In this post the “team” I’m referring to is which marketing channels you join together to form a more powerful result.

In other words: Integrated or multi-channel marketing.

Supporters want nonprofits to use multiple channels for all marketing communications

Each channel is a team member working with other team members (channels) to achieve together far more than what any single one could achieve.

Why is this so important? Few of today’s donors and members (of any age) limit themselves to one channel. For example:

• Today Martha Do-Gooder might prefer reading your direct mail appeal yet she donates online. Next week she’ll love receiving your email with breaking news on her favorite topic.

• Today Sam Joiner might prefer browsing your association website for professional development webinars. Tomorrow he might appreciate receiving a text message asking him to send an urgent message to Congress.

Not only that but supporters are fast becoming platform-agnostic. And they also demand more and more control over your communications with them.

Integration is the solution

You can quickly meet more of the expectations of your demanding supporters by integrating every message. Sometimes this gets complex, but most of the time it’s straight-forword.

For example: Later today (11am EST, Jan 10th) my newsletter will be published. Subscribers will find 25 fundraising and marketing trends, tactics and strategies essential to their work in 2012. (Subscribe here to receive this premium issue.)

The channels I’m using are my blog, my Facebook page, and I’m tweeting about it. Simple, right?

I integrate because I want to reach as many people as possible ... and I know you pop in and out of different channels. I need to be in multiple places to meet the preferences of you and all my readers. That’s just one example of how I integrate to make it easier for my readers and prospective clients.

Charities and professional associations must also integrate. Not once in awhile, but every time.

The escalating importance of integrating your communications is just one of the 25 topics for 2012 that I cover in the today’s issue of the Zapp Nonprofit Leader newsletter. (Subscribe before 11am EST to receive a copy. Or send me an email and request a copy.)

Team up as many marketing channels as possible each and every time for happier supporters … and for better results than you could hope to get with just a single channel.

Related posts:

4 Direct Marketing Nonprofit Trends for 2012

5 Ways to make your direct mail more social

Online giving isn’t just for “30-somethings” … study shows over 50% of donors 60+ have donated online

By the end of the year I’ll probably come up with more … but for now I’ll focus on four trends for nonprofit direct marketing in 2012.

And they all have one thing in common: Your readers – donors, members, advocates, volunteers, etc. – will respond less and less to messages produced for the masses.

Based on my research and indications from the marketplace, your readers want more personalized and tailored communications from you. More and more they demand to be recognized as an individual … to receive content they view as relevant … to receive content they value.

The effectiveness of the one size fits all letter (or email) is rapidly diminishing.

These changes in reader attitudes and expectations are due largely to the changes in how we communicate with each other. Plus our tolerance for shifting through mountains of letters and emails to find something of interest has all but disappeared.

Therefore, get right to the point and do your best to only send readers what they want. You’ve only got a couple seconds to prove each letter or email is worth more of their time.

Four direct marketing trends nonprofits ought to prepare for in 2012 are:

1 – Integrate traditional channels with digital.

This isn’t new per se, but the trend and the need to do this more and more is escalating. It includes using quick response (QR) codes in letters, brochures, event signage, etc. to make it interactive and more instantaneous for your readers.

In addition, also recognize that integrating with mobile text messages is a powerful way to send personalized messages.

2 – Quality data is paramount; know your supporters.

Direct marketing is perhaps best defined by data and metrics. A growing source of data on your supporters is from social analytics. More and more you can use social data in your research to develop strategies and targeted messages.

3 – Direct mail.

First, recognize that this channel isn’t getting simpler either. And with the rising costs of mail – plus the uncertainties of our postal system’s future and service offerings – it becomes mandatory for you to use this channel as efficiently as possible.

Direct mail packages have to get more sophisticated. Specifically: Send versions for different segments of your file. You’ll need to target your supporters with messages tailored to their interests and preferences. Sending the exact same letter to everyone on your list hurts response and retention.

Direct mail is on track to become a niche-oriented channel.

And this channel must continue to be more extensively integrated with social, your website, and other digital channels.

4 – Email.

Similar to direct mail, email must evolve because conversion rates – overall – continue to decline. A blast email to the masses won’t cut it.

Segment your file. Send future communications based on what they have responded to in the past. Use data from social analytics to tailor messages. Send content your supporters value. Integrate with other digital channels.

Give people choices on how they respond and connect with you. This means consistently sending out integrated campaigns with targeted messages.

Compared to even ten years ago, our fundraising and marketing world isn’t merely changing fast … it’s practically evolving at light speed. And the expectations and demands of your supporters are keeping pace.

Repeating what I wrote above: Your readers want more personalized and tailored communications from you. More and more they demand to be recognized as an individual … to receive content they view as relevant … to receive content they value.

The future of your nonprofit depends on how well you meet the expectations of your evolving supporters.

Related posts:

One size hurts all … this approach to fundraising hurts response

Wanted Dead or Alive – Direct Mail

Donors respond just like Teddy Bears … Why they give and give

Your fall, holiday, and end-of-year campaigns are underway. You’ve carefully integrated your direct mail with email, telemarketing, your website, social media, press releases, and possibly mobile.

That’s good.

What happens when your prospects, donors and members respond? What’s your integrated plan for acknowledging their generosity?

How will you express your gratitude and exceed their expectations with your expressions of gratitude?

Here are my thoughts for a basic acknowledgment system:

Online donors (house file)

• Donors immediately see an acknowledgment page on the website after making the donation.
• Link(s) on the page take them further into the topic they just supported with their gift.
• Immediately sent a personalize email saying thank you.
• Within a week they also receive a personalized direct mail thank you letter (NOT a form letter).
• Depending on the size of the gift, a thank you phone call would be a smart idea. Just DON’T ask for another donation.
• Email down the road that gives them an update on the program they just supported.

Online donors (prospects)

• Donors immediately see an acknowledgment page on the website after making the donation.
• Link(s) on the page take them further into the topic they just supported with their gift.
• Immediately sent a personalize email saying thank you and welcome to your organization. Now they receive your “welcome series” of emails and are suppressed from the rest of your email mailings until the series is complete.
• Within a week they also receive a personalized direct mail thank you letter (NOT a form letter) and your welcome package.
• Depending on the size of the gift, a thank you phone call would be a smart idea. Just DON’T ask for another donation.
• Email down the road that gives them an update on the program they just supported.

Direct mail donors (house file)

• Within a week they receive a personalized direct mail thank you letter (NOT a form letter).
• Depending on the size of the gift, a thank you phone call would be a smart idea. Just DON’T ask for another donation.
• Send an update down the road on the program they just supported.

Direct mail donors (prospects)

• Within a week they receive a personalized direct mail thank you letter (NOT a form letter) and your welcome package.
• Depending on the size of the gift, a thank you phone call would be a smart idea. Just DON’T ask for another donation.
• Send an update down the road on the program they just supported.

Don’t treat everyone the same

Some donors – based on the size of their gift – warrant high touch. For example: A genuine one-on-one letter from the top leader of your organization. I mean, with each letter you start with a blank sheet of paper and write it for that ONE donor.

For others a warm phone call is a nice touch. I recommend you also have differences in your welcome package for the mid-level and high-end gifts.

I’ve been touting for several months that in today’s market … in today’s economy … with today’s savvy donors and consumers you MUST GIVE THEM AN EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCE.

Make resources available and create an exceptional experience for your supporters.

Cut corners with your expressions of gratitude and you’ll pay dearly: Fewer repeat gifts. Retention drops. Average gift size declines. Acquisition declines (ask me how that happens if you’re skeptical).

You raise far less revenue with a casual, perfunctory acknowledgment system.

What business decision will you make?

Related posts and resources:

Need help with your thank you letter?

Create a Nonprofit Loyalty Program

Are you Nickel-and-Diming Your Donors?

Is your fundraising program struggling? Not raising enough revenue? Trying all sorts of new tools hoping to find that silver bullet?

Still looking for a silver bullet to fix your fundraising program?

The only silver bullets I know of are those fired by the Lone Ranger.

This TV character from the 1950’s saved many a person from the bad guys. He came to their rescue and pulled off the seemingly impossible.

But in real life there are no silver bullets. No hero is going to ride into town and save you.

But there’s still hope.

Instead of pinning your hopes on a magical silver bullet …pin your hopes on the fundamentals.

Back to Fundamentals

For starters:

◊ Overhaul your fundraising strategy.

- Which channels will you use; why will you use those channels; and when will you use them? This includes maximizing effectiveness and efficiency of the 3 most important channels: Your website, direct mail and email.

- Create an editorial / communications calendar (what you’ll publish or mail and when)

- Identify your strengths and where you need help (skills, resources, talents, software and technology, database, etc.).

- What makes sense to keep in-house based on skills and what should be out-sourced? And remember, trying to do it all in-house COSTS far more than you think you’re saving.

◊ What have you cut from your budget that you probably shouldn’t have cut?

- Acquisition (you’ll pay for these cuts for 4-8 years in lost revenue; loss of major donors; planned gifts; etc.)

- Testing. Incremental improvements found ONLY through on-going testing raise more revenue.

- Targeted mailings. Now you’re trying to make one letter or email do the job of two or three (e.g., using the same copy and design for lapsed as well as current donors or members), and readers aren’t as responsive to generic messages.

- Integrated campaigns. You’ll raise more money with multiple channels.

All too often nonprofits make budget cuts thinking they’ll save money. And all too often those short term gains end up costing more in the long run from lost revenue. In other words … Short term gain; long term loss.

Remember the Lone Ranger I referred to earlier?

After saving the good people of the old West from the bad guys, the Lone Ranger would get on his trusty horse Silver … shout, “Hi-yo, Silver! Away!” … and ride off into the sunset.

Again, no need for you to depend on the Lone Ranger and his silver bullets. Gather your team – both in house staff and consultants – and get back to the fundamentals to revive your fundraising program. Then ride along on a stronger program that raises more funds for your nonprofit. A happy ending indeed.

Find more help with the fundamentals in these related posts:

Donor acquisition lessons learned

Are you cultivating website visitors? 10 suggestions for your site.

Revive direct mail

5 Most common mistakes in fundraising copy

And your first one is NOT, “Do we go mobile?” Reaching donors and members through their smartphones has become nearly as important as reaching them on their PCs.

That’s just one of the points in a recent article in Target Marketing, “3 Options for Your Direct Marketing Mobile Strategy.”

But just in case you think mobile is only for the big nonprofits … or only for those who have disaster relief missions and want to raise funds quickly via mobile … think again.

Get the facts. A popular primer – or guidebook – spells out ALL the ways mobile benefits nonprofits in clear, non-technical terms: Mobile for Nonprofits.

Okay. You’ve read the primer and done your research. And now you’ve made your decision to go mobile. Target Marketing lays out your next options nicely in terms of developing a mobile strategy.

And it’s all based on how you want mobile to support everything else you do, who you want to reach, and naturally what’s your budget.

Here are the 3 options related to your direct marketing mobile strategy from the article:

1) Mobile-compatible website (probably the quickest and cheapest), a web-based application, or a native mobile application? Which will you choose?

2) If you opt for an application, know that you shouldn’t take everything off your website and simply drop it on an app. (Anymore than you should take a 2-4 page direct mail letter and plop it onto your website or into an email without serious editing.)

3) There are numerous platforms (e.g., iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and more), and they all have varying development costs.

All these decisions. It’s a good article and I recommend you read it for the details relating to Target Marketing’s three options.

You’ll find more help in these related posts:

Friendly Nonprofit Mobile Websites

3 Steps to Strategically Mobile Nonprofits

“Our biggest challenge is trying to market on an extremely limited budget. We are always looking for tips on how to network and get our word out more effectively. We are also in need of increasing our membership base and corporate support as well.”

Those are the words in an email from the Marketing Manager at Sotterley Plantation – a National Historic Landmark – which is a private nonprofit located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland.  

Two primary challenges of any development staff are acquiring more donors, and raising more funds from your file of donors. Sometimes you raise funds by acquiring members but the challenge is essentially the same.

Conquering these challenges can be more elusive when your staff is quite small and so is your budget like it is for the folks at Sotterley Plantation. For example you don’t have the resources to frequently out-source tasks to freelance experts or agencies.

Consequently a smaller, local or regional nonprofit needs to focus on the basics.  And you need to do them very well.  The four basics I have in mind are: 

1. Spreading the word (raising awareness of your organization)
2. Direct mail
3. Website
4. Email

And because it’s so vital to the success of your nonprofit, I want to make it clear that “donor cultivation” is an integral part of all four.  Even though I won’t discuss it further here in this post, please recognize that donor cultivation is part of EVERYTHING you do.  Everything you write.  Every telephone conversation you have.  Everything you publish.  Everything. 

What I will focus on is the first item ― spreading the word.  Once you develop a system for this I believe you’ll discover it helps you with acquisition, retention, and bumping up average gift size.

In fact, this topic is so important that I covered it in detail in a guest blog post I wrote for Joanne Fritz of About.com for Nonprofit Charitable Orgs: “10 Tips for Making Your Small Nonprofit’s Development Budget Bigger.”  

So if you and your nonprofit face challenges similar to the folks at the Sotterley Plantation … and if you would like more than 10 ways to stretch your small nonprofit’s development budget … then I recommend you read my post on Joanne’s blog.

For example: I think you’ll be surprised to discover the many pools of local talent available to help you get work done and stretch your budget. These pools of talent can also lead to more donors and members which of course raises revenue for your nonprofit. A true win-win scenario.

Related posts:

10 Tips for Making Your Small Nonprofit’s Development Budget Bigger by Karen Zapp on About.com

It Pays to Advertise (even in ways you might not consider advertising)

Fundraising Starts With Marketing

Why integrate your marketing and fundraising?  What is this “other” reason? 

It’s wise to integrate because if one channel collapses – even temporarily – you’ve got backup.  You’re still reaching some of your donors and members.

For example: Last week HootSuite was down for a day.  Granted you could still access Twitter directly or use TweetDeck to send tweets.  But if you had some scheduled and in the queue on HootSuite before the outage occurred, you couldn’t access those tweets in the queue.  Your messages didn’t go out.

Also if you’re accustomed to using the tool HootSuite and had to resort to other methods … well, you lost efficiency.

However, you could still reach prospects, donors, and members via your website, email, Facebook, direct mail and other print, radio, TV, mobile, and telemarketing.

For example: The Internet is down in a region of the country.  Usually this is an ISP having trouble but nonetheless subscribers and followers are offline.  No email, social media, or anything online.

However, you could still reach prospects, donors, and members via mobile, direct mail and other print, radio, TV, and telemarketing.

For example: Your email service provider suffers a catastrophe.  For a period of time you can’t send out emails. 

Or an on-going challenge is people changing their email address and not notifying you of the change.  And naturally all this happens right before a major appeal is sent.

However, you could still reach prospects, donors, and members via mobile, direct mail and other print, radio, TV, telemarketing, your website, and social media.

The point I want to stress is . . .

With correctly timed and integrated campaigns … you’ve got backup.  Instead of silence you’re still connecting with people and sharing your vital message. 

In other words, your email is timed to go out right around the time your direct mail package is reaching supporters in their homes.  So even if email is down, the direct mail package gets through.  Plus supporters are also receiving a text message from you, and reading your tweets and Facebook updates.

Granted, it may not always be the same set of supporters receiving your messages across the different channels.  For example: You may have email subscribers who are not yet in your direct mail file (but hopefully you’re working aggressively to change that).

Nonetheless the point is that your cultivating, marketing, and fundraising efforts don’t screech to a halt when one channel is out of commission.  Your work continues.  The funds keep rolling in.

It pays to integrate your nonprofit marketing and fundraising.

Related posts with more reasons on why it pays to integrate with multichannel marketing:

There are several levels of integration – across channels and within each channel … Make a connection … Generate a spark … Get a donation  

Benefit from increased response from integrated campaigns … Donor Choices and Integrated Campaigns 

Direct Mail + Email + Mobile + Social Media = Great Fundraising

Want to grow your email list 12-fold in a year?  That’s what an auto parts supplier did via integrated marketing. 

As you read this post, don’t focus on the differences – mission statements, possibly budgets, target audience, messaging – between your nonprofit and this B2B company. 

Instead focus on what is similar: An integrated multi-channel approach to growing an email list.

Dorman Products (an aftermarket auto parts manufacturer) uses a monthly newsletter to keep technicians informed of new products.  Unfortunately only about 2,000 out of an estimated 80,000 subscribed.

They wanted to do better.  So they “… leveraged social media, website display advertisements, press releases, trade shows and promotions to drive awareness.”  Within a year their subscriber list grew to about 25,000.  Not bad.

The heart of your success lies in giving prospects and donors a good reason why they should subscribe … starting with your website.   Then deliver on your promise.

Every invitation or promotion to subscribe ought to include a benefit to the subscriber.  What relevant and valuable information are you going to share with them? 

Use your website, social media, special events, online press releases, direct mail letters, text messages, email (invite current subscribers to share with a friend), YouTube, Care2, Change.org, Google Adwords (take advantage of Google grants), and anything else you can think of to offer people the chance to subscribe to your email.

Grow your email list through integrated marketing.  Any methods you use that I didn’t include here?

Ever had to rake up the leaves in your yard?  If so, have you noticed how the task goes much faster with far less effort when you’re not working alone?

This holds true for integrated fundraising, membership drives, and other marketing campaigns.  No one channel is as productive or effective as 2, 3, or more channels working together.

And this also ties in with donor (or member) choices.  Some people prefer to respond by mail yet read your emails and visit your website.  Others will read your direct mail letter and then go online to respond.  Still others sometimes respond to mail and sometimes to email.

The vast majority of donors and members regularly use and respond to multiple channels.  The article below gives you valuable insight on this donor behavior:

On Sept 7 I published a post with highlights from the “Heart of the Donor” study, “How and Why Donors of All Ages Give to Charity.”  The study shows that NO CHANNEL stands alone.  On average, donors use 3 out of 10 channels.  In the post there’s a list of the most popular channels which you ought to review.

Other choices donors seek are payment methods.  Few examples include . . .

Online
- credit card
- debit card
- monthly, quarterly or other frequency choice for your sustainer giving program

Direct Mail
- send in a check
- pay by credit card using form on reply device
- go online to donate; ideally provide them a simple, unique URL for tracking

Integrated fundraising
doesn’t have to be complicated

The combination of email and direct mail is an example of a basic integrated campaign.  They compliment each other nicely.  And the data from the “Heart of the Donor” study shows why this combo is so effective.

Here’s another study I reported on that is also extremely relevant to our topic today: “More Boomers and Seniors in the Online Groove,” (Aug 31st post with data by Pew Research).  This study shows how Boomers and Seniors are actively online.

The statistics show that you can reach a LARGE segment of seniors (and even more Boomers) via email.  Another reason to integrate direct mail and email.  And as it states in my post, Boomers are the “young donors” most charities ought to be targeting NOW.  Learn how to reach them.

I’ll wrap up with two quick examples of nonprofits using this integrated approach to their fundraising:

1 – A foundation I work with is sending out their annual appeal letter.  Their reply device gives the donor the choice of check, credit card, or instructions on how to donate online.  Plus they have valid email addresses for about 58% of their file.  So they will send this group a reminder via email: “Still time to give . . . year-end tax-deductible gift . . . etc.”

 An example of a very simple yet effective integrated campaign.  And by leveraging two channels they’ll enjoy a boost in their overall response by sending the email reminder.  It’s a comparatively easy integration technique and low cost too.  It’s well worth their effort.

2 – A university I’m working with has a 3-email series to raise donations.  And they’re also testing a direct mail letter to a segment of their file.  The letter gives donors the choice of donating online via a unique URL and landing page, or to drop a check in the enclosed return envelope.  Again, the combination of email and direct mail supporting each other and reinforcing the message.

You’ll leave money on the table if you don’t integrate your campaigns and also give choices on payment methods.  It doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective.  You’ll work harder for fewer dollars raised unless you integrate and use multiple channels. 

I read a couple interesting articles yesterday.  They were in Forrester’s enewsletter, “CMO & Marketing Leadership First Look.”

I believe their articles apply equally well to the nonprofit sector even though they were written for the for-profit world.

Point #1: “Put the customer first when creating a new brand experience for 2011,” per the Forrester article.

Just substitute donor or member for customer.  In all your communications, put the donor (or member) first.  Put the focus on the donor.  Make it easy for them.  Share what’s most important to them.  Show that you care about them.

Make their experience with you “… personally relevant, locally dynamic, and unexpectedly rewarding.”  That sentence is overflowing with wisdom.

I especially like the last phrase: “unexpectedly rewarding.”  In other words, exceed the donor’s expectations.  Ask yourself this: Am I really making the donor’s experience rewarding?

The article also stresses the importance of using technology to help with the experience.  To quote, “One important technology to bring into the marketing mix is mobile.  Mobile is critical to reaching a large audience while still connecting with those consumers donors in an individual way.”

Here’s a great resource to get you very comfortable and at ease with mobile fast: Mobile for Nonprofits – Connecting to Donors Through the Power of Mobile

Point #2: Yesterday’s modeling is archaic.  Bury it.  It’s dead.

Courtesy of Forrester Research

In the Forrester article they’re referring to the “marketing funnel.”  In our case we could possibly say the donor pyramid.

Forrester says The Customer Life Cycle better represents the multiple touch points, different measures of loyalty, and various on-ramps to the purchasing donating process.  The four phases of the cycle are Discover, Explore, Buy, and Engage.

The cycle shows that donors continually move from phase to phase within the cycle.  Their experience with you follows a circular pattern and not a linear one.

Forrester's "Customer Life Cycle" modified slightly. "Buy" becomes "Donate"

For example: Even after they first discover (or learn about) your nonprofit, they continue to discover new things about you.  It’s on-going.

They continually discover, explore, engage, and donate.  And just as importantly, they do all this in a wide variety of ways.  It ties back into multi-channel / integrated marketing.

I encourage you to give these concepts careful thought.  Think about how these approaches and ways of thinking will strengthen your marketing messages. Think about how they will strengthen your relationships with your donors and members.

Get ready for 2011 now.  Our work as marketers, communicators, and fundraisers continues to get more challenging in a rapidly changing environment.