Know Your Audience! Or Fail.
Effective marketing begins with knowing your audience … whether it’s choosing mailing lists or appropriate media for your message, or crafting the message itself.
Without a very clear understanding of the person, customer, or donor you are trying to reach, speak to and elicit a response from, you’re doomed from the start.
How many times have you begun to prepare a fundraising mailing or e-appeal or persuasion campaign without focusing explicitly on your target respondent? Agencies, arguably, are trained to do this. Certainly they should bring this question to the table. But in-house staff tend to get complacent over time … "we’ve been around for centuries … of course we know our audience." Famous last words!
If there was ever a commercial that targeted a message to its audience with precision, here it is. Somebody thought about the target respondent on this one!
Warning: The cause is Everyman, whose issues are prostate and testicular cancer. And this commercial, dealing with the latter, was prepared for the UK, where edgier advertising is acceptable. It employs sexual content … some tastes might be offended.
Are there other, better, less salacious ways for Everyman to get its message across? For example, here is the more traditional approach one might find online. But what would prompt an individual to undertake the Search in the first place? You tell me.
Tom
2 responses to “Know Your Audience! Or Fail.”
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 […]
Read Full Answer
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 […]
Read Full Answer
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 […]
Read Full Answer
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 […]
Read Full Answer
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 […]
Read Full Answer
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 […]
Read Full Answer
This calls into question the age old magazine published for, in most cases, everyone in the institution’s database. When something is designed and written for everyone it is for no one. Perhaps we all should question this type of investment.
[…] or appropriate media for your message, or crafting the message. Go here to see the original: Know Your Audience! Or Fail. | The Agitator – Fundraising, Direct … This entry is filed under Marketing, Marketing Direct, PR. You can follow any responses to this […]