Do you really know what good donor service looks like?

I sure hope so, because as we’ve reported before, nearly 20% of all donors who drop out quit because of lousy donor service.

Consequently, any organization serious about improving its retention rates had better be deadly serious about the quality of donor services it provides.

Sadly, this essential ingredient in the retention recipe gets short shrift in most organizations.

Rather than treat donor service as a cost center to be shoved off on an unsuspecting intern, relegated to the lunchtime receptionist, or otherwise ignored, successful nonprofits — just like successful companies — focus on great donor service. And they reap big bucks for their effort.

Solving the donor service part of the retention puzzle is no mystery. Neither does it have to involve high costs. It does, however, require attention, planning, hard work and focus. All worth it if good service prevents 1 out of every 5 donors from abandoning ship.

Let me ask you this.  As we near the high volume year-end season, have you called your organization’s donor help line or service center to get a first-hand sense of what your donors and prospects will experience?

Could you easily find your organization’s call-in number on the website?  How long did it take before the phone was answered? Were you put on hold? For how long? What did you experience while on hold?

If you had a lousy experience you should fix it — now. Before the holiday rush begins.

In the seven ‘secret shopping’ calls I made preparing this post I was put on hold 6 out of 7 times. The experience during that wait time did nothing to inspire my giving spirit.

Some of us are old enough to remember when being placed on hold was a test of willpower and patience; but those days are long gone.

Getting it wrong during the “hold” period will cost you big time in these days when consumers expect instant gratification. No longer is it acceptable to put customers on hold for any length of time.

Here from from the U.K. consumer watchdog Which? are how customers feel about being placed on hold.

The consumer watchdog found that nearly half of consumers (47%) feel the most annoying part of waiting to have a call answered by a brand was “being told your call was valued”.

Next on the list was being directed to the company’s website (28%), followed by an apology because “all operators were busy” (11%).

And when it comes to the types of sound deemed most detestable? The hardest to bear?

Here’s how Chris Ward of MyCustomer.com summarizes the most annoying sounds.

Background music

21% of people find the somewhat generalized resonance of ‘background music’ most annoying. The kind of thing that sounds like it was created by an early 90s algorithm, or at best by an intern charged with coming up with something during his lunchbreak using Garage Band.

Rock vs Classical Music

22% of consumers find the sound of ‘rock music’ the most annoying whilst kept on hold. No specific songs were mentioned, but a cursory glance at Twitter helps determine the most likely culprits. They’re the kind where even hearing the opening note of the song subjects you to day-long, fear-inducing headaches, let alone if you’ve been forced to listen to the whole thing over and over again.

Of course, some hold music can be glorious. The ‘Which?’ survey found that around half (48%) of people said that classical music was the most soothing while waiting.

Busy Signal / Engaged  Tone

This is the most hated of all the hold sounds, and why not. Who can possibly bear listening to a busy signal for longer than 4-5 seconds?

So fellow Agitators, pick up the phone and call your office. Learn how long your donors are waiting on hold. Hear first-hand what they’re exposed to while they’re waiting.

Then, if you’re not pleased, make changes immediately. Year-end is coming!

Roger

P.S.  This post from Eptica outlines some great ways of improving the “hold” process and improving the speed of response.

P.P.S.  Beyond the “hold” problem there’s a whole range of donor experience and donor satisfaction issues you might also want to tackle while you’re at it. You’ll find thoughts on all this in my earlier post, Your Call Is Important to Us: Please Continue To Hold