Retention Is The New Acquisition
Lots of folks pay lip service to the importance of donor ‘retention’. Far fewer know much about it, let alone do much of anything about it.
As acquisition costs rise and response rates plummet, Tom and I have stepped up our rants on retention. In our view, retention is the new acquisition.
And it’s welcome news to see the hard work of The Donor Retention Project — a cooperative effort by dedicated folks in our space who have thought and done a lot about retention — result in release a major body of ‘how to’ work on boosting retention.
At a time when nonprofits are losing 70% of their new donors before getting a second gift, this magnum opus couldn’t be better timed.
The six CD set (available off-line in a binder and an online edition for viewing/listening on your computer, smartphone or tablet) is jam-packed with practical ‘how to’ advice, step-by-step instructions and templates you can put to work immediately.
This is NOT some fuzzy, feel good pep talk. The Retention Project has created a system to help you retain your donors for life (theirs, not yours).
Leading retention and donor relationship experts — beginning with Adrian Sargeant, Simone Joyaux, Lisa Sargent, and including Gail Perry, Jonathon Grapsas, Marc Pitman, John Lepp, Pam Grow, Ian Adair, Shannon Doolittle and Dan Blakemore and yours truly — provide a treasure trove of retention goodies you can put to work immediately.
Twelve retention experts, 12 interviews, 12 Action Guides — all in an easy-to-use package that you can share with your team, CEO and board members. All built around the latest research in the field.
Agitator readers get a $50 break from the regular $179 price for the online edition. So, for $129 (a fraction of the cost of attending a conference ) you can begin immediately adding thousands of $$ to your organization’s bottom line.
You can start fixing your leaky bucket of retention today by clicking here. And, it all comes with a 30 day, 100% money back guarantee.
Roger
4 responses to “Retention Is The New Acquisition”
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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Roger, here is the full quote. “Retention is the new acquisition and customer service is the new marketing.” Joe Connelly of The Wall Street Journal. The second part of the quote is equally important. Strong customer service not only helps us with donor retention but spreads the word about how we treat donors, customers, vendors and teams. From the janitor to the security guard to the receptionist, to the mission staff, fundraisers and senior team, customer service needs to be a core organizational value. The word will spread and people will come.
I agree with Karen.
Karen and Kim,
And I certainly agree with you both. See earlier post on importance of donor service re retention.
http://www.theagitator.net/dont-miss-these-posts/why-donors-drop-out/
Roger
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