What do YOU do when you feel physical pain? Odds are that you try to avoid more pain and also do what you can to ease the discomfort of the existing pain.

Why do I ask you that? What does any of this have to do with fundraising?

When you make donors, members, volunteers, advocates or prospects feel ignored, shunned or rejected … it triggers a part of their brain associated with physical pain.

That’s a negative emotion you do NOT want to trigger because it will drive them away from donating and joining. Stated another way: The result is the exact opposite of what you’re trying to do. And yes, this is based on scientific research.

“But we don’t ever ignore our donors and members!”

Is that what you’re thinking right about now? Don’t be so sure.

The act of ignoring doesn’t have to be blatant. What’s more, even though you don’t intentionally ignore someone, if you don’t do a great job of listening they can still feel ignored and hurt – to some degree. And even more benign situations can be interpreted as being ignored.

These potential “ignore” scenarios came to mind when I read about this research:

Phone hazards: Consider training on phone etiquette as well as randomly monitoring how reception or your call center converse with people. Also give thought to how anyone at your charity or association answers the phone.

• Does your staff sound bored? Or do they sound distracted because they were interrupted by a call? Do they sound eager to get the caller off the phone?

• Do they give short, terse answers that barely answer the question?

• Do they listen to the complete question? Pause … and when there are a couple seconds of silence from the caller who is clearly waiting for an answer, proceed to answer the actual question asked instead of the one they thought they heard after two words were out of the caller’s mouth?

Web forms

• When someone fills out your “contact us” web form … how quickly do you respond? And do your donors and members agree that “within 24 hours” (or something similar) is fast enough?

• Have you ever analyzed the questions you receive to see if any can be addressed faster by including them within your Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section?

• Do you send an immediate reply via email to reassure them their question was successfully received after hitting “submit” on the web form; to let them know the time frame for the complete reply; and to suggest they double check the FAQ page just in case they’ll find the answer there.

• Do you also offer the option of calling instead of using the web form? Do you have a toll-free number boldly displayed? Do you encourage web visitors to call instead of using the form?

• Do you carefully read the question submitted on the web form? Double check that you’ve answered the question asked and NOT the one you think they asked. This mistake is easily made because you know so much more about the topic that your “context” is vastly different from that of your supporters.

Live events

• Are the folks at the registration desk joking around? Conversing with each other and less-than-enthused when interrupted?

• Are they so focused on getting more badges ready or refilling supplies at a booth that they don’t even notice someone would like some help? This is a tough one. It’s also an example of a benign scenario where you can still make a donor, member, or event attendee feel ignored.

• Are the folks at your desks or booths so comfortable and relaxed (sitting on chairs; reading a book; texting or “playing” with their phone) that participants get annoyed and again feel hurt and ignored?

• Do you have enough staff at all the right times to deliver exceptional “customer” service?

What other scenarios can you think of? How do you minimize hurting your donors and members by making them feel ignored?

Remember: When this happens it triggers the same negative emotions within the brain that people want to avoid. Supporters retaliate by making fewer donations … fewer members join … fewer volunteer … fewer donors make repeat gifts … and so on.

Exceptional service is of paramount importance. It’s another chance for you to stand out from other nonprofits and be the organization of choice for more people.

More posts on “customer service”:

What are they saying behind your back? Don’t leave bitter memories with donors.

Because you care and they need to know you care

When good service whispers … people listen

Resources for this post:

Do Your Customers Feel Ignored? By Neuromarketing.com

Photo credit: “DidMyself” via PhotoPin.com

I like email. I like sending text messages. And I use both extensively. Yet neither of them grabs my attention like seeing someone’s handwriting on an envelope or note card that I receive.

This is one reason I don’t believe direct mail will ever die, because it’s how we send each other handwritten notes, cards and letters.

And in the nonprofit world, I also believe sending a handwritten note is one of the most effective forms of cultivation available.

.

Don’t think handwriting is important?

Let me ask you this: Would you send a sympathy card with a typed message on the inside? If you answered “yes,” I’d be stunned and deeply disappointed.

Why exactly is the handwritten note so powerful? Why does it make a BIG impact on your donors?

• Handwritten messages take more time to create – the manual writing; the care to not misspell because ‘spellcheck’ isn’t available; and the time to write neatly so it can be easily read.

• Handwriting isn’t easy or time efficient. That’s partly why it’s exceptional.

• It costs more – and people know this – especially as compared to email, text messages or a social media update/message. The stationery, the stamps, and the logistics of getting it mailed all add to the cost.

• There’s something very personal about handwriting. It’s “real.”

• Personal handwritten messages stand out in a world of fast, digital communications.

• The handwritten note is becoming a lost art. How sad.

• It’s not only the elderly that appreciate the gesture.

• A well-crafted handwritten note shows a deeper investment and level of appreciation than a simple thank-you is able to do. But please don’t limit your use of handwriting notes to thank-you messages.

• It’s tangible. It’s more memorable than email, text or other digital messages.

• It adds up to this: Handwriting communicates value – specifically, that YOU value the donor

Perhaps you’re thinking: Who has time for this?

First off; I realize your time is limited. Whose isn’t?

Yet that’s precisely why a handwritten note is such a marvelous cultivation strategy.

Whether it’s adding a handwritten note onto a typed letter . . . or writing a handwritten thank-you card . . . or enclosing a handwritten note to a major donor with an article on a topic of great interest to them . . . or anything in between, you send a loud and clear message that you value the donor receiving your handwritten message.

I believe everything you do is cultivation. This strategy of weaving handwritten notes into your donor communications is unique. It’s worth making the time to do it – to find a way to make it a regular part of your stewardship and fundraising.

That’s not all. Sincere, thoughtful and consistent cultivation increases loyalty, donor life-time value, retention, and your total funds raised. Remember: High touch trumps high tech when it comes to warm, personalized cultivation and fundraising. Direct mail delivers this high touch.

More on this topic:

8+ ways to better serve and cultivate donors and members

Donors and Teddy Bears Have a Lot in Common

6 Top Cultivation Methods (AKA: Stewardship)

Revive Direct Mail

This resource may also help you cultivate mid-level and major donors with a clever, personalized style. You can buy a batch of custom made cards, or have them do it all for you – even write the “handwritten” message … BlackSheepPostal.com

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Photo Credit: “SweetOnVeg” via PhotoPin.com

Hmmm. What does that headline mean? It means doing whatever you can to retain the donors you gain through acquisition marketing. It means doing whatever you can to prevent them from lapsing in the first place.

Don't let precious donors walk away

HOW can you avoid lapsed donors – or at least minimize your attrition rate?

Today I’m zeroing in on three thoughts for your consideration:

1 – Don’t simply try to acquire as many new donors as possible. Don’t focus solely on the quantity of new donors.

Instead, focus on acquisition of the BEST donors for your nonprofit. Focus on people with stronger ties to your mission that are more likely to stay around for repeated gifts and longer periods of time.

Take a look at all the data you’ve collected on donors that have been with you for two or more years. What acquisition methods and channels did they come from? What programs do they support the most? Create a profile of your longer-term donors and go after more that match this profile.

And speaking of acquisition: For those donors that have lapsed, of course you try to get them back. But identify those that align with your “best donor” profile? Put your biggest effort on these ideal candidates when trying to woo lapsed donors back.

2 – Schmooze with gusto. The “PC” term for this is “stewardship” or “cultivation”.

Sincere flattery and appreciation work wonders.

Send out prompt and meaningful thank you letters and emails. And if at all possible do something special and unexpected for first-time donors. This might be a unique thank you letter, a warm welcome package, a screen-saver image, a hand-written note of thanks, a special report, etc.

Each subsequent appeal and communication with your donors ought to have expressions of your appreciation for all that they do. This is expressed in a variety of ways throughout the appeal.

Do whatever it takes to make it clear you recognize the donor as a person and not merely as a source of money. That you value and respect their time. That you value their opinions. That you value their precious support.

Proper schmoozing helps reduce attrition so you have fewer lapsed donors.

3 – Get them engaged and interacting with your nonprofit as quickly as possible; and in more than one channel.

Welcome package … ask a few questions for them to send back to you. However; I’m not keen on labeling it a survey. Test other ways to refer to the questions you ask in order to find out what is most important to your new donor.

And what else can you offer them to increase engagement? Depending on your mission it might be a visit to your campus; special access pass to a park or museum; sharing a bit of their own story as to why they gave; and so on.

A welcome email series is also very effective. In small doses with separate emails you can engage them with videos, visits to key information on your website, and so much more.

Studies show engaged donors as well as multi-channel donors are more loyal and tend to give more.

It’s your call. You can employ these three simple strategies (simple doesn’t equate to easy). You can foster these quality donors to evolve into monthly givers, donors with higher average gifts, and ultimately nurture them to include your nonprofit in their will or bequest.

Or you can have higher attrition rates and spend more money acquiring a mass of donors instead of qualified donors. You can spend more time begging lapsed donors to return instead of minimizing how many you create in the first place. You can spend your time chasing around with less to show for it.

Like I said – your choice.

What else have you done to increase retention and to avoid creating more lapsed donors?

Related posts:

Retention is the New Acquisition

Who receives more courtesy from your nonprofit?

Want more donors and members?

6 Top Donor Cultivation Methods

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Photo credit: “Latente” via PhotoPin.com

The ultimate goal of all your nonprofit marketing is to raise money. And that money makes it possible for you to do great work helping people through charitable acts, or through your association.

Therefore, one way or the other you want your Facebook page to help raise money. It needs to “pay off” and make all your efforts of maintaining it worthwhile. First, what can you really expect from your fans?

It’s my opinion that Facebook and other social networks are MOST effective as acquisition and cultivation tools. Attract prospects . . . cultivate them over several weeks or months . . . and over time your cultivation strategy converts a significant portion to donors and members.

That’s definitely a pay off!

It’s also my opinion that you can’t expect to raise funds via social at anywhere near the same level as you can through integrated direct mail and email campaigns. To date, most nonprofits have the greatest success with short-lived (24 hours to a week or two in duration) projects with smaller dollar goals (e.g., $10K – 25K). Again, be strategic in choosing projects for promotion on Facebook.

That being said, how can you maximize Facebook ROI?

I watched a webinar last week by Mari Smith who is recognized as one of the genuine gurus of Facebook. She shared several tips on how to make your Facebook page produce a higher ROI. She wasn’t focused on nonprofit orgs, but the tips are just as valid.

Visibility is Mandatory

If fans don’t see your content . . . you won’t get any thing of value accomplished. Fans can’t LIKE, comment, share, donate, sign-up, or engage in any fashion if they never see your content.

And most of your content doesn’t get seen. In fact, on average only 16% of your content is seen by your fans. Some studies put the number as low as 3-6%.

In order to boost your ROI you need more people seeing more of your content. How do you do that? Here are 10 tips from Mari to answer that question:

1. Facebook wants you to run ads. And this could be worth testing for a specific campaign or event. Also know that you can control the budget and not spend more than you want.

2. Posting too often can hurt visibility. Test for your nonprofit. Start with once or twice a day. Oh, and don’t forget weekends!

3. Keep your content “on topic.” Also ask questions to prompt comments. This is because comments carry more weight than LIKEs in Facebook’s visibility formula (i.e., edgerank).

4. Include photos on 80-90% of your updates. Photos are a HUGE factor in getting your content max visibility.

5. Strive to keep your narrative to 160 characters or less. Yes, you can write updates with thousands of characters. But that works against your goal of maximum visibility for higher ROI.

6. Minimize using 3rd party apps to post updates (e.g., Hootsuite). Although using a 3rd party app does not hurt visibility, you won’t get the “share” button unless you include a photo with the update. And if your fans can’t share your content then this too hurts visibility.

7. Change your cover image regularly. Mari suggested as often as every few days! That surprised me. I also think that frequency is all but impossible for most nonprofits who don’t have staff dedicated solely to social media. But do try to change it once a quarter or so. And perhaps also have cover images for special events and even any holidays related to your org (e.g., faith-based charities can have dedicated cover images for Easter, Christmas, or Hanukkah).

8. Use the “pin to top” feature which saves an update to the top of your stream for 7 days. It’s also a way for you to rotate content that’s a bit older back to the top. And you ought to pin something about any promotion you’re running.

9. Monitor your Insights. Take a look at the analytics data Facebook provides for notifications, whose talking about you, new LIKEs, etc. A measure of your engagement rates is “the number of people talking” divided by “total fans.” The average is about 2%.

10. Respond to comments. Mari stated that this is her most lucrative tip! When people in your social network see that you respond to their comments, their value to you skyrockets. They’re more likely to “buy” which means donate, join, register for an event, and so on.

One more vital point: Don’t be a spammy marketer because it drives people away. Instead, produce reader-centric content that they’re interested in. And be in the trenches as a Facebook user.

It’s possible to make Facebook more profitable for your nonprofit. However, like everything else it does take effort. What can you add to this list? What are you doing to ensure that more people see more of your content more often?

Related posts:

Crank up the Facebook heat

Email and social media feed off each other

Seasonally social – Social media, that is

Donors and members respond to exceptional service ... even gentle whispers of kindness

Try to recall that TV commercial years back with the core message of, “When E.F. Hutton talks; people listen.”

And as soon as the E.F. Hutton rep began to speak, even quite softly, everyone stopped what they were doing and strained to hear what was being said.

Well, that’s what came to mind when I read Seth Godin’s post, “Speaking when they care (reorganizing the economics and attitude of customer service).”

He states that customer service reps can whisper and be heard; whereas advertisers struggle to be heard through the noise.

This is because so few organizations – be they for-profit or nonprofit – have exceptional customer service.  Hmm, or even “good” service for that matter.

Therefore, when you treat people exceptionally … when you give outstanding service … your organization stands out and easily gets noticed.

You won’t have to shout or bombard supporters with tons of messages to get noticed. Just be nice every step of the way. A gentle touch; a soft whisper will shine brightly through the fog of indifference.

It’s a sad fact, but courtesy is no longer prevalent in our society. This is true in one-on-one encounters as well as our interactions with organizations. So again, it’s easy to stand out.

Why should you make the effort to give supporters exceptional service – an exceptional experience with your nonprofit?

Because it can help you raise more money. You’ll acquire and retain more donors and members. Deeper loyalty. Your supporters will brag about you to their networks. You’ll create an army of advocates for your cause and reach prospects that until now were all but impossible to connect with.

It doesn’t happen magically. You’ll need to work at it and keep working at it. For example: Evaluate every touch point with your donors and members.

◊ Are you training your call center staff in common courtesy? In gracious sales techniques to get additional donations? How do you follow-up each call?

◊ Are you training every single employee on how to answer the phone with clarity and politeness? To give the impression that they really do care instead of being annoyed with the interruption?

◊ Are you responding to every online and phone inquiry rapidly? And are you taking time to think about the question so you actually answer it?

I can’t tell you how many times I get email replies that never answer my question. The person read it so quickly they assumed they knew what I wanted before reading more than the first sentence. Oh, and it’s pretty easy to spot “canned” answers too. Make time to respond personally. Look up the supporter’s history and “personalize” the response as you answer their question.

◊ An oldie but goodie: How prompt are you with acknowledgement letters? How personalized and tailored are they?

◊ How EASY do you make it for donors and members to respond, donate, contact you (e.g., a real person), to find information on your website, etc.?

◊ Do you give choices on how they pay? And are your forms well organized, easy to read, and easy to understand by someone OUTSIDE your organization?

◊ What’s the tone of your letters, emails, and web copy?

◊ And so on.

As Godin says, “Investing in delight via customer service is cheap to experiment with and easy to prove. Just siphon off 1% of your calls to a trained person who actually cares and wants to help–and see what happens to customer satisfaction and word of mouth.”

I recommend you read his post. His examples may give you more ideas on how to improve the experience supporters have with your nonprofit with every interaction. Every social media engagement. Every email. Every direct mail letter. Every page of web copy. Telephone calls. Special events. Registration and payment processes. Etc.

There are countless opportunities to give your donors and members exceptional service. And it’s worth doing if you want to raise more money. If you really care. Any examples of exceptional nonprofit service you can share in the comments box below?

Related posts:

Compassionate service to your donors and members

What are they saying behind your back?

Because YOU care and supporters need to know you care

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Photo by Ed Yourdon

I’ve written about it before: The importance of exceeding your donors’ and members’ expectations; of giving them exceptional service … and an exceptional experience with your nonprofit.

Yesterday that’s what Jeff Brooks wrote about in his blog, Future Fundraising Now: How skimping on your donors can make you lose your shirt.

He reminded readers that cutting corners and skimping on what you do for supporters comes at a high price.

And it’s a price you often can’t easily or readily measure. But it’s there just the same.

In other words: They stop coming back.

Donors stop sending in gifts. They may even be saying negative things about your nonprofit behind your back.

Members stop renewing. Or maybe they don’t buy anymore books, webinars, or other products and services.

Bottom line is that your bottom line suffers. You raise less revenue.

Jeff Brooks also shared examples of how you might be skimping donors:

• Slow as molasses to say thanks for the gift. You drizzle out the thank you letters several weeks later.

• You bore them with vague statements of need and mind-numbing statistics. You don’t make the effort to share inspiring stories.

• You don’t report back on what donors made possible; or else your newsletters and other comms are all about how great you are. (In the case of associations – you don’t talk about the progress their support as a member made possible in your industry.)

• You don’t give them something specific and exciting to sink their teeth into. All appeals are for raising undesignated funds. You save all the good stuff for foundations and major donors.

Read his post. His point and how he illustrates it is “spot on.”

Don’t skimp. Be careful of the corners you cut. It drives away supporters and you raise less revenue.

His message reminds me of a cliché. What is it? Oh yes: Being penny wise and pound foolish.

Related posts:

Because you care and they need to know you care … valid 52 weeks of the year

Don’t encourage donors to choose another nonprofit over yours

What are they saying behind your back?

Valentines Day – February 14 – is twelve days away. Get ready now ’cause it’s a great time to share the love and show your donors, members, advocates, and volunteers how much you appreciate them.

As we know, whatever you’re doing in direct mail for Valentines Day is already done except for tracking the results. And hopefully you’ve integrated that with social media and email.

But just in case you didn’t do anything via direct mail … there’s still time to send supporters a Valentine by email AND social media.

Critical point: For this to work you absolutely positively MUST have reader-centric messaging. This is ALL about them and what they make possible.

Here’s an idea you could whip together in a few hours:

• Create a short video of your staff wishing supporters Happy Valentines Day. They can shout, “Happy Valentines Day” as a group. But I suggest you choose one person to take 20-30 seconds expressing everyone’s gratitude for what your donors, advocates, etc. make possible. Include an example or two of what donors have done. Have FUN with this. Maybe everyone holds a red heart they made out of construction paper. Or each heart has a different message on it and the camera scans over the messages as the speaker is talking.
   
• You can promote the video on your Facebook page and through email.
   
• Post it on your nonprofit’s YouTube channel.
   
• Have a link to the video (along with a line of teaser copy) on your homepage and a few other key pages of your website. Draw web visitors’ eye to it by including a short graphic with the text and link, or possibly have the video itself on your website if you can.
   
• Encourage supporters to share your Valentines greeting with folks they know who also like what you do. And make it EASY for them to share via email and social media.

Share the love. Cultivate your supporters with a simple Valentines greeting. Keep it simple. Have fun.

If your staff looks a bit awkward in the video – so what? That’s a genuine emotion most of us can relate to and it also shows sincerity. It will help donors, advocates, volunteers and members to connect with real people instead of a faceless organization. It will strengthen your relationship with them.

Related posts:

10 Suggestions to cultivate website visitors

Donor Cultivation and Natural Disasters … ideas for ANY charity or association regardless of your mission

Donors are a lot like Teddy Bears … why they give and give

Your fall, holiday, and end-of-year campaigns are underway. You’ve carefully integrated your direct mail with email, telemarketing, your website, social media, press releases, and possibly mobile.

That’s good.

What happens when your prospects, donors and members respond? What’s your integrated plan for acknowledging their generosity?

How will you express your gratitude and exceed their expectations with your expressions of gratitude?

Here are my thoughts for a basic acknowledgment system:

Online donors (house file)

• Donors immediately see an acknowledgment page on the website after making the donation.
• Link(s) on the page take them further into the topic they just supported with their gift.
• Immediately sent a personalize email saying thank you.
• Within a week they also receive a personalized direct mail thank you letter (NOT a form letter).
• Depending on the size of the gift, a thank you phone call would be a smart idea. Just DON’T ask for another donation.
• Email down the road that gives them an update on the program they just supported.

Online donors (prospects)

• Donors immediately see an acknowledgment page on the website after making the donation.
• Link(s) on the page take them further into the topic they just supported with their gift.
• Immediately sent a personalize email saying thank you and welcome to your organization. Now they receive your “welcome series” of emails and are suppressed from the rest of your email mailings until the series is complete.
• Within a week they also receive a personalized direct mail thank you letter (NOT a form letter) and your welcome package.
• Depending on the size of the gift, a thank you phone call would be a smart idea. Just DON’T ask for another donation.
• Email down the road that gives them an update on the program they just supported.

Direct mail donors (house file)

• Within a week they receive a personalized direct mail thank you letter (NOT a form letter).
• Depending on the size of the gift, a thank you phone call would be a smart idea. Just DON’T ask for another donation.
• Send an update down the road on the program they just supported.

Direct mail donors (prospects)

• Within a week they receive a personalized direct mail thank you letter (NOT a form letter) and your welcome package.
• Depending on the size of the gift, a thank you phone call would be a smart idea. Just DON’T ask for another donation.
• Send an update down the road on the program they just supported.

Don’t treat everyone the same

Some donors – based on the size of their gift – warrant high touch. For example: A genuine one-on-one letter from the top leader of your organization. I mean, with each letter you start with a blank sheet of paper and write it for that ONE donor.

For others a warm phone call is a nice touch. I recommend you also have differences in your welcome package for the mid-level and high-end gifts.

I’ve been touting for several months that in today’s market … in today’s economy … with today’s savvy donors and consumers you MUST GIVE THEM AN EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCE.

Make resources available and create an exceptional experience for your supporters.

Cut corners with your expressions of gratitude and you’ll pay dearly: Fewer repeat gifts. Retention drops. Average gift size declines. Acquisition declines (ask me how that happens if you’re skeptical).

You raise far less revenue with a casual, perfunctory acknowledgment system.

What business decision will you make?

Related posts and resources:

Need help with your thank you letter?

Create a Nonprofit Loyalty Program

Are you Nickel-and-Diming Your Donors?

Have you noticed how many of the major (and minor) consumer brands have rolled out new loyalty programs of late? Within the last 18 months or so they’ve either overhauled their loyalty program, or launched something completely new.

WHY they’ve done this is what’s important to you as a nonprofit:

1 – Loyalty members are often 3 to 4 times more valuable than other consumers.

2 – These companies are surviving the lingering recession due in large part to revenues from loyalty programs.

3 – Higher return on investment seen on loyalty programs.

4 – Loyalty members provide a strong revenue foundation.

5 – During challenging economic times loyalty members contribute an even larger percentage of revenue.

Those five reasons ought to get and keep your attention.

Loyalty programs go far beyond a smile and gracious thank you at the time of purchase. That’s still essential. But it’s not enough these days.

In the nonprofit world we speak of donor cultivation and stewardship. As part of your cultivation you write warm and friendly letters, emails and web copy that’s reader-centric. You send out timely thank you letters and welcome packages. You ask supporters to share their opinion. And on it goes.

Traditional cultivation isn’t enough

Today I think you need to do even more. You need to go beyond cultivation and create a nonprofit loyalty program. And no; I’m not referring to a sustainer program either. You need to go beyond that too.

Donors, members and consumers are more demanding than ever. If your charity or association isn’t meeting exceeding their expectations … you’ll lose them. And if by chance you don’t completely lose them you won’t receive as much revenue from them. So you still lose.

How can you reward them?

Brainstorm with your staff. Include people who don’t normally work in development. Brainstorm with your consultants.

Find ways …

- To reward supporters

- To keep them coming back (e.g., making multiple gifts; or buying products and services as an association member)

- To increase their lifetime value

- To give them an exceptional experience

Achieving this demands non-linear thinking. But I firmly believe your nonprofit will reap the benefits when you find ways to reward loyalty. When you find ways to give something back to those who help you day-in and day-out.

I know you can’t give them a free gallon of milk after buying 8 gallons. Nor can you give them a free pizza when their card is full, or a free dessert on their birthday. Use the consumer market as inspiration, but don’t get hung up on the fact that you can’t precisely duplicate what they do.

Brainstorm. Use non-linear thinking. Reward supporters of your nonprofit with MORE than a traditional thank you letter or email.

Create a nonprofit loyalty program that rewards them for their faithful support. With our rapidly changing times and sluggish economy, I believe it’s fundamental to your development strategy.

Related posts:

How “L.L.Bean” compassion can inspire nonprofits to do the same

Do you really value the opinions from donors and members?

You’re annoying subscribers

]]> http://pkscribe.com/nonprofit_news/nonprofit-loyalty-program/feed/ 1 http://pkscribe.com/nonprofit_news/what-are-they-saying-behind-your-back/ http://pkscribe.com/nonprofit_news/what-are-they-saying-behind-your-back/#comments Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:48:38 +0000 Karen Zapp, copywriter http://pkscribe.com/nonprofit_news/?p=2570

Ever wonder what donors, members and prospects say behind your back?  Every wonder how they feel about the experience they have with your nonprofit?

Are their thoughts pleasant? Or are they bitter? Seth Godin wrote a blog post last week titled, Memories of bitterness. His point was that a negative experience leaves a bitter memory for a long time.

And people will talk about that bitterness with their friends and colleagues whenever something jogs their memory. So as a fundraiser and marketer … you need to care about the conversations and the memories your supporters have.

Why? Because the bitter memories and negative conversations will reduce the number of people who choose to support your nonprofit.  In other words, you earn less revenue.

Besides caring, what can you do to help ensure their experience with your charity or association is positive? Or better yet, an exceptional experience?

Be brutally honest with yourself as you answer these questions:

◊ How sincere was that last thank you letter?

◊ How friendly is your staff when they answer the phone? How helpful are they in connecting callers with the right person? Is your staff genuinely eager to help donors and members?

◊ How do you think about your supporters? As the life blood and soul of your nonprofit? Or as a number … a source of revenue?

◊ How hard do you work to find out what is of interest to your donors and members … what is important to them?

◊ When you write an email, page of web copy, direct mail letter or Tweet … are you thinking, “How does this help my reader? What does this mean to them?”

◊ Are you writing copy the way you want to see it … or in a way your readers most enjoy, appreciate and respond to?

◊ How considerate are you … really considerate … of the people who support your nonprofit?
Are they first in mind when redesigning your website?
Are they first in mind when creating an online donation form?
Are they first in mind when writing any copy?
Are they first in mind when planning an event?
Are they first in your mind?

Your answers to those questions determine the memories and feelings your donors and members have toward you. Your answers determine the tone of the conversations people are having about your charity or association.

You might be helping your cause. Or you might be undermining it.

As the fundraiser and marketer, I firmly believe your donors, members, prospects and advocates need to be foremost in your mind. They ought to have a higher priority than the people your mission serves.

The front line staff employees can have the beneficiaries of your mission top of mind. But again I say, as the marketer and fundraiser … for you it’s the supporters of your mission.

Customer Service. Donor Service. Member Service. Volunteer Service. Make it all exceptional for sweet memories and conversations. You’ll also raise more funds.

More posts on exceptional service and donor cultivation:

Because You Care and THEY Need to Know You Care

Why fundraising isn’t enough for your charity