What Jobs Do Your Donors Want Done?
In the commercial world about 95% of all new products fail. It’s not much different in the nonprofit sector when it comes to direct response tests aimed at beating the control.
That’s because when it comes to planning new offerings and new appeals most organizations make the mistake of starting by segmenting their donor bases by demographics (age, gender, education, income) or by past behavior (Recency. Frequency. Monetary value.)
The problem is that donors usually don’t go about their giving by conforming to particular segments. Sure, if you’re 42 with a college degree and have given to the year-end appeal on climate change your demographic profile and previous giving may be correlated with that year-end giving decision, but it didn’t cause it.
What we all desperately need is a far better understanding of what causes donors to give, not what demographic characteristic or transactional behavior is correlated with it.
And, that’s why Tom’s post from yesterday — Answer My Question — and Simone Joyaux’s comment on it deserves extra attention.
According to Tom and Simone the essential question we all must ask is: “How will your organization best enable me to make the difference I want to make?”
Raising and answering this question is not some rhetorical exercise. In fact, there’s a growing body of evidence from the commercial world that obtaining donor inputs on “What best enables me to make the difference I want to make?”, and then using that information to create and segment offers, may prove to be nothing less than an earthshattering innovation in our sector.
Innovation thought leaders like Professor Clay Christensen, author of the Innovator’s Dilemma and Tony Ulwick, author of What the Customer Wants ask the key question we all should be asking this way: “What job is the customer hiring the product to do?”
At the heart of the ‘Jobs-to-be-Done’ framework is the reality we all must face: If you don’t know what your donors or customers want, how can you give it to them?
What job did the donor to the year-end climate change appeal want done? To have the nonprofit work on climate legislation? To feel good? To be involved with like-minded others? Of these possible jobs, which is the most important, which is the least important?
How do you answer the question, “What jobs are your donors hiring your organization to do?”
Roger
P.S. Fortunately, it is possible to determine what jobs donors hire organizations to do and why. Unfortunately, I have yet to come across anyone who is applying this framework and process in our sector. If you have, by all means please we’d love to hear about it.
Meanwhile, we’ll put the Jobs-to-Be-Done issue on our New Year’s Task List and see what shareable tools and processes we can come up with.
One response to “What Jobs Do Your Donors Want Done?”
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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Wow, Roger. I very much appreciate the way that you and Tom go back and forth on a topic, illuminating, expanding…
I already quote The Agitator in all my presentations: “Loyalty is the holy grail of fundraising.” And now I’ll add in “What jobs do your donors want done” and Tony Ulwick’s question, “What job is the customer hiring the product to do?”
We know that “asking questions” generates conversation. And conversation produces learning and change. (Systems thinking and learning organization business theories.) And we know that asking donors (or prospective donors) to share their philanthropic stories provides critical insights and nurtures relationships and and …
All of this thinking – combined, integrated, embraced as organizational culture – can change fundraising. Imagine all the marvelous questions to ask – and BE PREPARED to answer…
1. How will your organization best enable me, the prospect/donor, to make the difference I want to make? (And if your organization cannot really do this – and that’s okay – then I hope that your organization will suggest other charities where I can go. Because that is true philanthropy. Making the whole world a better place. Helping donors find their place(s). Giving is not about your organization, it’s about the whole wide world – and what I the donor want to accomplish. It doesn’t matter if I accomplish what I want to accomplish through your organization or some other.)
2. I might not even know how to ask you the organization the right questions. So help me! You, the organization ask me:
– What are your hopes and dreams and aspirations, Ms. Potential or Current Donor?
– What is the job you want done? How can we help you accomplish what you want to accomplish?
– And, how effective have we been so far, helping you to achieve your aspirations?
P.S., this is about emotions/feelings, of course.
And, by the way, have you read the Bloomerang November 2013 “Wrap-Up” linked to a HuffPo article by this guy Eric Friedman… who wrote a book called “Why Philanthropy Needs Reinventing: A Framework for More Effective Giving.”
Friedman chastises us donors about our inappropriate giving and our personal dreams and interests and … At least that’s the sense I got from reading the article. One of these days, I plan to respond. Maybe The Agitator would like to take this on, too. Apparently, Friedman doesn’t care what the donor might be buying. He references the “personal whims and preferences” of donors.
Here’s my advice: DO NOT NOT NOT pay attention to Friedman. It’s bad fundraising. It’s bad donor care. It’s bad customer/donor centrism. It’s insulting. (But of course, I’ve only read the article.)