Fundraising and the 4 P’s of Marketing

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It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about chewing gum or feeding the hungry; the principles of good marketing remain the same. But how you apply those principles to the fundraising arena will affect results.

One of the fundamentals of traditional marketing is the four P’s – Product, Place, Price and Promotion. In very simple terms - develop the right product for the right target; develop the location that will be most conducive to sales; price it effectively; promote it strategically and presto, you have marketing success. More importantly, the combination of how each of these is applied represents an opportunity to truly stand out from your competitors.

Applying the four P’s to the world of fundraising requires some consideration. Here’s my take.

Product – First you have to understand that the product you are marketing is not the cause, the institution or the organization for which funds are being raised.  The product is the impact fundraised dollars will have. The product is what the donor will feel when she or he makes a contribution. The product is the relationship that will ensue. If you are marketing a fundraising opportunity, you are selling a dream, a vision, a sense of satisfaction, and the ability for an individual to make a difference. There’s no question that the credibility and capacity of the organization are key ingredients in your ability to deliver that product. But your focus is the exchange with the donor and the unique opportunity that it can provide.

Place – You want to think about where the donor will be when making a giving decision. For new donors, that may be in their home or their office. Is it reading a letter or looking at something online? Put yourself in the shoes of a donor - in that place - and think about what would make you give. If you’re using an email or mobile campaign, you have to consider the possibility that prospective donors are on a subway, in their car or walking down the street. That’s going to take a quick and powerful pitch to promote action.  Another approach is to use images and video to transport the donor from wherever they are to where you need them to be.

Price – The way in which a product is priced makes a huge statement about that product. A $1000 a plate gala invitation makes a very different statement than a $5 point of sale opportunity. You want to make sure you have the right giving options for the right target. Think about who your donors are  – whether that’s for the whole organization or a particular campaign – and make sure the giving levels are aligned. This also means the array of options should be different online than it is for direct mail and even different for different segments. The most important consideration is what will your donor feel when he or she sees the giving level being requested.

Promotion – Your website, print collateral, letters and advertising have to take all that is unique in the points above and tell donors the stories that set you apart. Your material cannot not look or sound like the stuff from every other organization. Find the essence of what makes you different and transform it into something that is not only easily communicated but that is talkable – so that people can easily talk, tweet and email about it. This could be a great thank you video or a unique website design or an effective tagline. You can search the web and will find lots of examples. But remember your aim is not to copy what others have done but rather be inspired to find the means of effectively distinguishing your giving opportunity.

Whether you’re a marketing specialist, a fundraiser or a volunteer solicitor, using the four P’s effectively will improve results.

That’s my interpretation of how to apply the four P’s to fundraising but I’m sure others have different opinions. Please share yours by commenting below.

Content Trumps Design

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When it comes to any e-communication, content trumps design every time. As a lover of design and someone who has earned his living providing design services, it pains me to have come to that conclusion but I believe it is undeniable.

I am talking about the full gamut of e-communication from websites to e-newsletters to social networking applications. In every case, if the content isn't valuable - if it doesn't inform, entertain, inspire, or somehow engage the reader/visitor/follower, design - even good design - cannot save it.

Proof of this abounds. Many of us still receive text based e-newsletters that we read every time because the content is valuable. The most watched You Tube items are often shaky, amateur video. Blogs, almost by definition, succeed or fail on the basis of their content. And, there is little room for design in a 140 word Tweet. Even as it relates to websites, where good design is probably most important, content is king. People look at sites quickly, scanning for the essential information. What's this organization (cause) all about? What do they do? Am I interested? You've probably noticed that Flash introductions are being used much less often and that the trend is to cleaner, less complicated layouts. In the extreme I would contend that a badly designed website with great content will get more traffic and achieve more than the converse.

To be clear, content is not just narrative copy. It includes video, images, testimonials, links and perhaps even embedded applications.

All of this is not to say that design is unimportant. Perhaps, it just better defines the role of design in these applications which is to make it easier and more likely for the reader to absorb the content. Good web and other e-design puts the content on a pedestal.

What are the practical implications? When developing an e-application whether its the website, a Facebook page, a YouTube channel or a blog, before you call in the design team, think about content first. In particular:

• Does it make the organizational MVP (Mission, Values, Philosophy) clear? Even better, does it provide a sense of direction or movement? Does it make the aspirational inspirational?

• Is it organized intuitively so that it's easy for the reader to see what's available and navigate easily.

• Finally, does it guide the visitor where you want him or her to go? That could mean making a donation, providing information, adding their name to a petition or printing a document. Make sure the content is driving the goals you have established for your e-application.

If you recognize the true superiority of content over design and apportion resources accordingly, there is no doubt you will make your fundraising marketing work better.

The Right 1000 Words

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OK, we’ve all heard it. A picture is worth a 1000 words. But are they the right 1000 words? Choosing the right photos to appear on your web site, e-newsletters, and in print collateral is critically important. People form an irrevocable first impression based on visual elements. Even when working with a design firm, it’s likely you will have to supply photos. So, how can you pick that photo that’s going to be the difference between an online donation or just another website visit? Here are some tips:

• Content - We’ll talk about photographic and technical considerations later but first, you have to ensure that the content of the photo fits your strategy. Do the people or situation in the photo reflect the way in which you want prospective donors to perceive your organization? This can involve elements like ethnicity, dress, grooming, activity and facial expression. Look at potential photos in great detail and critically. Solicit opinions. Ask people what the photo makes them think or feel. Better yet, would it influence their decision to give? If you’re not getting the right answers, keep looking.

• Composition - Close ups of faces will have the greatest visual impact. Faces convey character and communicate. Consider the amount of space you’re setting aside for the photo. How many people can be accommodated in the space so that you can still clearly see their faces? For sure, less is better. Large group shots are visually meaningless. You may want to think that it will demonstrate the breadth or diversity of the organization. But the person viewing it isn’t likely to get it and will probably be bored. Photos of lectures and seminars in progress have the same problem. You’re better off with a photo of one smiling lecture participant because it will capture the reader’s attention and make it more likely that the ask or the article will get read.

• Photo Quality - There’s a host of technical/photographic issues to consider. Is the space being allowed for the photo vertical or horizontal and can it work in that space? Is the photo in focus? Does the photo have enough resolution? This is more of an issue for print applications but you should always take digital photos at the camera’s highest resolution setting to avoid situations where you have a great photo that just can’t be printed. Is the photo too dark or too light? Don’t assume your designer can fix this. There’s a limit to the miracles that can be worked in Photoshop.

It may sound like a lot of work but there’s no question that the right photos - and the right 1000 word - can lead to fundraising success.

Keeping creative on track

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Sometimes the creative stage of a marketing project can derail the whole initiative. Decision makers in the organization get frustrated because they are not seeing what they want and the designers are feeling exasperated – not only because the client doesn’t like what they’re doing but also because they are now putting more time into a project than they’re being paid for. Cutting through means either paying more than originally estimated for creative or having a difficult decision with the design firm. Inertia sets in. Before you know it, the project is going nowhere.

Here are two quick suggestions on how to avoid this all-too-familiar predicament.

• Make sure that those who are making the decision regarding creative issues have the opportunity to meet with the design firm before any work is done. This would apply when professional staff is working with the designers but lay people are making the ultimate decision or when the design firm is briefed by a staff person but more senior staff are making the final decision. There may be lots of push back in terms of making the best use of the time of lay people or senior staff but a face-to-face meeting between designer and decision maker will ensure that everyone is on the same page. It will provide the design firm with a deeper understanding of the strategic objectives and the opportunity to get “inside the heads” of key stakeholders. You may even have to pay the firm to attend one more meeting but any additional time and money will yield better results.

• Have the design firm provide two or three distinct options for whatever is being designed. Make sure the firm understands you want different options and not just variations on a theme. It will cost more but in the end will avoid a project-ending impasse. There is little more frustrating or more useless to a designer than hearing the client say, “I don’t like it but I can’t really tell you why or what I would like better.” Where do you go from there? And who pays for it? Having the additional points of reference that more choices bring will almost always guarantee the possibility of “mixing and matching” between options to arrive at a sense of creative direction. This effect is magnified in a committee situation where multiple minds must meet. There is little chance that everyone will agree on one option but with multiple choices there is a very good possibility of building consensus.

After over 20 years of experience, I can guarantee that these things works and will help you keep projects chugging along.