Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Acquisition: Why ‘Best Practices’ Suck

The problem with most ‘best practices’ is that they lead to stealing. One organization copying another organization’s seemingly successful acquisition package simply leads to the next doing the same. And on and on. Tote bags change logos. Address labels change colors. Greeting cards filled with happiness, snow scenes and balloons proliferate. Problem is that copying […]

Learn More December 14, 2012

Could the Commercial Sector Really Be THIS Wrong?

Fact: when it comes to measuring marketing performance, the nonprofit and commercial sectors are much more similar than they are different. Yes, bottom line revenue goes to different places but the way in which nonprofits and commercial counterparts evaluate effectiveness is through similar metrics; acquisition of new donors/customers, retention of donors/customers, lifetime value, etc. Given […]

Learn More December 13, 2012

Don’t Eat The Poinsettia

I thought a holiday motif would be appropriate to remind us that in life there are plenty of myths we take for gospel. Some are true, some are not. As in: “Feed a cold, starve a fever.” [True] … “Don’t sit too close to the television you’ll hurt your eyes.” [Not true] … “Don’t swallow […]

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The Fundraising Cliff

It’s not just the American public and the paralyzed politicians who should be worried about plunging or at least sliding into the great abyss. Fundraisers face a similarly long-term financial problem, although there’s no December 31st deadline. Sadly few recognize the day of reckoning is at hand. Rather than look at the real reasons for […]

Learn More December 12, 2012

Acquisition: ‘Social Media Is Bullshit’

If nothing else, the author of the iconoclastic Social Media is Bullshit writes great teaser copy. In fact, B.J. Mendelson, marketing veteran (former), humor writer and stand-up comic (current) has not only come up with an attention-grabbing title, he’s written a valuable and iconoclastic guide to understanding the landmine-filled terrain called ‘social media’. It’s well […]

Learn More December 11, 2012

Always Shopping?

A recent study from the Advertising Research Foundation (available to members only) — Digital & Social Media in the Purchase Decision Process — claims that consumers are always shopping … at least in our heads. Says this article from Marketing Daily: “… thanks in part to social media, the purchase process never ends. With constant […]

Learn More December 10, 2012