At Loyalty360.org, I came across this article — Are Your Customers Brand Loyal or Category Loyal? — which looks at customer loyalty in the consumer package goods (CPG) realm. We’re talking diapers and toothpaste.

The author, Suzy Cox, focuses on the steady rise of ‘private label brands’, which now account for roughly 23% of unit sales in CPG, as a competitive threat to established national brands. She notes that: “It isn’t just the price that makes private labels more attractive. Sure, they cost roughly 29% less, but most consumers today believe that private- label products are just as good, and in some cases better, than national brands.”

Her advice to national brands is to get serious about consumer loyalty — offer ‘surprise and delight’ (“unexpected acts of kindness and goodwill” according to Suzy), use customer data to recognize loyalty, build a community (don’t just advertise). Not surprisingly, building community in the CPG world often entails a cause tie-in.

What does this all add up to? Commitment.

Imagine that, aiming for customer commitment in the package goods sector!

If they can do it …!

In our nonprofit world, think of this as “Tom’s Bake Sale to Save Abandoned Pets” versus the ASPCA.

The category is saving/protecting animals of the pet variety. Plenty of emotion at play, and need that’s easy to illustrate.

But, from a fundraising standpoint, it’s not good enough anymore to simply sell the category. In any cause or charitable category, there are limitless opportunities to give, multiplied a zillion-fold today by access to social media.

Ranging from ‘brand Tom’ to brand ASPCA.

So who is going to win the donor’s dollar? Whoever wins her commitment.

As our colleagues at DonorVoice point out, nonprofits can indeed build commitment … the tools and tactics are available.

But if you’re confident that the donor pool and wallet is limitless, then you needn’t worry about whether ‘brand Tom’ (and there are thousands and thousands of them) is poaching contributions from mainstream organizations. Go ahead, convince yourself that all those ‘brand Toms’ are merely enlarging the pool of donor funds … ‘growing the category’.

I’m not so sure of that.

Virtually all of the readers of this blog are seeking resources to build organizations. If I were you, I’d be working on building donor commitment.

Tom