Is your organization too dependent on end of year giving or a couple of major donor gifts? As we grind through January and into February and inch towards spring here soon, many organizations are dreading the spring fundraising doldrums on the horizon or the soon to come summer slump in fundraising.
Often times the most effective way to avoid a development drought is through an integrated multi-channel communications strategy and campaign. Do you have a donor database that is separate from your website which is separate from your email client which is separate from your call center which is separate from any social media? If so, then it is time to upgrade this year your systems and technologies. And even though your current systems may not be integrated to each other, your organization has to implement a multi-channel communications strategy to your constituents.
Here are 3 parts of developing a multi-channel campaign:
FIRST – BRAINSTORM! Come up with an idea for your constituents to join your organization and become a part of something bigger than just themselves. Create a compelling story and invite them to come along and participate. It sounds cliché but it can’t be said enough that effective storytelling is the key to development. Determine the story so you can then determine how and what to communicate about it.
SECOND – BASIC COMMUNICATION! Multi-Channel communication means all implementing all communication strategies to your constituents. Organizations that have invested into integrated systems and technologies have an advantage here but it is IMPERATIVE that all organizations implement multi-channel even if that means your database does not talk to your website which does not talk to your email client which does not talk to your social media channels which does not talk to your accounting. All this means is that your upfront segmentation efforts will be harder and more important than ever to do. But DO IT. Your BASIC COMMUNICATION should be the same message no matter the channel of communication. But your direct mail will be different than your email that will be different than your Tweets or Facebook posts or text messages. And tell your story in different ways through your different communication channels.
THIRD – BAROMETER CHECK! One of the advantages of multi-channel communications is the ability to monitor communication channels and make adjustments through feedback on social/digital channels if needed. Again, planning is key and creating a story for all channels is important but if you get particularly good/bad feedback and your monitoring results effectively it often times gives your team the ability to make changes to legacy direct mail communications on occasion.
Make the start of a New Year the start of taking advantage of all communication channels even if it means some extra data work for organizations that don’t have integrated systems. The discipline and learning your organization will experience from executing a multi-channel communications program will give you particularly deep insight into being able to make educated decisions when upgrading your own systems and technology to an integrated platform. Plus, you’ll love seeing the changes from your constituents as you gain deeper insight into them through digital communication channels.
For a deeper look into multi-channel communications, download our white paper on our website.
LINK TO WHITEPAPER ON MULTI CHANNEL
For more than two decades, Paperless Transactions has served nonprofits by leveraging technology to connect nonprofits to donors and through their digital marketing agency, CauseDRIVEN Marketing, they have built digital marketing plans that produce results. If your nonprofit needs guidance going into 2021, schedule some time with our team and let’s design a strategy to empower your mission.