The Agitator

comScore, a leading measurer of the digital world, reports that 64% of US internet users now pay at least some of their bills online. This is up a sharp 19 points since one year ago. And 52% use automatic bill pay, up 10 points. This is good news for US fundraisers, especially use of ...  Read more

Go ahead, make a commitment! That’s the advice of David Kravinchuk at the FLA Group, a Canadian fundraising consultancy. David argues that few donors these days give out of a sense of duty or obligation or blind trust, as older generations did. Today’s donors want to see results. If ...  Read more

Seth Godin did one of his trademark "short but sweet" — and provocative — posts the other day, titled, No New Customers. Here it is in its entirety … What if a rift in the time-space continuum changed the universe and it was suddenly impossible to get new customers ...  Read more

Starbucks uses its "Passion Panel" to come up with new products and line extensions. This is a group of Starbucks’ best customers who respond to online queries in return for perks. [What, you say, Starbucks doesn't have enough variations on the Frappuccino already?!] Maybe your ...  Read more

Not every Agitator reader has a multi-million dollar fundraising and communications budget to work with! So we keep an eye out for fundraising advice that’s especially relevant for smaller nonprofits. Here’s an example from Doodig Blogs. This article — 5 Top Fundraising Mistakes ...  Read more

From a recent post by marketing maven Seth Godin: "…someone’s worldview, how they feel about risk or other factors, is beyond your ability to change in the short run. Sell people something they’re interesting in buying. If you can’t leverage the worldview they already ...  Read more

Rapidata, the UK’s leading processor of direct-debit charitable and commercial transactions, has just released a massive study of monthly giving in the UK, with a special focus on 2008 to 2009 comparisons. To put this in context, 37% of donors in the UK are monthly givers, and such giving ...  Read more

eMarketing & Commerce reports on a study of Facebook fans and their brand loyalty, as  published in the March Harvard Business Review. In this case, the study examined the behavior and attitudes of customers of Houston’s Dessert Gallery cafe chain who became the company’s ...  Read more

Last week we talked about going the extra mile to recognize donor loyalty. Here’s an illustration I didn’t want you to miss from Jessica Harrington at Schultz & Williams … "We’re absolutely doing this!  For one organization’s first renewal, we ...  Read more

I could easily spend a couple of hours each day reading articles (and books) on customer loyalty and loyalty programs in the commercial space. Here’s a typical example from DM News about companies like Target, Hilton, Best Buy etc and what they’re doing to capture more share of wallet ...  Read more