Listen To Your Donor? No! Maybe?
So, you go do this fancy survey of your donors and they say: 1) Scrap the newsletter, and 2) by the way, we don’t understand why you’re spending 80% of "our" money on program X … cut it in half.
Do you listen to your donors (i.e., customers) and do what they say? If not, why not? Isn’t it their organization?
These questions come to mind as I read the fascinating debate over Facebook’s attempt to revamp its homepage. I say "attempt" because in response to a giant thumbs-down by two million Facebook users, Facebook backed down.
"A camel is a horse designed by a committee," writes an outraged Michael Arrington in TechCrunch. He cites, for example, Seth Godin saying the Walkman would never have been invented in response to consumer demand, and Robert Scoble (of Microsoft fame) saying a Porsche designed by a committee would be a Volvo, to make the argument that real breakthroughs come from risk-taking visionaries, not myopic, pedestrian consumers.
Fittingly, his article is called: "No! Never Surrender to Your Users, Facebook!" "It takes a dictator to create the iPhone," he argues.
Meanwhile, this article in Online media Daily points out that 94% of 850,000 "voters" is just a drop in the bucket out of 175 million Facebook users. [Note: since the article, the number of dissenters has risen to two milion … still a drop, I guess.]
So, back to my questions. When do you listen to the "voice" of your donors? When, if ever, do you say: "Hey, they just don’t get it." And … how do you do donor research you can trust in the first place?
Tom
2 responses to “Listen To Your Donor? No! Maybe?”
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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Interesting question. I have done dozens of focus groups looking at mail packs with donors. The issue is knowing how to interpret the results.
If you mistake of believing what they say in a group, you will produce a ‘camel’. They will say what you think they want to hear. No ‘wasted’ colour printing. Low production values. Recycled paper. Short letters.
What works in reality? Beautifully designed colour packs (but pitched correctly, so they don’t look expensive), recycled paper only if it is appropriate to the situation and of adequate quality, and longer letters.
Research is valuable, but don’t abandon knowledge, skill, experience and wisdom. You have to use your professional judgment to accurately interpret the results. For example donors will tell you they don’t want you to send them lots of stuff – but they do want to know what is going on. So you have to find the appropriate path through that.
I think if you ask your donors for their opinions, you’d best be ready to either implement their suggestions, or at least explain in a convincing way why you are not doing so. The worst thing would be to solicit opinions and then… brush them off. So perhaps it’s best not to ask unless you really want the information!