My Ivy League-educated friend Laura mentioned she hadn’t checked her answering machine in months and I was shocked. My obvious question was, “Do you still have a VCR?” She didn’t say no. Each of her three children and her spouse have cell phones and yet she keeps her landline but doesn’t use it. That got me thinking about the tools we use to reach our constituents. Just because the channel is available, doesn’t mean the message is being received.
In Annual Giving we are appealing to a mass market which, by definition, are products or service appealing to a large number of people. Yes, we appeal to a large number of people, but we aren’t appealing – meaning exciting or attractive – to them. The proof is in the declining participation rates, most of which were already low before the significant decline began. The majority of alumni do not make a gift annually. So why are we mass marketing when we know the majority of the alumni will not respond? Because we are desperate to gain even one donor more than we had last year. It’s not working.
It’s time to rethink the strategy. Stop appealing to the masses and start being more appealing to these three groups in ways that will resonate:
1. People who give to you annually.
· These are your loyal donors – your best friends – and you should treat them as such. How do you make your best friends feel? How do you treat them when you see them? Do you write to them, send them notes, think about them often, and do something nice for them on occasion?
· Segment these donors into categories and appeal to them in precise ways. It’s worth the time and effort. Find out what marketing channel they prefer and use that one to connect with them. Learn when they give and why they give and use that knowledge to appeal to them. It’s like Starbuck’s knowing your regular order. It’s impressive and you feel known.
· How many times have we called a loyal donor from our phone room and they say they will mail in a check? We don’t listen, we try to bend their will and convince them that giving tonight, by credit card, is better for the university. But is it better for the donor? No. And when they hang up they aren’t feeling the warm glow of appreciation and love. You probably aren’t getting that check after all. You’ll tell yourself that it was because you didn’t get the gift when you had the chance. I’ve done that. The truth is we didn’t listen, trust, and respect the answer. That’s like the barista talking you out of your regular chai latte because pumpkin lattes are the flavor of the day.
2. People who have given to you before.
· These are your next best bets. These are people who have tried you out and quit you for one reason or another. Ask them why and what conditions it would take to get them back as a donor. Was it your indifference when they did make a gift? Did they give to a particular campaign, a reunion, or just once, a long time ago?
· Segment these donors into categories including when and why they gave up on you and why they may return. Appeal to those who gave to you more recently and stopped giving for reasons that can be overcome. Create the conditions that will appeal to the donors who told you they would come back to you if…
3. People who would give to you if you were genuinely appealing.
· You have people who have never given to you and would if you set the right conditions and you were truly appealing. Unfortunately, these are the majority of your constituents. Once you find out who is who, ignore those that have told you to ignore them savings significant resources in the process.
· So how to narrow the pool and pick out the ones who will give? Look for the characteristics and traits among this group that match those who do give and then ask this subset of your non-donors why they don’t give (sometimes people claim to be donors when they are not – which means they are inclined), what it would take to get them to give, and how they would like to give. Be artful and direct in how you ask these questions and respect the answers.
· Then, set the conditions and segment based on what would cause people to give and how they would like to give (which channel).
We don’t have to appeal to everyone, but we do have to be appealing to the right people, offering the right marketing channels, content, and causes that they care about. Ultimately, you are looking for the people with whom your cause resonates. People who say, “Of course I support you because people like us do things like this.” – Seth Godin on how non-profits can be effective.
I saw Laura again today and she told me she finally checked her answering machine. It turns out she missed a call from her classmate asking her to join a conference call for her reunion gift committee, an honor she was selected for because of her 25 years of consecutive giving. Loyal Laura mentioned she still writes checks and mails them in dutifully each year. Of course, she does.