Posted on Tue, Jul 27, 2010
Hey dear readers,
Due to an emergency, part two of our three-part series on getting donors' attention will be published next week. In the mean time, be sure to follow us on twitter for even more direct marketing and fundraising tips.
Best wishes,
Adams Hussey & Associates
Posted on Tue, Jul 20, 2010
This is the first entry in a three-part series on getting donors attention. Check us out next week for our entry on direct mail teasers!
By Charlotte Kresse, Director, Interactive Department
As online marketers, we’re all guilty of it.
We spend hours working on strategy, copy, data segmentation, etc. only to think of our subject line as an after-thought.
But our brilliant message is all in vain if no one sees it.
Think of the subject line as the online version of the teaser on a direct mail envelope. In direct mail, someone decides in seconds whether to throw away a letter or open an envelope.
And a subject line often determines whether someone opens your email or clicks delete.
So, here are a few tips to help you write effective subject lines:
Front Page News. Take a look at headlines for inspiration and use what’s in the news. Any editor worth his salt knows how to write a headline that contains key facts in limited space to entice us to read on.- Action-oriented and Specific! Use deadlines, embrace action verbs, and be concrete about the issue at hand.
- Reel Them In. Use the subject line to connect with the recipient and bring the message closer to home. Localize messages by referring to their community or home state. “You” is always a powerful word in direct marketing or test including the recipient’s name.
- Size Does Matter! When it comes to subject lines, there is a good reason to keep it brief: there is a limit on characters that display in the user’s inbox. Keep your subject line at approximately 45-50 characters (or less, if you can!).
- From Line. Don’t overlook the “From” line. The most effective are from an actual person and include the organization’s name.
- Proof is in the Data. It is important to monitor your own success. Looking at the open rates of your own messages will help you glean what works for your audience.
- Test, Test, Test. Enough said.
There Is No Silver Bullet. What works today, may not be effective tomorrow. That means that even if you were able to write the best subject line in the history of email, you will still have to write a new subject line for your next message.
Final Thoughts
There is no magic formula. Something that’s highly successful for one campaign might underperform for another. Nonetheless, these tips will point you in the right direction. What tips do YOU have?
Posted on Tue, Jul 13, 2010
By Lon Chapman, Executive Vice President
In online marketing, there is always a new shiny object to grab our attention. And because of this, we are fooled into thinking that the rules of marketing must be equally as dynamic. We want them so badly to be dynamic; the same-old, same-old rules just seem so, well, old-fashioned.
But marketing is marketing. And the rules really haven’t changed since the stone age of marketing. That’s because though the tools of marketing may evolve, human behavior endures.
The fact is, direct marketing tenets are far more elastic than most of the medium that they govern.
So what motivates people to give to your organization online is not that different from what makes them give over the phone or in the mail – or in direct solicitations.
At the risk of sounding like the “old folks” I derided as being “so yesterday” when I first entered the direct marketing world more than a handful of years ago, this blog topic was first published as a newsletter article I wrote about direct mail marketing in a pre-Google/Twitter/Facebook world.
Back then (and still today), everyone was looking for that magic teaser that would make our donors want rip open the envelope to see what was inside, and ultimately give.
The guiding principle was and still is an economy of words – getting your message across in as few words as possible.
When I revisited this topic, I was not really surprised to find that the rules are as applicable today as they were when I first wrote this article. In fact, in some ways they are even more so because these days donors are responding as much to consumerist values as they are to philanthropic motivations when deciding to whom to give.
Simply put, donors are looking for the biggest bang for their buck.
The following six words all are “value” words. They supplement and complement your argument to give. But be warned that by themselves they are NOT a reason to give, they are simply motivational. However, combined with your argument to give, they can be magic. They will tip the decision process on whether to read your email – or open the envelope – in your favor.
FREE Yes, the “F-word”. The impact of this one word to getting response cannot be underscored enough. It is every marketer’s friend, commercial and non-profit alike. Embrace it.
NEW There is something enticing about that which is new. It says to a donor: “This is not the same old stuff you have seen before.”
SIMPLE Process driven aspects of the appeal whether it be filling out a survey or contribution page seem less laborious.
FAST The internet was built on immediate gratification. Plus, everyone says they are way too busy … except when it comes to watching YouTube.
URGENT It’s a toss-up between “urgent” and “important” as to which is more impactful. Regardless, “urgency” is a primal copywriting “hook” for a reason.
YOU This is probably the most important of all the words – even more so than FREE – for its sheer versatility and impact. As marketers we can never forget that our job is to make the connection between the consumer/donor and the product. Without the “you”, there is no connection.
As important as these words are, there are definitely more. Which do you think are the most important ones?
Posted on Tue, Jul 06, 2010
By Bill Goldstein, Vice President, Client Services
Yoda would have made a fantastic marketer. Being a diehard fan of the Star Wars films (yes, even the prequels); I cannot tell you how often his little nuggets of wisdom apply to our roles as direct response marketing strategists.
As we look forward to developing smart and innovative tests to grow our clients’ membership sizes, retain members, reduce expense, and improve revenues, consider some of these great quotes and how we can take them to heart in our testing strategies.
“Size matters not ... Look at me. Judge me by size, do you?” Too often, the tests which have the largest impact on our programs revenue and performance are the ones with the smallest changes to our packages and segmentation strategies. How many times has something as simple as 1st vs. 3rd class postage, a return address envelope vs. business reply envelope, or removing an insert dramatically improved results? It is important for us to be innovators. It is just as important to use best practices.
“Mind what you have learned. Save you it can.” Have you reviewed your client’s past testing results? Have the winning tests been rolled out yet? A strong testing agenda builds on what has been done so you are not repeating the same tests over and over again. If you have tested BRE vs. RAE multiple times, what is the consensus? You can save a client considerable expense by not repeating tests that are clearly one-sided.
“Always two there are, no more, no less: a master and an apprentice.” We spend considerable time and expense developing new messages, creative and testing strategies to improve programs. But all that work is for naught if the control and test are not correctly set up. Make sure you have isolated only one variable that you are comparing, such as segments; there is a stratification of the data; and a large enough sample size to read results.
“Always in motion is the future.” A smart marketer never accepts the status quo. As direct marketing strategists, it is our job to always test the conventional wisdom for our client’s programs.
"Reckless he is. Matters are worse." While it is criminal to rollout 2 million pieces of acquisition mail without a single test – we also do not want to throw a bunch of tests into a large campaign to say we did testing. Test smart and test with a purpose! If possible develop a testing agenda during the budget process and lay out your strategies for the next 12 months.
May the force be with you.
Let us know what testing strategies you use? What’s made the biggest impact?
Posted on Tue, Jun 29, 2010
By Kim Cubine, Managing Principal
There are more women donors than there are male donors. For years, numerous nonprofit trend watchers and independent tracking groups have confirmed this fact.
What we really don’t know is why women contribute more frequently.
- Do women give more because they are more compassionate than men?
- Do women contribute more because they like to spend money?
- Do women actually have more free time than men?
- Do women give at the same level as men?
Well, I couldn’t really answer the first three questions outside of my own personal experience. But we could definitely test the giving level between men and women with organizations to determine if there was indeed a difference.
We decided to implement a "direct mail battle of the sexes." Using a prospect control package we set up a series of ask string tests and split the file between men and women. The test panels were established as follows:
- Women received three ask string variations: control ask, low dollar ask, and high dollar ask.
- Men received three ask string variations: control ask, low dollar ask, and high dollar ask.
Wow - women give at a higher rate but in every case they gave at a lower gift level than the men.
As a matter of fact, for the male test segments there was no statistical difference in the control and the high dollar asking string.
For women, the opposite was true. The low dollar test segment had a 20% increase in response rate over the control panel. And the lower average gift did not have a negative impact because the investment per donor was 13% lower due to the increased percent response.
Overall, it costs this organization less to recruit women than it does to recruit men.
This test was repeated in the house files and for some organizations we have now established different gender based asking strings depending on the test results.
So by all means, if you haven’t pitted (I mean, “tested”) women against men on your donor file, do it today! And let us know what your results are!
Posted on Tue, Jun 22, 2010
By Suzanne Kirkendall, Production Manager
Regardless of the state of the economy, direct marketers and their clients are always looking to save a buck. The production process is the most costly part of the direct mail process, and as a result offers the most opportunities to save money!
1. Try downsizing. Take a look at your current packages and consult your production team about alternate sizes for components – newsletters, calendars, brochures or other inserts, for example. Sometimes even a minor change in size may provide cost savings if it means running more efficiently on press equipment – a better fit on the press means less paper and less waste.
2. Change paper stock to help offset rising paper prices. Consider reducing paper weights – Instead of the usual 60# paper stock, try 55# paper for your letters, or for a two page letter or insert use 50#. For some inserts, you can even try a lower paper grade. Small changes can lower cost without lowering quality.
3. Use existing dies. Is a custom die cut necessary for a window envelope or address labels, or can you design around an existing die that you’ve used before, or a printer already has in inventory? You can save hundreds this way in die cut charges.
4. Gang run your printing. You can significantly lower your print costs if you can gang run whenever possible. For example, you may be printing for a large prospect mailing and you plan to use same or different versions of some components in subsequent appeals. Gang printing these components can save on costly set up charges and lower costs on your overall budget.
Are you printing OEs and BREs for an ongoing acknowledgement or renewal program, but can’t print for 6 months or a year? Often you can work out a lower negotiated price with a printer if you can commit to an annual volume.
5. Piggyback. For print jobs that might be cost prohibitive to smaller organization, piggyback with another of your production vendor’s clients print run and share the savings. Because of our large annual print volumes at AH&A we can offer savings to all of our clients.
6. Commingle. Maximize your postage discounts! One of the best ways to reduce you postage costs is through commingling. If you are not currently commingling your mail, it is simply the process of combining several mail streams from multiple mailers into one mailstream, which can result in big postage savings. If you’re not sure about your savings potential, a postage cost savings comparison can be provided by your mailshop.
7. UAAC or PCOA. Don’t waste money on undeliverable mail. NCOA (National Change of Address) is based on information submitted to the Post Office. But did you know that up to 40% of moves are not reported? The address you may have on file that has been processed through NCOA, may be valid, but the addressee my not reside at that location due to death, divorce, etc. Running your file against UAA (undeliverable-as-addressed) national databases such as UAAC or PCOA, you can suppress those UAA mailing records saving printing, mailing and postage for undeliverable mail! Charges apply only to matches found, and the savings far outweighs the cost per suppression.
As great as these suggestions are, there are still even more ways to save money on production costs! What are YOUR favorite cost cutting tips?
Posted on Tue, Jun 15, 2010
Daniel Burstein recently wrote an excellent article in MarketingExperiments.com on how Adams Hussey & Associates client California State Parks Foundation took advantage of the power of social media to dramatically grow their web presence and raise close to a million dollars. The response to this article was so overwhelming that it was followed up with an interview with Adams Hussey & Associates' Senior Online Account Executive and Strategist Brenna Holmes, who advised the organization and helped to implement their online strategy. The text of this interview is below, and to view it in its original form, please follow this link.
Recently, I wrote about a case study that included excellent use of integrated marketing and social media – Facebook Case Study: From 517 to 33,000 fans in two weeks (plus media coverage). The MarketingExperiments community of marketers wanted to get a deeper look at the details, so I figured, why not go straight to the source?
Brenna Holmes, a senior online account executive and strategist at Adams Hussey & Associates (AH&A), was the digital brand strategic advisor on this campaign for her client, the California State Parks Foundation (CSPF). I asked her many questions from our audience along with a few of my own…
Let’s start with your role in this campaign. Social media operations is a huge challenge in itself. We’ll get to what you did in a moment. But first, how did you get it done?
Brenna Holmes: In the case of this urgent campaign, not only did I serve as an advisor, I also helped with implementation for all things social – optimizing their existing Facebook fan page with the custom welcome tab and many personalized Facebook Markup Language (FBML) widgets. Later in the campaign, I started and managed their Twitter account.
CSPF is a very small and tightly knit organization. Their Director of Membership, Greg Zelder, and Director of Communications, Jerry Emory, are my daily contacts and it was (and is) in collaboration with them that we got a full-scale multichannel campaign up and running within one week of learning of the Governor’s proposed budget cuts.
The first thing that catches my eye about this case study is the quick, large Facebook fan page growth that led to positive media stories. But when you explore this success a little deeper, it’s not just a case for social media marketing, but integrated marketing as well. Can you give us more details on how you used multichannel marketing?
BH: At AH&A, we LOVE multichannel integration. As a direct mail fundraising shop that has expanded to include pretty much in-house everything (online, telemarketing, creative, production, and analytics), practically every campaign we plan has multichannel components.
And this case was no different. CSPF had been a direct mail and telemarketing client of ours for many years, but 2009 was the first year that my department began working with them.
Actually…the budget cuts issue made us start our contract a month early! Within 48 hours the organizational website was redesigned to accommodate an Action Center, daily homepage updates, graphic social media sharing links, and embedded YouTube videos made by both the organization and passionate supporters.
The Facebook “Friend Get a Friend Campaign” was launched the Tuesday after Memorial Day weekend, May 26, (which is when the Governor’s proposal was released) via an update to CSPF’s original 517 fans.
The update explained the imminent threat parks were facing and put a deadline – Friday, May 29 – and a goal – 5,000 fans. “This year’s cuts are ten times as bad, so we need ten times the fans on Facebook.”
Once supporters became fans, they were presented with an action item asking them to visit CSPF’s site to sign an email petition to the California legislature and Governor Schwarzenegger. We also set up and managed CSPF’s paid online advertising on both Facebook and Google to drive supporters to become fans and/or sign the petition. All this Web outreach was supported by an aggressive email petition and donation campaign to the house list and partner organizations in California.
The online campaign was mirrored in direct mail with three “urgent grams” that were in people’s mail boxes by the end of the week – one to high-dollar donors ($1,000+), one to all other members, and one to prospects. All three pieces netted funds and raised more than $200,000 in just over a month. Telemarketing was also excellently leveraged – existing campaigns were halted and new scripts were implemented, raising more than $88,000 in the first two weeks of the campaign.
That whole week in May, Foundation staff members were being interviewed and the story was picked up by SF Gate, Huffington Post, LA Daily News, Frommers, etc. They even made it onto Digg! By early June the Facebook growth was being referenced in mainstream news articles and on other environmental and California-based nonprofit Facebook pages.
Were these other channels used to primarily promote Facebook over the CSPF website?
BH: Facebook was never promoted over the website. Facebook promotion was always either in conjunction with site promotion (general “Find Us on Facebook” links) or as a secondary ask (“Thanks for taking action! If you are on Facebook, click through to join the conversation”).
Other than the specific “Friend Get a Friend” outreach on Facebook and some of the Facebook ads, we were primarily driving supporters to the online Action Center to sign the petition, make donations, and later on, print Save Our State Parks signs and upload their photos from the SOS weekends of action.
When people visit the CSPF Facebook fan page for the first time, they see a pseudo landing page that encourages them to become a fan or go to the CSPF website. I love the landing page, it’s a very clear way to communicate with your audience about the actions you’d like them to take (instead of just showing your wall to new visitors). Why did you decide to send users to a pseudo landing page instead of the wall?
BH: I’m a big fan of introductions, and maximizing the personalization of user experiences online. It’s a pet peeve of mine when sites (Facebook or other) don’t recognize that I’m new to the site.
So much of the online experience can be controlled from the backend to give a more customized experience. In my opinion, it would be silly to not take advantage of that with something as simple as a welcome tab.
We are trying to put the most efficient but comprehensive view of CSPF out there so people can absorb it in the seven seconds we have before they decide to click elsewhere. A cluttered (or worse barren) wall just doesn’t give the right first impression in my opinion.
And the Facebook landing page doesn’t solely encourage them to become a fan, it gives them other options as well.
There are three asks. This allows supporters to choose how they want to interact with the Foundation. The easiest is, of course, to “Like” the page. Then if they want to do more they can take action or join. The vast majority simply “Like” the page and move onto the “Wall,” but we have seen some petitions and new memberships coming in from these source-coded links.
This campaign helped raised several hundred thousand dollars for CSPF. (Congratulations!) How much came through Facebook, and how much came because of the other channels you used?
BH: Unfortunately we weren’t as proactive in source coding all the links on Facebook as we should have been from the very beginning, so the majority of donations do not show as coming from Facebook during that first burst of activity. However, we do know that 60% of our page connections are self-professed annual members.
In late July/August, we launched a social-media-only campaign promoting the Frequent Visitor membership level ($125 to get an annual parks parking pass) on Facebook and Twitter. Social media allowed us to quickly take advantage of the Parks Department halting annual pass sales for almost two weeks. In that campaign, CSPF gained over 700 new members from social media at the $125 level.
I can also tell you that while the entire integrated campaign earned $950,000, almost $300,000 was raised online and 46% of that came from supporters new to the e-file (either joining as annual members or by giving non-membership issue-based gifts). The e-file also tripled in size as the fan page grew and paid membership grew by 10% in the first two months.
We are much more meticulous about this now and see a steady stream of new memberships, renewals, and issue-based gifts coming in from both Facebook page promotions and the Facebook ads. (Stay tuned for this November’s Yes For State Parks ballot issue get-out-the-vote work on Facebook.)
What was the budget and team size? Social media seems very labor intensive, very manual.
BH: The online team size was only four of us – me, my vice president for strategic brainstorming, along with Greg Zelder and Jerry Emory at CSPF.
CSPF is on a monthly retainer with us, which includes all work except creative development. We have a larger offline staff that works closely with CSPF to get all the other pieces rolling and now CSPF has added another Web person internally to help out, but during last year’s campaign it was all hands for Greg and me in getting the online pieces up and running and properly maintained.
Social media is labor intensive, but if you have an urgent issue like this one, you drop everything to get it done and done as well as possible the first time around.
What is your follow-up plan for all these new Facebook fans that you have engaged?
BH: I’ve been managing the fan page for over a year now and it continues to grow. CSPF has, on average, a 15.5% month-over-month fan “connection” growth.
CSPF’s Communications Director is very hands on with the content generation and they post at a minimum of twice a week – a “feel good park story” every Tuesday and every Thursday there is a post for the new World’s Best Bike Commute blog that chronicles Jerry’s bike commute across the Golden Gate Bridge.
Greg and Jerry are also very good at posting from their mobiles to keep the page updated with pictures and information from the many live events CSPF holds throughout the year. Ideally I’d like to see a daily update to Facebook, but current staffing constraints at CSPF won’t allow for it. We are currently also working on some fun new content that will only be viewable after supporters “Like” the page.
How much are Facebook fans really worth? Are they very valuable? Or do they just “Like” something because they saw that their friends did?
BH: We find CSPF’s fans VERY valuable, whether they are the active donors or not, many are very outspoken evangelists for the cause. We are actually undertaking a much more robust tracking regime to identify the most engaged Facebook connections so we can do some additional personalized outreach.
Lately, the words Facebook and privacy seem to go hand in hand…
BH: We haven’t had any issues regarding privacy so far. Everything we do is on an opt-in basis and we are very proactive in answering fan questions – even going so far as to help a fan organize her newsfeed content so as to not be “overwhelmed” by our updates.
There are now a plethora of invites to social causes on Facebook. How does one cause really stand out from another?
BH: This is no different on Facebook than in other direct marketing media. Donors and activists have more choices of where to spend their time and money now than ever before. You stand out by staying engaged and listening to your base. Encourage them to be part of the process and they will extend your voice a thousand times over.
Can for-profit marketers use the same tactics you describe?
BH: I think that many of the tactics are the same whether the organization is non- or for-profit, and we “steal” concepts from commercial organizations ideas all the time. Typically the defining issue is cost, since corporations tend to have larger marketing budgets than nonprofits they could conceivably get even more value from social media like Facebook.
For the budding social media marketers out there… what applications have you found to be most valuable in engaging Facebook users?
BH: Custom FBML wall widgets and tabs are a must – like the welcome tab and our Get Involved menu of options. If you have a blog, sync it up with the Notes RSS. Sync your YouTube uploads and add as many of the newly released social plug-ins to your website as feasible. You want to engage supporters where they already live online.
Daniel originally found this case study in the brand new Social Marketing ROAD Map Handbook. If you’re looking to improve your social media marketing, you might benefit from the Handbook’s case studies (in addition to the one I covered above, there are ten more in the Handbook).
If you have any additional questions about our interactive marketing or digital brand management services, please leave a comment below.
Posted on Tue, Jun 08, 2010
By Pete Carter, Senior Vice President
Regardless of the success of your direct marketing program, it is very important to occasionally take a step back and re-evaluate what you are doing. With these 10 questions, you’ll know where to start and once you answer them, you’ll be amazed by what you’ve learned!
1. To whom am I mailing? I start with this question because it’s probably the most important. Even the most creative, compelling message won’t work if the audience isn’t the right one. And just because electronic contacts are low-cost doesn’t mean that audience selection isn’t just as important when sending emails.
2. Is my data clean? To obtain postage discounts, the Post Office requires periodic file cleansing using standard NCOA processing. But you can do more – from “max” or “preferred” change of address processing offered by various vendors to simply staying on top of donor comment mail, and emails. Like the NCOA for postal addresses you should also have a twice yearly ECOA run on your email file to ensure you have the most current emails for your file. People change/drop email addresses FAR more often than they change their address or even their phone numbers. Clean data leads to higher net productivity.
3. Am I over-designing? Direct marketing isn’t the place to get too adventurous with complicated designs. (For more on nonprofit fundraising design, check out A Look At Style by Chris Quillian) The #1 goal is readability, on the computer screen and on the printed page. So leave out the reverse type, for example, and be careful to avoid clutter
4. Will my donors/members care about this message? So often, organizations get caught up in anniversaries, milestones and other celebrations that have great significance internally, but don’t really mean a great deal to those on the outside. Consider carefully - will they really care? Check out last month’s Dear Jim for more tips on using anniversaries well.
5. Am I spending too much, or too little, on postage? Postage savings can be maximized by co-mingling. Conversely, high dollar donors deserve first-class treatment (and that applies to more than just postage!). A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work when it comes to determining postage rates.
6. Am I suffering from multiple-personality disorder? If your online and offline messages aren’t integrated, the answer is probably “YES.” Your message should be consistent across all channels.
7. Am I being polite? Saying thank-you promptly isn’t just good manners – it’s good marketing. Your acknowledgement program – online and offline – should be sincere, relevant and personal. Leave the donor/member with a good feeling, and they’ll be predisposed to give when asked again.
8. Am I prepared for an emergency? How will you communicate with your donors/members in an urgent situation? Are systems in place that allow for rapid turn for electronic, telephone and direct mail communication in an emergency? AH&A’s urgentgram format is an excellent solution for getting in the mail as quickly as 2-3 days after a crisis.
9. Am I getting the best possible cost for my marketing materials? A seasoned production shop like the one at AH&A will be able to competitively bid each campaign to multiple vendors. And our significant annual mail allows us to negotiate excellent costs for our clients.
10. Is my list generating all the income it can? List rental (with permission!), affinity credit cards, and product merchandising are all ways to increase income from your list – but as always, proceed with caution on this front.
As important as these questions are, there are still more ways to improve your marketing strategy. What would you suggest?
Posted on Thu, Jun 03, 2010
The Abigail Van Buren of fundraising gives it away for free.
By Jim Hussey, President
I’ve decided to offer my advice to those with inquiries concerning their fundraising troubles … a sort of “Dear Abby” column for the fundraising forlorn. I'm even willing to dole out this advice free of charge. Those with questions need not fear a monthly retainer bill or any other type of charge. Just please don’t tell any of my clients I'm giving it away for nothing!
Our most recent question comes to me via email. I'll make an exception today, but in the future, I'd encourage you to submit your questions in the comments section below.
Dear Jim,
How important is proofin your work? Whenever I have a grant application or a direct-mail letter to send out, I perfer to save the $50 it cost to have a professional proof reder review the copy, and simply have someone on staff red it over. Do you agrees with this cost-saving strategery?
Sincerely, Bad Righter
Dear Bad Righter,
Having a professional proofreader review all marketing documents, including direct-mail packages, grant solicitations and annual reports, is vitally important to your fundraising efforts. Spelling errors and poor grammar lead to questions about the professionalism, legitimacy and effectiveness of the organization … and as a result, a diminished chance of securing a contribution.
Posted on Tue, Jun 01, 2010
No one wants to listen to complaints every day. Whether the complainer is a spouse (“Put your dirty dishes in the dishwasher!”), one of your kids (“Why can't you take me to the mall?”) or a donor (“Stop sending me so much mail!”), it might seem easier to ignore the situation than to do something about it.
But just as you don't want your spouse to file for divorce or your child to hitch a ride to the mall from a stranger, you also don't want a valuable donor to say goodbye to you.
Too many nonprofit organizations don’t deal with complaints in the best manner, and many complaints end up in the garbage can with no response. What’s the best way to deal with them? Your strategy should first depend on whether the complainer is a donor or non-donor.
If the complainer is a donor, you need to pay extra-special attention to what the person is saying - and to how you respond. Probably the most frequent complaint from donors concerns the frequency of solicitations. Too often, organizations respond to such complaints by automatically suspending most solicitations to the donor. This is a major mistake.
Morris Dees, founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center and one of the early innovators of direct-response fundraising, once told me about an analysis he conducted into the giving histories of SPLC's most frequent donor complainers. He surprisingly determined that these complainers actually were the most valuable contributors on his donor list, with higher retention rates and longer donor histories than other contributors.
Dees realized that instead of suppressing these donors from his mail schedule, which effectively would lower a donor's likelihood of responding again, he should pursue another strategy. Instead, he developed a sophisticated response system to directly address complaints. In the case of a complaint about the frequency of solicitation, he would send a thorough letter explaining the necessity of frequent solicitations, while also explaining the benefits of SPLC's sustainer program, which would allow the donor to contribute on a regular, pre-determined basis.
Dees’ strategy resulted in increased donor bonding, with many donors joining the sustainer program and pledging regular contributions. As he explained, donors just want to know they have been heard. A personal and quick explanation on the organization’s part often will be rewarded with even more loyalty by the complaining donor.
This strategy also will work for other types of complaints.
- If a donor complains about the use of telemarketing, tell her why your organization uses it.
- If a donor complains about a stance your group has taken on an issue, send a thorough reply explaining why the organization did what it did.
You'll be surprised by positive responses from donors who are grateful to know that their opinions are important.If the complainer is someone who’s never donated to your organization before, and who probably is responding to an acquisition effort, there are other considerations to incorporate into your response.
For organizations that address politically sensitive issues, complainers might disagree with your stance. If this is the case, a response generally isn’t needed, although do yourself and the complainer a favor by including the individual on a do-not-solicit suppression file, which you should use with each merge/purge.
What if the complainer is belligerent? Calls you names? Thankfully, the days when such characters attach your BRE to a brick and mail it back are long gone. But such individuals still gladly will send you letters filled with vitriol. While it might give you temporary enjoyment to answer these people in kind, such a letter could find its way back to your boss or, worse, the press. Avoid the temptation and just add the complainer to your suppression file.
Any advice on how to deal with complaining donors or supporters? Please share your thoughts with us!