Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
- Click it!
Want to keep more donors? This week’s Click-It will show you how in a number of different ways. Create magical experiences for supporters by taking a page from Disney. Craft a persuasive case for support by stepping into your donor’s shoes and asking yourself, and your team, some critical questions. Learn more about the importance of personalization by watching a video from Starbucks. Understand the psychology of the three different types of buyers (aka donors). And think critically about the number of appeals you send, and how this may help or hurt your donor acquisition, renewal and upgrade efforts. Plus you’ll find some “News You Can Use” (tons of really useful data and reports) at the bottom of this post. To your success!
Keeping Donors
Click-It: How Disney Creates Magical Experiences (and a 70% Return Rate) from the Help Scout blog gives lessons you can apply to your nonprofit in order to enhance donor loyalty and retention. Walt viewed his theme parks almost as “factories” that produced delight and entertainment. What does your organization do to create a customer service culture that will delight your supporters? Long before Hillary Clinton wrote “It Takes a Village,” Walt understood this: “Whatever we have accomplished is due to the combined effort. The organization must be with you, or you can’t get it done.” This article makes for a very interesting read.
Case for Support
Click-It: Defining Your Case Through Four Vexingly Simple Questions by Andrew Brommel of Campbell & Company could also have been titled “Deceptively” simple questions. Because, while simple, these queries go to the heart of what it takes to be an effective nonprofit communicator and fundraiser. ACTION TIP: Convene an inter-departmental group and try to address these questions one at a time. Can you answer them thoughtfully and strategically? If you can, it will take you far.
Neuromarketing
Click-It: Starbucks Personalization – Evil, Funny, Or Brilliant? This article from Roger Dooley on Forbes will explain to you why you should be personalizing your donor communications. Plus you can watch a funny video. Fun is good!
Click-It: The 3 Types of Buyers, and How to Optimize for Each One, a guest post by Jeremy Smith on Neuromarketing, describes how understanding and embracing human psychology helps you understand consumer behaviors. He describes three types of buyers: Spendthrifts, Tightwads and Average Buyers. I happen to believe this applies to donors as well. Take a look, and see how it might help you with your fundraising offers. There’s a big storytelling trend these days (and for good reason); this article helps you determine when adding in a soupçon of data can help.
Appeal Frequency
Click-it: Is It Better or Worse to Send More Appeals? Michael Rosen gives us a thoughtful piece showing the answer to how many appeals you should send is not a simple one. If you’re going to test it for your nonprofit, you may want to track a number of variables. “For now, what we know is that multiple appeals will generate more current net revenue. However, we don’t know how many appeals are optimal. We also do not know the affect multiple appeals have on donor retention and Lifetime Value.”
NEWS YOU CAN USE
Click-It: Must-Read Fundraising and Social Media Reports for Nonprofits is a thorough list from Nonprofit Tech for Good with everything from the Nonprofit Benchmarks Study to the mGive Text Giving Study to the Millennial Impact Report to the Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Study and more. There’s something for everyone here.
Click-It: 50 Ways to ‘Move’ Your Donor: Stewardship Solutions to Get to Yes with Finesse. I’ll be joining the Foundation Center May 19th for a special Major Gifts Master Class: You’ll leave with a step-by-step cultivation plan; plus you’ll learn a novel, tried-and-true way to choreograph and measure your moves so you know exactly when you’re ready to ask. Register here.
Want more ways to keep more donors? I’ll be speaking in person at the AFP Silicon Valley luncheon meeting April 21st on why “A Donor is a Terrible Thing to Lose.” If you’re in the area, come by to learn how to improve your bottom line by recalibrating your strategies to concentrate more efforts on donor retention. Not nearby? Check out my Donor Retention and Gratitude Playbook.
Photo: Flickr, Isaac Torronterra
