worked extremely well. The response rate was 104% higher than budgeted –- a 138% boost to the response rate from the previous fiscal year and the highest response rate since this invitation was introduced in FY04. Gross revenue was 111% over budget, and 722% higher net revenue than budgeted. The telemarketing call had the highest response in five years, with an incredible 90% fulfillment rate. The bottom line: we upgraded 55% more donors to the Leaders for Democracy level than the previous year. A huge success.
And this second example shows how the use of email can build on a strong direct mail appeal, increasing response rates and donations.
Objective: As with any nonprofit organization, the year-end appeal is typically the League of Women Voters’ strongest appeal. In the Fall of 2011, on the cusp of the Presidential primaries, we sought to take advantage of the giving season and the League’s relevant issues in the news to maximize giving.
Strategy: First, we created a direct mail package that focused heavily on timely political issues surrounding the 2012 elections, including the impact of money in politics and the influence of special interests working to pass voter suppression laws that were cropping up across the country. With the presidential primaries just two months away, the appeal’s messaging called out familiar big-name corporations for giving money to an organization that helped create the anti-voter legislation spreading from state to state.
Ten days after the mail drop, we sent an email to every mail recipient for whom we had an active email address. The email reinforced the direct mail messaging, and encouraged the donor to “stand up for your right to vote!” by making a contribution to the League. This email was so successful, we followed up with another email four days later, with the call to action: “Don’t let [organization] cast your vote!”
Results: With a hot topic and the ideal time of year for fundraising, we expanded the usual appeal audience to include lapsed and local League donors. And it paid off. The direct mail response surpassed all projections, with a 4.75% response rate and 122% more net revenue than expected. The email results were equally phenomenal, with an open rate, response rate, average gift, and gross income well above projections. Through our multi-channel approach, and by adding up-to-the-minute political messaging, we maximized the year-end giving slot and created the most successful year-end appeal in League history.
Share, Like and Post | | Article Link | CommentIMAB Welcomes New Member: NTEN
The IMAB is thrilled to welcome our newest member and partner, the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN). Communications Director,
Brett Meyer, will represent NTEN on the board. Both IMAB and NTEN understand the value and importance of integrated marketing and see many opportunities with this partnership.
“Integrated marketing is quickly emerging as an essential approach to constituent engagement for nonprofits,” said Michael Johnston, President, hjc, and Chairman of the IMAB. “NTEN’s history of sharing knowledge with nonprofits to help the sector use technology more effectively adds a strong voice and resource to the IMAB.”
I had the pleasure of welcoming Brett to the team and discussing some of his thoughts on integrated marketing. Brett reflects “We’re excited about the potential that the IMAB brings to the nonprofit sector and we’re equally excited to lend our experience and knowledge to help the board deliver on its vision. With the advent of technologies such as social media and mobile technologies, donors, volunteers and advocates are using an increasing number of channels to interact with the nonprofits they support. It’s critical for nonprofits to understand those channels and learn how to use them to engage with their supporters.”
Katy: What does integrated marketing mean to you?
Brett: Using marketing channels strategically. When an organization’s brand is all over the place because the person in charge of web ads doesn’t talk to the folks in charge of the web site, print materials, and even the phone room, the experience a constituent has will likely be fragmented. Getting everybody on board with marketing efforts – and I mean everybody, because even technical folks in charge of, say, a donation process need to know how each step relates to the outreach efforts – will create more impact and improve cost effectiveness. Sometimes, a campaign may only use a couple of channels, but the responsibility for marketing your organization effectively depends on your entire staff working to make the experience as cohesive as possible.
Katy: What possibilities do you envision through the partnership between NTEN and IMAB?
Brett: The NTEN community is strongly interested in effective marketing. Not only will our partnership provide great content for nonprofits looking to increase their impact, but we’ll also be able to tap our community of nonprofit marketing experts to share their expertise.
Katy: How can partnerships with IMAB provide more opportunities for NTEN members?
Brett: As I mentioned, we have a great group of marketing experts in our community, but because of NTEN’s broader focus on nonprofit technology, we cover a lot of ground. Through IMAB, our experts will be able to share their knowledge, while those new to integrated marketing will have a great source to become experts themselves.
Beyond offering a “new-school” understanding of integration, NTEN will provide the ongoing future home of IMAB’s Integrated Marketing Awards at the Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC). Many of you submitted for our first awards presented this August. Stay tuned for announcements about submission details and the presentation this April in Minneapolis!
Share, Like and Post | | Article Link | CommentThe Real Challenge of Multi-Channel Fundraising (or Sales): Customer Service
This article originally published on www.101fundraising.org.
It’s called many things and it can be a bit of a buzz term: integrated fundraising or multi-channel fundraising.
Whatever its name, its definition is the same: “the use of multiple channels to raise money”. However, it’s not the name or the definition that’s most open to debate. Rather, it is whether multi-channel fundraising leads to better results and a deeper donor relationship.
The furious adoption of the Internet for fundraising has brought the issue of multi-channel marketing to the forefront. In the past, direct mail, TV, and the telephone have been effectively combined to help improve fundraising results. For example, the telephone has been used to reactivate lapsed donors and convert direct mail single gift donors to more valuable monthly debit (regular) donors. The evidence, generally, with multi-channel marketing prior to the emergence of online giving, was that using a more active channel (e.g., the human voice of a phone call) was a very effective way of upgrading donors who were regularly swimming in the channels of a more passive medium like direct mail.
Why does this happen? A wonderful colleague of mine, David Love, once told me “No one has ever made a wet dash out of the bathtub to open a letter, but they have to answer a ringing telephone ”. And that’s what I mean by active versus passive channels. The phone is much more active and more human with a voice. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t incredible challenges to using the telephone, particularly around the invasion of the privacy of a donor, but it still has a place in multi-channel fundraising.
Unequivocally, the case studies in the charitable sector prove that the combination of online and traditional channels can make huge improvements to online fundraising.
But even if you are tactically ready to integrate your fundraising channels, are you doing it for the right reasons? And what I mean by that is: are you doing it to provide a better customer (donor) experience? Because that is the key reason behind providing a cross-channel customer experience.
Nonprofit organizations (and most likely many companies) are contemplating (or already executing) cross-channel customer service models. The underlying justification for all of this should be better customer service. But one barrier to cross-channel customer service execution is finding the right staff. How do you take existing (or new) staff and expect them to know both traditional channels for marketing and new ones on top?
I hope we can draw some focus and inspiration from the Four Seasons – the proudly Canadian hotel and resort Company. No matter the changes in technologies, the company has remained focused on four key principles for success: service excellence; quality; culture; and brand. So when your company or charity are beginning to debate the merits of cross-channel marketing or fundraising you shouldn’t be focusing on the tactical issues – you should remain focused on what cross-channel marketing means to the customer.
How will cross-channel marketing make them a happier (and more profitable) customer or donor for you? Don’t get lost in all the details on various channels integrating together except for how they can be evaluated in the area of customer experience.
And in the area of human resources, do not be discouraged if you cannot find someone who understands all channels (online and offline). Take heed of the Four Seasons and how they hire for their company. They look for the following qualities: excellent problem solving ability; autonomy; a love of what they do; someone who loves people. They don’t hire people in non-executive positions with past hotel experience.
Can you believe it? Think about that for a minute.
The Four Seasons has the best reputation for customer care in the competitive hotel industry but doesn’t hire people with past experience in that industry. They have created a culture, and training structure, that guarantees that if the person likes people and can solve their problems – the Four Seasons will mould that foundation into something excellent for the industry.
That is key for charities and companies to understand in this cross-channel world. Find people (already with you) or hired from the outside who just love interacting with other people and want to solve their problems. Then give them the cross-channel training they need (or let them learn those technical things on the job) and make sure your corporate culture inculcates them to properly represent who you are to the customer.
Today’s customer is demanding, needs more customer care than ever before, and the cross-channel tools (offline and online) must be working seamlessly together. And standing behind those tools has to be staff who are not afraid to step in front of those powerful tools (social media; email; direct mail; the telephone) and solved someone’s problem through what many call ‘the human moment’.
Are you ready to do that?
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