All About Meeting Needs
Any decent salesperson knows (and practises) that successful selling involves meeting customers’ needs, not selling the product or service.
Fundraising is no different. It’s about meeting the donor’s needs … not the organization’s.
A recent e-newsletter from Tom Ahern, citing Mark Phillips at Bluefrog, flagged this most fundamental principle. No, even more important — Law of the Fundraising Universe.
After heaps of research and study, Mark boils donors’ needs down to four:
- To help — not just solve a problem, but do so in solidarity with others.
- Overcome helplessness — be empowered, regain some sense of control.
- Help me grow — let me demonstrate to myself and to others who I am.
- Engage me — even better if I’m well treated and entertained.
Not a bad boil down.
I might ask … Do you offer your donors: Connection … Efficacy … Esteem … Pleasure?
Of course, there’s this approach …
Don’t meet your donors’ needs. Blame them for not understanding yours.
What additional Laws of the Fundraising universe might you command?
Tom
2 responses to “All About Meeting Needs”
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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I’ll add Reward to your Connection…Efficacy…Esteem…Pleasure — so now we have CREEP. Do you creep out your donors? Love the cartoon!
I know you guys are Seth Godin fans and thought his blog today about the FLASH drive was a good complement to your post.
All of us are driven by fear, loneliness, anger, shame and hunger. Reason and logic don’t work well in the face of such intense emotions.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2016/11/the-flash-drives.html