BIG’s Blog: First you need an audience

How do you build a base of supporters?

Well, first you need an audience to play to…right?

But what if the whole definition of audience has changed?

Huh?

Back before the Internet, everyone knew what an audience was. It was a set number of people. The number of people that watched a TV show, listened to a radio station, or read a newspaper or magazine. Or, the number of people to whom you mailed a donor acquisition appeal. The “potential” number that would listen, watch, or read was the defined audience.

Then along came the Internet.

What is the “audience number” of the Internet?  And I’m not talking about the number of individual hits your Web site gets . . . I am talking about the “potential” audience size of the Internet.

Answer: It’s in the billions.

Confused yet?

Look, we live in two worlds. The old world of old media . . . radio, TV, print, direct mail etc . . . and the new world of the Internet. The old definitions of audience don’t apply to the new world of the Internet.

The Internet isn’t an outgrowth or iteration of something else. IT IS A NEW THING. TV was an outgrowth of radio wave transmission technology. Magazines were an outgrowth of printed newspapers. The Internet is a NEW THING.

Today, fundraisers MUST operate in both worlds. For my 86-year-old mother, if you are not sending her terrestrial mail, you won’t be getting any checks from her. My 50-something wife will look at your direct mail appeals, but she immediately goes online to your Web site. And if she decides to donate, she will do it online. My 20-something daughters, they check their mailbox about every two weeks and tell me it’s 90% junk mail, which is their way of saying “advertising.”

How can I say it any clearer? Fundraisers operate in two worlds. You don’t have a choice. Sorry.

But the rules of the Internet are not the same as the old media world. The old media world is built on transactions. Every communication leads toward making a buying (or donating) decision.

That’s not the way the Internet works.

The Internet started out that way. Remember banner ads (actually they are still around…kinda)? When the Internet came along, old line marketers (like me) thought it was just a new media; just another arrow in our media quiver.

But then came Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 was the recognition of the Web’s inherent ability to be interactive . . . two-way communication. And on a worldwide scale!

The Web is interactive. Interactive means a conversation is possible . . . and conversations build relationships.

Look, the commercial world has to sell stuff. That is what keeps them in business. But for nonprofit fundraisers, the Web is about building relationships . . . some of which lead to financial support . . . with an audience of billions.

The Web is about relationships.

Join us.

-Mike

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BIG’s Blog: Monthly Giving is the Key

Fundraisers don’t just have to change their mode and practice of fundraising to online, but they have to change their financial model as well.

A recent article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy cited Minnesota Public Radio as only pushing monthly giving. In fact, monthly giving has become such a critical part of their fundraising approach that they don’t even mention the option of making one-time gifts. Nicole Anderson Stern, the director of membership giving says, “We talk in terms of monthly giving. And when our donors contribute, they use the same language.”

Right-O!

Set the expectation that monthly giving is the way to support your organization.

Can this be done with direct mail? Yes, but it’s not easy and not really effective.

Can this be done online? Absolutely, and it is extremely easy for donors.

Still struggling with this concept? Take a minute and walk down the hall to your head of accounting, Chief Financial Officer, or Treasurer and ask them for their opinion of monthly giving.

Game over.

Join us.

-Mike

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BIG’s Blog: On Interruption

“The biggest problem with mass-market advertising is that it fights for people’s attention by ‘interrupting’ them.”

Seth Godin, 1998

“There’s too much going on in our lives for us to enjoy being interrupted anymore.”

Seth Godin, 1998

“[Marketers] have to turn ‘attention’ into permission, permission into learning, and learning into trust.”

Seth Godin, 1998

This year, the average consumer (read potential donor) will see or hear 1 million marketing messages . . . almost 3,000 a day.

How does your organization’s message break through?

Seem impossible? Keep doing what you’re doing and it pretty much is.

But, if you get permission to share with them, turn your sharing time into a time to educate them about your organization. Once they learn about your organization, they will trust.

But it all starts with permission to share, and that starts with getting their attention.

How do you get their attention?

They find you.

That’s what the digital shift is all about.

Join us.

-Mike

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BIG’s Blog: You didn’t see major digital changes coming?

Last March, Dave Morgan wrote a post for MediaPost blogs that I’ve just come across, entitled “It’s OK To Admit You Didn’t See Major Digital Changes Coming.” His world is among media agencies, but his insights and advice pertain to nonprofit fundraisers as well.

He starts off with a very prescient statement that I identified with. “Telling folks heavily invested in the status quo that their world has changed overnight in surprising ways -- and that they need to change with it – is no easy task.”

Amen to that, Brother Morgan!

But the point of Morgan’s piece isn’t that certain people missed it or didn’t really grasp what was going on from the start . . . but rather that they eventually did get it and moved.

Morgan relates the story of visiting with John Curley, the then-CEO of Gannett newspapers, at an industry conference in 1995. Curley’s comment was, “The Internet will be the CB radio of the 1990s.” Morgan points out that Curley was clearly wrong, but that, fortunately, he figured that out and soon authorized major corporate-wide investments, including establishing USAToday.com as one of the best news properties on the Web. Instead of being viewed as not understanding the digital change, Curley’s tenure as CEO will always be marked by aggressive and proactive investments in shifting to digital media.

To accept and implement big changes, fundraisers need to start by recognizing that it’s no one’s fault.

Join us.

-Mike

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BIG’s Blog: When it makes NO sense…pay attention

In September of 2006, Facebook opened up to anyone 13 years of age and older with a valid email address. That was less than seven years ago and way before they hit one billion members.

In June of 2007, Apple released the iPhone. That was six years and millions of iPhone sales ago.

In April of 2010, Apple released its first iPad tablet. That was slightly over three years and millions of iPad sales ago, and before the iPad single-handedly began to bring an end to the era of the PC.

Each of these products and/or services . . . all less than seven years old . . . heralded the beginning of a “new thing.” And, as people always do, they look at the new in comparison to something else that they already understand. This isn’t a new phenomenon, and has been going on with new technology for a long time (i. e. the horseless carriage for the automobile).

But we are almost always exactly wrong about what the new thing really is, and what it means for our life. I remember thinking that the iPad was just the iPhone without the phone. Exactly wrong!

Seth Godin made a point recently in one of his blogs that was dead on when he wrote, “When your marketplace embraces a ‘new’ that makes no sense to you, it’s essential you understand the point of view that's leading people to embrace this new idea.”

Nobody is saying you have to jump on the bandwagon, but you probably need to understand why others are touched, inspired, or are adopting the new idea.

Have you missed something?

For nonprofit fundraising organizations, marketing is fundamentally changing. Marketing used to revolve around, focus on, and be measured by transactions. Increasingly today, however, marketing for nonprofit fundraisers is quickly revolving around, focused on, and being measured by the number and depth of relationships they develop.

This is a “new thing”or a “new idea”that is made possible by the combination of societal shifts in technology (specifically the Internet) and attitudes towards philanthropy.

If you personally don’t believe it or just don’t get it, I understand. Remember what I initially thought about the iPad?

. . . but you need to pay attention

Join us.

-Mike

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BIG’s Blog: Selling?

Seth Godin, the famous marketing guru, says, “Let’s be clear – the product is more than ever marketing.”

Yes, but…

But what?

The “what” is that marketing has fundamentally changed for fundraisers.

Take a hundred fundraisers and line them up. Ask them how many are marketing their mission. I’ll bet 90% tell you they are selling their mission. Marketing = Selling. Hey…when they ask for money, they are validating the “ask” by selling their mission. And for those doing direct mail…it’s all about selling the mission.  

Is there anything wrong with that? Not if you are “addressing” the WWII and Depression era cohorts. You are speaking their language, they expect to be sold.

But starting with the Baby Boomers and younger generational cohorts, they speak a different language.

The Boomers and younger generations don’t want to be sold. And “marketing your mission by selling your mission” is called selling to the Boomers.

So let’s revisit. How many fundraisers out of 100 are “selling” their mission? Still 90%? Probably closer to 95%.

So what are the other 5% doing?

Good question…

The other 5% are spending 95% of their time building a network of people who are interested in what their organization “does.” Interested doesn’t necessarily equate to money . . . it equates to a passion for the mission.

Do you see the difference?

At first you think it’s a subtle difference, but then you read what I am REALLY saying and it is not a subtle difference . . . it is a profoundly different approach.

The people who are involved in the mission are sharing their passion. That is not about selling…it’s about sharing and relating. They NEVER ask for money. And for the people who connect, don’t talk to them about donations, talk to them about what they are passionate about.

Pleading for funds is dependent on “selling” your mission.

Sharing information about what you are doing and letting people decide to engage in conversations about the work that you do IS NOT SELLING…. but it is marketing.

Beginning with the Baby Boomers, sharing information is good . . . selling is bad.

Look at your donor file.  Are 60%+ of your donor file Boomers?

If not…you’re probably still selling.

For generating the revenue your organization will need in the next 20 years, you probably don’t want to be selling.

Join us.

-Mike

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BIG’s Blog: At least they tried!

Who is Ron Johnson? He’s the ill-fated CEO hired by J.C. Penny a year and a half ago to resurrect the storied retailer that had grown a bit dowdy and whose profits had been sinking.

Ron Johnson was the former Apple retail store guru who built Apple stores into a phenomenon. J.C. Penny’s board of directors hired him away from Apple, and Johnson arrived with a new vision and strategy and set about executing them. But after 18 months, when the profits hadn’t turned around, the board fired him.  

There will no doubt be books written about Johnson’s tenure at J. C. Penney from both the board’s perspective as well as Johnson’s . . . and though there were clear examples of each side’s failures, at least Penny’s board tried a new approach.

I give the board a grade of “A” for trying with their hiring of Johnson, but unfortunately I give them an “F” for failing to stand by their man and the strategy that they signed off on.

Change is hard, but once you choose a strategy and a change agent, you have to support that strategy and your change agent(s).  

The nonprofit fundraising sector is facing Change of it’s own. Fundraisers are seeing their current model of fundraising decline right before their eyes. What do fundraisers and J.C. Penny have in common? They are both using the same business models they were using 80 years ago, even though the world has moved digital. To be sure, both J. C. Penny and most fundraisers have adopted digital tools…but there is no real change in strategic direction incorporating those new digital tools…what has changed?

Fundraising boards and the leadership of communities are struggling and they have to make changes . . . but they also have to learn about and support a change in direction. Leadership is a contact sport.

In our firm, with our new online program (that indeed does offer a new model of fundraising), we will not allow organizations to participate unless they have representatives of their boards or leadership on the team. We have learned that board and leadership representatives learning the same thing as their fundraising management team gives greater support to the hard work of change. They begin all on the same page.

Maybe if a few J. C. Penny board members had worked closer with Ron Johnson, J.C. Penny would have turned the corner by now.

Join us.

-Mike

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BIG’s Blog: The First HUGE Generational Wealth Shift

It seems every article you read about wealth transfer focuses on the Baby Boomers, since the leading edge of the Boomers are already 67 years old this year.

But, as I have pointed out numerous times in multiple posts, the big wealth transfer “going on today” is from the Boomers’ parents (Depression and WWII generational cohorts) to the Boomers.

A recent Chronicle of Philanthropy article focused just on the state of Minnesota, where nonprofit leaders have gauged the wealth transfer from the Baby Boomer parents at $48 billion . . . and that is just Minnesota!

Today, these older Depression and WWII cohorts represent upwards of 85% of your donor base. Clearly, you are failing to reach the Boomer and younger generations, and you need to address that growing problem. But for today – don’t forget to “ask” your current base of donors to remember your organization in their estate planning.

Every single communication you send out to your supporters who are the Depression and WWII generations needs to have information about legacy bequests.

Join us.

-Mike

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BIG’s Blog: Supporters need more than stories

We’ve got a whole sub-industry within the fundraising sector that does nothing but focus on every aspect of “telling a story.” They shout, “tell your story,” “spread your story,” “give your story more emotion,” etc. etc.

Whew!

I was thinking about that when I read an article in HBR’s Tip of the Day. It said, “Customers Need More Than Products.”

I thought to myself, what do they mean “customers need more than products?”

The author explained that the best salespeople see a sale as a consultation, not a transaction. A good salesperson helps customers see issues they hadn’t considered, point out opportunities they’ve missed, and refer them elsewhere when necessary.

“Wait a minute,” I thought to myself, “what the author is really saying is that the best salesperson inherently understands it’s about helping the customer, which develops a relationship of trust. They use their time with the customer to share information and to help them.

But help the customer do what? Buy something?

No, the best form of selling isn’t to get your customer to understand your product better but to get to know your customer better so you can understand their needs, whether your product (or mission) are ultimately right for their needs (or philanthropic desires).

Do you know how rare that is from a salesperson?

Do you know how rare that is from a fundraising organization?

Great products and great stories are terrific to have . . . but focusing on learning more about the customer’s needs (the potential supporter’s desires and interests) ultimately gives you a better chance that more people will become buyers . . . or support your mission.

Isn’t that the way you want to be treated?

Join us.

-Mike

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BIG’s Blog: Get their attention…the money will follow

When you get my attention . . . give me a “Wow.”

A year ago I had not heard of Charity Water. They do 100% of their fundraising online.  I then watched a video of their founder Scott Harrison, and after watching it I couldn’t stop talking about them for a month.

Most long-established faith-based organizations are “best kept” secrets. You keep communicating with the same “Holy Huddle.” Nothing the matter with keeping in touch with old friends, but maybe it’s time to join the world and get in the game . . . and for more than just financial support.

Do you love your organization and community? If you believe you are valuable, tell the world.

Today the biggest compliment you can get is attention. People are overwhelmed with messages, but they are looking for real. They are looking for authenticity.

But you have to deliver.

Don’t ask people for their time until you’re ready to deliver.

I had never heard of Scott Harrison of Charity Water before I saw his video. He’s a smart guy. He knew he needed funding for Charity Water, so instead of reinventing the wheel, he studied how fundraising was being done in the charitable sector and concluded that the current fundraising model was broken and in decline. So he created his own, 100% online.

Then he told his story. He endeared himself to us because he showed us his human side.

Your current mode of fundraising is declining too.

You need to start over. I know starting over is tough. Even Apple had to start over. But they started…

You’ve got to believe in yourself and your organization.

Fundraising is about relationships and emotion. 

Join us.

-Mike

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