‘Get Lucky Fundraising’
Loyalty 360 bills itself as “the loyalty marketer’s association, and publishes a daily e-newsletter from which I extract occasional nuggets. If you want to read about the trials and tribulations of customer-focused marketing in the commercial space, this is as good a source as any.
I just read an article titled Five Critical Mistakes That Disrupt Customer-centric Marketing. Here are a few excerpts worth reflecting on …
- “…when marketing programs aren’t working, the focus on the customer is likely lost. Consumers increasingly have the power to control the marketing mix and, ultimately, if they will allow marketers to reach them. Brands that lack relevance will be shut off by consumers, rendering relevance critical to a customer-centric marketing approach.”
- “…marketers often fall into the trap of abusing the convenience and low cost of using digital, causing consumers to be inundated with messages that aren’t relevant to them. When this happens, there is risk of alienating customers and potential customers.”
- “When consumers receive emails or other digital communications that make them say ‘why am I getting this?’ it causes marketers to come across as unaware, unconcerned, and unable … Marketers are spending billions of dollars on marketing that customers don’t really want to see.”
That’s what I wonder when I see the cyclone of email fundraising appeals storm by. I’m beginning to think of it as ‘Get lucky fundraising’. It has nothing to do with moving a donor along a path toward greater commitment and longevity. It’s about … “If I throw enough cheap email appeals at them, I’m bound to get lucky. And when I exhaust that pool, some poor grunt in the prospecting shop had better find me a new batch.”
Finally, cutting to the chase …
“…the idea that the most valuable customer is the customer I don’t have … is a fundamentally wrong proposition for most mature brands…”
Can you hear me and Roger shouting, Amen!?
Tom
One response to “‘Get Lucky Fundraising’”
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Spot on!