Nonprofits that Keep Their Word Deliver Great Experiences for Supporters, Finds Researcher Scott Deming

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Ever had a nonprofit customer experience (as a donor, volunteer or whatever) that left you with a smile on your face? On the other hand, have you ever had an encounter with an organization that left you gnashing your teeth and griping about the event for weeks on end to anyone who’d listen? If you’re like most people, you can answer both questions (especially the second one!) with a resounding yes. But did you ever stop to wonder precisely what its was that went so right or, in the second case, so terribly wrong?

Scott Deming, author of The Brand Who Cried Wolf: Deliver on Your Company’s Promise and Create Customers for Life has the surprisingly simple answer: Great customer experiences happen when organizations keep their word. Most critical, pronounces Deming, is that what you say your organization stands for (brand) means next to nothing compared to what your stakeholders experience. That experience is your real brand or, as my mother used to say, actions speak louder than words.

Identifying positive and negative experiences

What’s interesting is that Deming profiles organizations he deems brilliant branders (orgs like Ben & Jerry’s and Saturn who consistently provide an ultimate customer experience) and wolf criers (who claim they do but actually don’t). And guess what nonprofit leads the wolf criers list….none other than the infamous Red Cross.

I find Deming’s perspective a particularly meaningful way to look at the organizations that have really let us down. Others I can name include the United Way and Smithsonian. These are organizations supporters and other audiences trusted to do the right thing; but they didn’t. And they lost our trust and support.

The Red Cross is a glaring example of how trust can be instantaneously eroded. In the hours after terrorists attacked the United States on 9/11, record-breaking pledges poured in from around the world. The Red Cross set up The Liberty Fund as a direct response to the attacks and collected more than $564 million. However, by November 2001, CNN and other news agencies reported that only $154 million of that had been distributed. Dr. Bernadine Healy, who was the outgoing Red Cross president at the time, argued in defense of the charitable organization’s decision to set aside more than half of the money raised for future needs, including possible terrorist attacks. This news angered many donors. They felt like their money was not reaching the intended recipients. Bad customer experience.

“In other words, though donors were not critical of the charity having money for future disasters, the real question was whether the important agency misled donors into thinking donations were going immediately to 9/11 relief,” explains Deming. “I don’t think anyone really believes the Red Cross deceived people for some selfish, greedy end. But in a moment when individuals’ feelings were of raw helplessness and despair, and the only way they had to connect with and help others was through monetary donations, the Red Cross failed to keep its brand trust.”

Tips for positive supporter experiences

Here are a couple of Deming’s most useful suggestions for staying on track to deliver the right kind of experience for your supporters:

  • Be careful what you promise. If you aren’t, and don’t come through, you’ve probably ruined a beautiful relationship. So when you tell prospects how their donations will be used, make sure that allocation is correct? If you can’t get internal operations right, how could they ever count on your organization to make good use of their monies?
  • Get the perspective you need. To really know how things are going at your organization, you’ll have to step out of your own shoes and take a walk in those of your supporters and staff. Make sure you have open channels of communications flowing with each group, 24/7.  “When your perspective widens, so does your concern about what’s important. The benefits you receive from changing your perspective will far exceed those reaped from a narrower, more traditional focus, ” says Deming.
  • Use this insight to separate your organization from the pack. So many nonprofits are squeamish about looking at the world in which they work realistically, and accepting the fact that they are in direct competition with many other orgs for donors, volunteers, program participants and more. You have to find what you can do to differentiate your organization from all the others that offer the same services or products. You have to find what you can do to differentiate your organization from all the others that offer the same services or products.

Your most powerful differentiator must be the level of service, the unique experience you offer each of your stakeholders at their moment of engagement with your organization. When you work hard to engender their loyalty, honestly, they’ll go out of their way to stay involved with your  organization.

Make your organization events more effective with these tools.

Two Don’t-Miss Tools for More Effective Organization Events

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Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the nonprofit industry has seen a shift to more virtual and hybrid events alongside fully online fundraisers. In a time when we’ve become accustomed to virtual interaction, face-to-face gatherings can be more impactful than ever.

Building relationships and community online is crucial for spreading your organization’s reach and expanding your membership. But the value of face-to-face engagement can’t be replaced. In-person gatherings often bring a movement or a campaign to the next level, further engaging your members.

Here are two tools we’ve discovered that will help you take your organization’s events to the next level.

1. Event Management Software

Event management platforms are one of the more crucial components of planning your event. Whether you’re planning, hosting, or evaluating the success of an event, you’ll need event management software to help you along the way.

Fonteva’s Salesforce event management software guide walks through how to utilize association management software for your next event:

  • Create guest lists. Choose who to invite and create separate lists for attendees based on tracks of the event you want them to attend.
  • Track registration. Keep track of registrants during your planning process to ensure your venue and sessions can properly accommodate your members and attendees. This can also help you determine how much you need to continue promoting your event leading up to the date.
  • Create event sessions and guest seating. Divide attendees into groups, create seating charts, and set table numbers to further organize your event data.
  • Ensure simple payment processing. Process registration, eCommerce purchases, and donations all through your event management software. Be sure that your processor is PCI compliant to ensure data security.
  • Generate custom reports. Evaluate your event’s success by running revenue and registration reports on the data collected. You can also analyze which aspects of your event worked the best.
  • Send follow-up communications. Reach out to your attendees following the event to highlight the success of the day, thanking them for their time and participation. You can also inquire with attendees for feedback to improve future events.

When you choose the right event management solution for your organization, you’ll be able to customize the features to help you plan a range of activities from conferences to networking events to virtual panels to fundraisers.

With event management software you can increase the ROI for your event while creating a memorable experience for your members and attendees. Because event management software also stores member data, you can save attendee contact preferences, financial information, and other important information for later use. This data can be used to plan future events.

2. Graphic Design Services

Graphic design should be a part of all of your marketing materials. Skillful visual aesthetics can enhance your brand identity when standardized logos, graphics, and color schemes are implemented across all your marketing materials.

Graphic design requires experience and time. It can be expensive to troubleshoot if you are unsure of what you’re doing. Seasoned graphic design companies and professionals can work with you to provide assets for your organization to enhance your event space, color promotional materials, and engage more registrants.

According to Nonprofit’s Source guide to nonprofit graphic design, here are five types of design that a graphic designer can help you implement into your event marketing strategy:

  • Event Branding. Designers can create an event logo and color scheme that pair well with your organization’s main brand. They may use secondary colors from your main brand to enhance overall awareness and differentiate your event as a new campaign.
  • Event Website. Website designers can create microsites or webpages for your event. Their expertise in page navigation can help create webpages for registrants to easily find schedules, event details, and payment options.
  • Digital Design. Craft digital design materials like infographics, videos, social media graphics, virtual flyers, or email newsletters to promote your event. Digital materials will enable you to widely share information about your event, increase brand awareness, and gain more registrants.
  • Print Materials. Hire designers to create brochures and maps, branded merchandise, and thank you cards for your event. Send attendees home with branded merchandise to help them remember their experience and your organization.
  • Environmental Event Design. To beautify your event, designers can create branded banners, donor/sponsor walls, giving kiosks, and art installations. Designers can transform your event space into a theme or create materials to promote your mission or sponsors.

Events won‘t be nearly as successful if there is no promotion or thought put into the experience. By utilizing the skill of professional graphic design services, your organization can bolster attendee registration and improve the quality of your event.

And don’t waste your time creating one or two graphics that don’t look exactly right. Find an experienced graphic design provider that can work with you to create a set of marketing materials and event decor that fit your vision and the organization’s brand.

Organizing events is time consuming and can take months of planning. Look for scalable plans when searching for event management software and graphic design providers so they leave room for your organization’s growth. Now that you know how to maximize your potential with event management software and graphic design services, you can start planning your next event.

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