Tom’s  post yesterday, Nonprofits and the Customer Experience not only warrants reading a second time, but I also feel compelled to pile on some more emphasis and detail because it goes right to the heart of retention and donor value.

Tom writes: “In the commercial marketing arena, there’s heaps of chat about the ‘customer experience’ and how to improve it in the interest of retaining and up-selling customers.”

And then his important admonition that deserves even more emphasis: “Nonprofit marketers who watch that space [customer experience] are probably a bit dismissive, because few of us have stores, physical products, services, complex transactional websites, call centers and so forth where it’s obvious the customer experience plays out for better or worse.”

The sad fact is that far too many fundraisers, communications directors, CEOs and Boards overly exalt ‘strategy’, ‘brand’, ‘creative’ and ‘program’ while assigning mundane importance (and investment) in ‘service level’ actions and donor experiences that occur in call centers, around events, with the fulfillment of premiums and in proper acknowledgements.

Ignoring service level experiences because nonprofits don’t have brick and mortar storefronts like the commercial sector results in a retention disaster.

In short, ignorance of the importance of the ‘boring’ and ‘mundane’ is killing too many nonprofits.

Here’s why I think this is so important.

I would agree that, in theory, strategy/marketing/brand message delivered creatively can be as or more important than donor service level experiences that often occur in the call center, mail room or at the reception desk.

But, given the reality of what I see in the mail and what I’ve personally experienced from many nonprofits, the sad fact is that most of these strategies/messages/brand/creative are delivered to donors and potential donors in such a generic and undifferentiated manner that I doubt they really deserves the presumed 1^st place as the prime determinant in retention (or acquisition for that matter).

Why? Because most of the stuff I see in my mailbox is indeed so generic and undifferentiated it could have come from any nonprofit. Instead I think the real driver with this ‘exalted’ class of activity lies more in volume and the ability to send out more of the same message more times than the competitor’s same generic stuff.

But I can guarantee you, that even though you probably don’t have a physical store, the way donors are serviced can greatly harm or help you. Kevin Schulman and the folks over at DonorVoice have measured and proven this in study after study.

Here is just a sampling of what the DonorVoice folks and the Agitator consider and examine in the range of ‘boring’ service areas that are ignored at your peril when it comes to donor retention and value.

• Donor Service centers (inbound calls and email response). This is far more important than even Tom suggests. First off, most nonprofits actually have a donor service/call center, either in-house or outsourced. Secondly, the volumes over time — especially when you add up phone PLUS email — are such that a sizable minority actually do experience this part of the organization (by the way, an important sub-point here, is that donors don’t consider this a different, separate part of the organization.)

  A small smattering of the service level experiences include first call/email resolution or failure, knowledge of agent, friendliness of agent, helpfulness. Again, the volumes in these inbound centers are such that many organizations wind up having large chunks of the donor base exposed to great, good, or bad experiences.

• Events — Walks/runs/galas. The number of ‘service level’ experiences here are almost too many to count – registration process, ease of donating process, event day parking, event day logistics, event day experiences, post event follow up. A veritable parade of potential opportunities … or disasters.

• Premiums. If a nonprofit gives away or ‘sells’ premiums for upgrade or incentive purposes, it is in the merchandise business. This opens the nonprofit up to product quality experiences, selection or variety experiences, delivery experiences, order accuracy experiences, order resolution experiences.

• Advocacy events. See walk/run/gala opportunities and challenges above.

• In-person fundraising. It’s not all power lunches, breakfasts and tea and crumpets. Don’t forget the follow-up moves to chase down a pledge, the need for accurate gift processing and the acknowledgement/recognition experience, to name but a few.

Of course some of these service level experiences are more important than others. The only way you’ll ever find out which ones matter (and trust me, they don’t all matter equally) is you have to ask the donors.

You’ll find for yourself that these boring service level dimensions contribute plenty to the donor’s decision to stay or go – as much and in most cases, more than your next appeals or newsletters.

The only trick is measuring in a way that gets the right answer since doing this wrong is as bad as not asking. Again, the folks at DonorVoice are expert here.

So, have you thanked your call center lately? Flowers to your receptionist? Candy for the cashiering department? Is the parking free and easy for your next event?

Does your organization deliver these service experiences well or poorly?

Roger

P.S. Another post cited yesterday and recommended for re-reading today is Chuck English’s Both Sale and Gift Are Four Letter Words.