Right now, as you read this blog, there reside in your donor database two types of donors. The first group are those donors that will never engage you online, preferring instead mail oriented and phone communication. The second group will engage you online.
Those donors that will never engage you online are probably the vast majority of your donor file and will choose to continue to connect with you via phone and mail and will respond to your appeals in the way they have always responded; which is to say, through the mail.
From this point on, I will only be talking about those donors that have crossed the line and engaged you online, and though age plays a part, it is not the only factor.
You need to begin developing a plan for the donors that will engage you online. Forget about whether they sometimes give by mail and other times give online. Once they have given online or begun to communicate with you online, the trajectory for this group is online. As time marches on, more and more of this group’s donor activity will be online.
While you can always improve your direct mail, in the matter of the focus of your time, it is time to turn your Development department's focus towards creating your online plan.
Shakespeare said, “Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”
Bob Dylan said, “The times they are a-changin.”
Mesh those two insights together and boldly set out to change how you engage your donors.
For all the great work you have done in your career in Development, building this online plan will be your legacy.
-Mike
Welcome to BIG’s Blog and yes, by all means forward our blog to your friends and co-workers.
No comments:
Post a Comment