Overcome the barriers to digital marketing
1. Establish a culture of data
Now is the time to increase your organization’s digital literacy and drive more engagement and revenue. For digital marketing to flourish, your organization must value data. Today’s donors expect relevant and personalized interactions with the charities they support. Without accurate, comprehensive data, nonprofits cannot deliver on the expectation of personalized campaigns which generate 5-to-8X the ROI.
Where does data fit within your organization’s culture? Look internally, and make sure you start and end every fundraising, donor acquisition, or retention campaign planning session with a focus on data—what currently exists, what needs cleansing or enhancement, and how you’ll measure and improve performance in the long term.
2. Break down internal silos
Let’s be honest; silos exist at organizations of all types. Whether these are “people” silos, “technology” silos, or “data” silos, it’s time for those walls to come down. A great way to begin this process is to organize cross-silo dialogues. According to the Harvard Business Review, these dialogues can “help employees see the world through the eyes of customers or colleagues in other parts of the company. The goal is to get everyone to share knowledge and work on synthesizing that diverse input into new solutions.”
A data silo occurs when data is “owned” by one department and is isolated from use by other teams. A recent Forrester report found that 72% of firms said their most significant sales and marketing challenge was managing data and sharing insights across organizational silos. Without shared, complete data that informs a single view of your donors, it’s difficult to plan and target digital campaigns that will reach and engage your donors. So, roll up your sleeves, and get ready for some demolition work this year—break down the silos getting in the way of your success!
3. Embrace new channels to engage the next generation of donors
While direct mail is still a crucial channel for fundraising, donor communication preferences are shifting. According to our recent survey of charitable donors nearly half identified email as their preferred channel to hear from charities, followed by direct mail (21%) and social media (17%). What does this tell us? That charities need to future-proof their fundraising programs by employing a diverse channel mix that speaks to the various donor segments in their database. Embrace young donors; they can be invaluable ambassadors for your cause. Younger generations may have less disposable income, but our recent survey found that adults aged 18-44 were 46% more likely to make recurring donations. They were also more likely to volunteer their time and share information about their favorite charity causes with friends and family.
When it comes to recurring donations, young consumers are used to engaging with many commercial brands that have shifted towards subscription, autopay, or installment payment options (think apparel brand Express and delivery service GrubHub launching a subscription model, Airbnb and other hospitality brands offering payment plans for accommodations booked through their sites, and many more). As this trend continues to grow, charities have an opportunity to capitalize on it by emphasizing easy monthly contribution options as part of their fundraising and donor acquisition programs. This approach will help them increase their donor lifetime value and drive more funds to their worthy causes.
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