I’m seeing more and more marketing articles these days that emphasize relationship building and seriously engaging “best” customers. Here’s an example from Seth Godin, where he discusses Fans, participants and spectators:
“Likes, friendlies and hits are all fast-growing numbers that require little commitment. And commitment is the essence of conversion. The problem with commitment is that it’s frightening (for both sides). And so it’s easy to avoid. We just click and move on.
I think there’s a transparent wall, an ever bigger one, between digital spectators and direct interaction or transaction. The faster the train is moving, the harder it is to pay attention, open the window and do business. If all you’re doing is increasing the number of digital spectators to your work, you’re unlikely to earn the conversion you deserve.”
All this makes sense in fundraising as well.
One aspect of this involves focus and targeting … simply knowing your best donors and investing in appropriate communications with them. Smart mechanics, in other words.
But the other aspect — and far more difficult for nonprofits to address — is identifying and nurturing the underlying “stuff” that drives donor commitment in the first place. Why should your organization matter a lot to a donor instead of just a little?
First, I suppose, the donor must be fiercely committed to the need or objective you represent. There’s not much you as a fundraiser can do to light that fire in the first instance (although maybe your communications department has a role to play).
But when it’s there, the fire needs to fanned, fueled and focused on your organization and how your organization (yes, yours better than others) can help that donor achieve his or her aspiration for the need or cause at hand. The question becomes: What does it take to become indispensable to your donor?
Answering that question is the fundraiser’s greatest challenge. Maybe you can start by asking your donors the question.
Tom
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Tom,
A fantastic post! Full of wisdom! Full of truth! Full of good counsel!
To begin with, I’m a huge fan of Seth Godin. I read his blog every day. So much of his marketing wisdom and savvy is completely transferable to the nonprofit advancement/philanthropy sector.
That should not surprise anyone, since Seth’s thinking process begins in the world of consumer-product/service marketing, and we in nonprofit advancement also are, after all, “selling” something! Seth knows and posits that fact as well.
I was reared professionally in the advancement school of thought that asserts the core, critical importance of constituency/relationship building, cultivation and management as the bedrock of successful fund raising. Consequently, I’ve remained focused on it all my professional life, and I’ve emphasized it for every client over the past 15 years.
I find essential value in Godin’s point that there is a “transparent wall, an ever bigger one, between digital spectators and direct interaction or transaction.” This is why I continue to believe that successful relationship-cultivation/management for nonprofits cannot be based principally or solely on contact through the ever-expanding social-media platforms. While helpful and useful, those platforms are not intimate enough on their own.
Even today, we still need to maintain person-to-person contact (through a variety of channels) with current and potential donors if we are to fan and fuel the fire of their steadfast commitment to the organization’s mission. At the same time, we need to be constantly in the research mode to understand how that dynamic works and advances for each individual we call a friend or investor.
Do what Kim klein says. Ask everyone you meet.
Do you give money away?
Who do you give it to?
Why do you give it to them?
What would make you want to give to our nonprofit?
Sincerely,
Mazarine