7 Principles Of Donor Loyalty
At last! Super communicator Tom Ahern has completed his review of loyalty guru Adrian Sargeant’s 7 principles of donor loyalty.
If you’re really serious about understanding — and improving — donor loyalty you must absorb Adrian’s book, Building Donor Loyalty: The Fundraiser’s Guide to Increasing Lifetime Value, written with Elaine Jay.
But Tom has done a real service with his series of articles (cheat sheets?) adding his own observations and ‘how to’ examples to Adrian’s basic principles …
1. Ensure your “customer service” is good.
2. Reinforce shared beliefs.
3. Connect two dots. The two dots? Your donor and the good outcomes their ’empathetic hearts’ will make possible.
4. The ‘you’ you should be talking about is the donor, to whom you are selling purpose.
5. Earn your donor’s trust.
6. Interact with you donors via multiple engagements (e.g. donor surveys).
7. Take them on a journey … they’re learning.
Tom took us on a journey … with five stops! But it’s well worth the trip … pack your bags.
Tom
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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