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 have, you are essentially invisible."
This is another way of talking about relevance.
Think about your new member/donor prospecting. How confident are you that the message you are attempting to send to prospects is relevant to them? What part of their worldview are you attempting to engage and activate?
If there’s a problem, is it the wrong message … or the wrong audience for that message?
To figure this out, it wouldn’t hurt to know pertinent things about the worldview of the donors you already have … obviously you had a message that worked for them. So what information or evidence do you have about why your fundraising message worked?
Of course, with resources, you can do formal research to get at that.
You could also try this …
Send a personal letter (or email) to a bunch of donors who have stayed with you five or ten years. Ask them to write you back, explaining why they have supported your group all these years. Then listen to what they say. You’ll detect some commonalities … maybe even a shared worldview.
Now, make sure that’s the language you’re speaking in your current prospecting. Even though the programmatic content might change or need refreshing, there’s something more durable underneath the program-speak … and that’s what you need to capture and bottle. And while you’re at it, make sure it’s the language you’re speaking in your renewal efforts as well.
Tom
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Different donors need different wins! A true connection will allow you to understand their motivation to help your cause. Reaching out in a substantive way is always the best!
New idea here for me: writing to learn — and engage. Have been doing it for years in person. I’m sure it can work in writing. You’re suggesting that you can gain insight into their worldview and what they most value.
I’ve found that few folks get asked what’s important to them.
One said, “Harvard has asked me, they’ve asked me many times — but always for money. Neither Harvard nor any other organization has ever asked what’s important to me. [Organization] will get all of my money, and Harvard will get no more.” And he’s been doing just that ever since.
So it’s more than the information and insight we gain, right?