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Audience Research

Is Your Organization Out There in the Right Places?

Is Your Organization Out There in the Right PlacesWalking on the beach last week (a heavenly respite), I was struck hard by the powerful strategy of this vacation rental spot.

Note the mailbox location and label.  Unlike the hundreds of other beach front properties, these folks are 150% audience-focused.

They’ve noted that Florida visitors walk on the beach, whether they’re lucky enough to be staying there or not. And while you’re walking on the beach, top of mind is how nice it would be to stay right there. This rental property understands and engages that desire, making its rental brochures easily available at the moment of…

Meanwhile, its competitors count on the scenic shots of the rental and beach featured on brochures inside the rental office, where the prospective renters aren’t. In the wrong place.

Is your nonprofit reaching out in the right places? Make sure you’re well positioned to intersect head on with your network’s interests, needs and hopes, the nonprofit marketing sweet spot.

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Nancy Schwartz on March 3, 2009 in Audience Research, Branding and Messages, Nonprofit Communications | 0 comments
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Make Sure Your Communications Aren’t Like Groundhog Day — Same Old, Same Old

Make Sure Your Communications Aren't Like Groundhog Day -- Same Old, Same OldNot the one where Punxsutawney Phil climbs out of his hole to predict when spring will arrive (saw his shadow today, so keep the fire going), but the movie — in which reporter Phil Connors (my fav Bill Murray) gets stuck in a small town and wakes up to the same day again and again. Same old, same old which soon becomes nightmarishly boring.

Ultimately, the endless repetition works out well for Phil Connors, but it won’t for your organization. Make sure your messages intersect directly with what’s important to your network right now. The same old, same old will generate closed eyes and ears, which are hard to open up again.

Last night’s Super Bowl ads drove this point home to me big time. The ads, which have become a focal point in their own right, were nothing more than recycled hash from previous years. They didn’t touch what’s important to people now — protecting their families in the economic crisis, family, traditions, hope, innovation, faith…

Here’s the thing: The bigger the gap between what’s vital to your base, and your messages, the more you’ll alienate them. Because you just don’t know (or care) who they are. Kind of like a bad marriage.


If you’re sensing a gap between your org and your base, then start reaching out to discover what is vital to them, so you can ID where your org can meet those interests and needs. Do it now, before the marriage is over.

P.S. Yes We Can! When a powerful tagline is joined to a compelling mission…nothing is impossible! Download the free Nonprofit Tagline Report for must-dos, don’t dos, case studies and 1,000+ nonprofit tagline examples!

Photo:elcefeliz

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Nancy Schwartz on February 2, 2009 in Audience Research, Branding and Messages, Nonprofit Communications | 0 comments
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Make Sure Your Nonprofit Marketing Syncs Up With Your Supporters’ Worlds

Make Sure Your Nonprofit Marketing Syncs Up With Your Supporters' WorldsNothing alienates the people you're trying to engage to learn, give or sign a petition more than being out of sync with what's top of mind for them.

So when I spotted this 66-page ad supplement in The New York Times a couple of weeks ago (the weekend following the first bailout and the fall of the Dow below 9,000), I was appalled.

First of all, when I scanned the title (Watch Your Time: Special Watch Portfolio) I assumed it was about the market, and the need to watch it carefully. That just shows you how life shapes interpretation.

But then to open the supplement and see 66 pages of watches for sale at $30,000 and up just made me vomit. Even though I know that this was scheduled months ago and that the ad revenues help get me my paper at a reasonable price, I was jangled.

Make sure you don't make the same mistake. Stay in sync with your organization's supporters so you don't alienate them. If they start to think that you have little sense of who they are, or that they don't really know your organization, you're in trouble. That kind of discomfort breeds distance and disconnects.

Of course, the only way to stay in sync with your supporters and their burning concerns is ongoing audience research. Anecdotal conversations work fine if that's what you can do, as long as critical findings get to your colleagues who need to hear them.

P.S. Learn how to craft the marketing message that matters most — your tagline. Download the free Nonprofit Tagline Report for must-dos, don't dos, case studies and 1,000+ nonprofit tagline examples!

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Nancy Schwartz on October 28, 2008 in Audience Research, Branding and Messages, Nonprofit Communications, Strategy | 0 comments
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Wowing Donors: Exceed Expectations to Stand Out From the Crowd

Wowing Donors Exceed Expectations to Stand Out From the CrowdStep back right now and re-think your donor communications program. You have to.

Results of The Great American Donor Survey, conducted by nonprofit market research firm Campbell Rinker, are damning:

“83 percent of charitable donors consider the giving experience to be what they expect. [But,] only 13 percent say the charity they supported went beyond their expectations.”

Just last night over dinner, I listened to an old friend’s critique of the synagogue where we met. She was dismayed when a large gift last fall generated nothing, not even an acknowledgment, much less thanks. And more disappointed when her mention of that gaffe, and her reaction, went unheeded.

She compared that experience to the hand-signed note she received from another synagogue (where she occasionally attends services, and has many friends in the congregation) on its receipt of her $50 gift (far smaller than that to her own synagogue).

Which synagogue would you prefer to belong to, and to support? The one that ignores you (and, you have to assume, does the same with many of its other programs and community members); or the one that recognizes you promptly, respectfully and with enthusiasm?

Remember, these experiences stayed top of mind for my friend nearly one year after the gifts. So much so that she featured them right up front in our conversation, even though we hadn’t talked for ages.

Dirk Rinker is right on target when he says, “word of mouth is your best advertising.”

That works for your organization when there’s good word to spread. But when your organization fails to respect and involve donors (and program participants and product customers and service users), that word spreads like wildfire, burning your bridges as it goes.

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Tip of the hat to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

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Nancy Schwartz on July 29, 2008 in Audience Research, Fundraising: Innovations & Research, Nonprofit Communications | 0 comments
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Segment Your Audience for Marketing Relevance: Goodwill Splits Its Base 25 Ways

Segment Your Audience for Marketing Relevance Goodwill Splits Its Base 25 WaysWow, 25 segments (specific audience groups) is the most I’ve ever heard of, but that’s how Goodwill of Greater Washington (GGW) is slicing its fundraising. According to a recent article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the organization "now tailors its appeals to different audiences, and has increased the number of repeat donors by 60 percent over the past five years [by doing so]."

Well, it’s hard to argue with stats. I also have great faith in the marketers and fundraisers of Goodwill of Greater Washington. You may remember them as the innovative marketers who produce a fashion blog that has nurtured a whole new group of buyers for certain Goodwill goods. These folks are great at what they do!

Tailoring messages (and the visuals that go with them) is more important that ever when prospects are stressed like they are now. According to Brendan Hurley, GGW’s senior vice president for marketing and communications, the org is customizing its campaigns (specifically, the benefits to each group) to "25 distinct groups, including donors of used goods, buyers of goods, affluent people who could make big donations or planned gifts, and leaders of corporate foundations."

Here’s one great example of the benefits conveyed to specific segments: "Donors who give to Goodwill’s training programs help low-income learn the skills they need to earn more money. They, in turn, are able to spend more money, improving the local economy and the quality of life for residents."

Segmenting is powerful, and an approach you should always take when shaping your marketing campaigns too. But I urge you to take one step further to flesh out the demographics traditionally used to shape such segmentation with personas.

I’m a big fan of developing fully-fleshed-out fictitious characters (aka personas) to understand your base and other groups your org wants to engage. Shaping personas is a practice that enables you to "know" your target audiences far beyond segmentation, which is limited to demographic definition in most cases. Most importantly, personas are a great lead-in to audience research, and a useful ingredient in product/program/service development and testing. Use them to hone your approach as precisely as possible before you dive in with pricey and hard-to-find focus group participants or testers. 

This guide to shaping personas will help your org reach your base more effectively.

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Nancy Schwartz on July 22, 2008 in Audience Research, Branding and Messages, Case Studies, Fundraising: Innovations & Research, Nonprofit Communications | 2 comments
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Who ARE You Trying to Reach? — Create Personas to Bridge the Gap with Target Audiences

Who ARE You Trying to Reach -- Create Personas to Bridge the Gap with Target AudiencesI’m a big fan of developing fully-fleshed-out fictitious characters (aka personas) to understand your base and other groups your org wants to engage. As Wikipedia so aptly puts it, "a user persona is a representation of the goals and behavior of your [target audiences]. Each persona is captured in one to two page descriptions featuring behavior patterns, goals, skills, attitudes, and environment, with a few fictional personal details to bring the persona to life."

Shaping personas is a practice that enables you to "know" your target audiences far better than simple audience segmentation, which is limited to demographic definition in most cases. Most importantly, personas are a great lead-in to audience research, and a useful ingredient in product/program/service development and testing. Use them to hone your approach as precisely as possible before you dive in with pricey and hard-to-find focus group participants or testers.

Learn how in my just-updated guide to developing personas that will increase the impact of your nonprofit marketing.

PS While you’re strategizing how to get to know your constituencies better, read Getting Great Audience and Stakeholder Feedback, at Little Cost (Case Study)

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Nancy Schwartz on May 6, 2008 in Audience Research, Nonprofit Communications, Planning and Evaluation | 0 comments
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New Research Unmasks the Wired Wealthy — Connect Better with Middle and Major Donors

New Research Unmasks the Wired Wealthy -- Connect Better with Middle and Major DonorsWhat makes people give online, and how can you motivate them to give to your organization?  Convio, Sea Change Strategies and Edge Research recently answered these questions via an in-depth study of some 3,400 wired donors who make four-figure or higher gifts to one or more causes. And get this — "or the nonprofits who shared data, this segment of donors represents just 1% of their active donor file, but 32% of their annual revenue," says Convio founder and Chief Strategy Officer Vinay Bhagat.

The results, available here in full, offer some useful guidance on closing the gap between your org and your donors and here are just a few of the findings you can use to refine your strategies. The wired wealthy are:

  • Very generous givers
    • Give an average of $10,896 eachyear to various causes, with a median gift of $4,500
  • Notably wealthy
    • More than twenty-five percent (25%) have household incomes above $200,000 per year. More than half have annual household incomes above $100,000.
  • Mostly boomers (born between 1946 and 1964)
    • With the center of gravity falling right in the middle of the baby boom cohort.
  • Extremely wired
    • Have been using the Internet for an average of 12 years
    • Online an average of 18 hours per week
  • Give online and via other channels
    • Like the speed, efficiency and instant gratification of online giving
    • Will be shifting more giving to online over next few years.

Clearly, you have to be online in a sophisticated way that engages boomers to succeed in this competitive arena.

Here’s another vital finding: There are three main ways in which these donors want to relate to orgs they give to — all business; relationship seekers; casual connectors.

"The three clusters offer some important clues about what kinds of communications your wired wealthy constituents…value, and might also help temper organizational expectations. Moreover, [the clustering indicates] that most organizations have a long way to go to fully satisfy even the most modest donor demands and expectations. And, it argues strongly for implementing some sort of psychographic segmentation so that you can cultivate relationships with the very different, yet equally valuable…clusters."

You’ll find lots more data to guide your marketing and fundraising efforts in the full report.

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Nancy Schwartz on April 30, 2008 in Audience Research, Fundraising: Innovations & Research, Recommended Resources, Trends | 1 comment
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Don’t Throw $ Away on the Wrong Message to the Right Audience

Don't Throw $ Away on the Wrong Message to the Right AudienceYesterday’s mail brought this glossy, 64 pp. magazine from the Alzheimer’s Association. It went right into the recycling bin.

Wrong strategy to the right audience, nonprofit marketing people. The Association got my name when I sponsored my friend Stuart in the NY Chapter’s fundraising walk for two years running. Stuart’s story — of caring for his close friend struck with Alzheimer’s at a young age — drew me (and my donation) in.

But, instead of following up with me post-walk, and subsequently, with stories like Stuart’s (and those are how most walk donors are pulled in), the Association blasts this expensive but useless promotion out to its entire list.

Two takeaways here, marketers:

  1. Match the message and channel to the audience. Otherwise, you alienate them, and waste valuable resource (this magazine was printed on heavy, high-gloss stock, yikes).
  2. Keep in touch with event audiences following the event and then periodically till the next one — to keep them engaged — but do it in a way that reinforces their initial way in.

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Nancy Schwartz on April 7, 2008 in Audience Research, Branding and Messages, Case Studies, Fundraising: Innovations & Research, Nonprofit Communications | 0 comments
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Increasing Visitors and Donations in the Shadow of the Great New York Museums — Newark Museum Case Study

Increasing Visitors and Donations in the Shadow of the Great New York Museums -- Newark Museum Case StudyBack in the fall of 2003, when Mark Albin, Newark Museum deputy director of marketing and public relations, started his new job, he faced what seemed like an overwhelming challenge.

Museum visitors were few and far between to this incredible art and science resource with a planetarium, a restored 19th-century mansion, representative works of American art, historical galleries and much more. But low visitation wasn’t the only issue. The low number of visitors capped funding (many funders gauge gifts on visitation, among other factors; and most major donors evolve from the visitor base) and, ultimately, the Museum’s impact.

Today, visitors are at an all-time high. Read the complete case study to learn how Albin harnessed  straighforward, moderately-priced audience research to get a better understanding of the problems and how to solve them.

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Nancy Schwartz on November 14, 2007 in Audience Research, Branding and Messages, Case Studies, Nonprofit Communications | 1 comment
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How Big is the Gap between You and Your Audiences?

How Big is the Gap between You and Your AudiencesMy husband is in the business of professional development for financial advisors. And every once in a while — in fact more often than you’d think — he brings up an issue he’s thinking on that’s incredibly relevant to nonprofit communicators.

Today’s issue is — the GAP. Knowledg@Wharton, a great, free e-news on knowledge management, last week reported on survey results from financial advisors and their clients. What’s relevant to your nonprofit is that advisors and their clients have such different perspectives on what’s important, and that gap is preventing satisfaction on both sides.

Advisors pinpointed personal factors like shared schools or church as being of major importance to clients, while clients valued an advisor’s knowledge above all else; advisors identified responsiveness as a key factor, while clients expect responsiveness and take it as a given.
As a result, many advisors are trying to find new clients, and retain current ones, using all the wrong reasons.

So nonprofit communicators, what does your gap look like? Without ongoing audience research, your programs and services, and the messages you use to recruit and maintain donors, volunteers, participants and even staff members, are bound to be off base. As an old friend used to say, assumptions make an a__ out of you and me.

Ways to close the gap can be cheap and accessible, although some effort is a must. One of my favorites is the communications advisory board. You’ll find several additional ways to close the gap here.

Mind the gap!

Photo Credit: CatchesTheLight

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Nancy Schwartz on May 29, 2007 in Audience Research, Branding and Messages, Nonprofit Communications, Strategy | 0 comments
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