YES! Most charities are guilty of a very serious blunder. Many only talk to their donors when they need money.
Imagine if the only time you spoke to your neighbor was when you needed to borrow sugar or a lawn mower. How often would they continue to talk to you or consider you a friend with this kind of behavior?
Here is a helpful tip from another industry.
The Car industry: New car buyers are usually sent a follow-up mailing soon after they buy a car in the form of a survey to determine customer satisfaction or concerns.
This extra effort goes a long way to retaining customers.
Now consider this. Many non-profit organizations constantly send their donor's newsletters and emails filled with the charity's accomplishments and inside stories.
Why not use this powerful medium by including a survey to hear from your donors more often. I did this sometime ago for a small charity with great results. Donors welcomed the chance to air their opinions and give advice.
It is important to stay in touch with your donors and more important to make sure that their concerns and voices are heard from time-to-time.
You could even include a survey along with the tax receipt, when acknowledging their donations. It costs very little, a printed page and a BRE but you involve them right from the start. Most probably you will learn something more about them and perhaps build an important bond too.
There is an old saying that, "a friend and a business only goes where it is invited with open arms and on equal terms".
Think about it.
WHY CHARITIES ARE GUILTY OF A BIG BLUNDER AND HOW THEY CAN LEARN FROM ANOTHER BUSINESS - To learn more about this author, visit Billy Sharma's Website.
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Billy Sharma
(Visit Billy's Website)
BILLY SHARMA
Billy holds a Bachelor of Science degree
and is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of J.J.
School of Art (Bombay) and the Hochshüle
für Gestaltung (Bauhaus School of Design,
Germany).
After many years of working for other
companies, Billy founded Designers Inc. In
1999 he became Managing Director and
Creative Director of Brann Worldwide in
Toronto. Under his stewardship the agency
grew three-fold in two years when Brann
Worldwide was elected the number one
direct marketing agency in the world in
2000.
Billy has extensive advertising and direct
marketing experience gained in many
national and international advertising
agencies in Europe, U.S. and Canada. This
has honed his creative skills to help
provide breakthrough creative ideas for
his clients.
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