No More Impulse Giving?
I read an article that proffered various "new marketing realities" that marketers need to consider coming out of the recession (if and when!).
Among the observations: "Customers are no longer buying on impulse. They don’t have the access to credit they used to have, and they’re hoarding their limited resources. Bottom line: They’re spending less."
I was struck by the comment on impulse buying.
It makes me think about the interplay between emotion and rational assessment as these factors relate to making donations these days.
The Agitator has always emphasized that emotion is the engine of most giving, and the driver of impulse giving in particular. That’s just reflects a reality of human hard wiring.
But money is tight, so there’s also plenty of cause to believe that future donations will be far more carefully considered in terms of both affordability and efficacy.
Arguably, donors have been dealing with affordability by making smaller average gifts. We’ve seen a lot of evidence of that over the last year.
Whether they will become more discriminating in their giving — more carefully assessing which of the organizations they have supported previously are having the most impact or benefit — is harder to get at. One empirical measure might be whether they simply are giving to fewer groups. But even there, is the winnowing out process emotional or rational?
At the end of the day, I’d still bank on hard wiring. Don’t pull back on the emotional side of your appeals. But, at the same time, be more conscious than ever of the need to document and communicate the results your nonprofit has achieved … bearing in mind that results trigger emotional satisfaction too!
Tom
P.S. Regarding true impulse giving … yes, I think it will decline some. Maybe we’ll see that in response to DRTV and telemarketing appeals. But of course it will never go away. Our hard wiring will prevent that!
2 responses to “No More Impulse Giving?”
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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I have been getting a slew of end of year appeals. Some are well written and others are not. I always tell my clients that your donors are only going to respond to a select few requests. While it might be harsh the charitable world is a competitive one. I agree that now even more so we must make sure our appeal is clear, concise but most of all compelling. Failing to do so will have drastic impact.
Hi Tom –
Your posts always seem to read my mind – I love it!
We were just talking about this in relation to a trend we’re noticing in that most of our clients’ white mail is down this year.
We were attributing that to a combination of less mail traffic in general, but also much fewer spur-of-the moment (impulse) decisions to support an organization. While I’d like to say it’s the result of more accurate data entry, I don’t think that’s generally the case…
Allison Porter