Blackbaud CRM Archives - FundraisingForce

Stephen Mally Blackbaud CRM, CRM, Microsoft Dynanics, Non-profit, Salesforce, The Raiser's Edge

Do we really need a new CRM?

Change Searching for a new CRM is a complicated process. But, when done right, landing the perfect CRM is a great feeling and a wonderful accomplishment. Change is nice. But, remember the new car smell only lasts so long. Ask your organisation, do we really need a new CRM?

It is typical for organisation leaders to be convinced a new CRM is essential. “If we only had Salesforce, The Raiser’s Edge, Microsoft Dynamics, Blackbaud CRM, or product X, we could…”. Staff leap to this conclusion without first analysing the current CRM and their functional requirements in order to first determine the existing CRM is incapable of meeting business requirements.

Why

FundraisingForce receives one new lead for a CRM search every 7 business days. Step one for FundraisingForce is to explore with the non-profit organisation the why. Why is there a need to change? Are you seeking to use your CRM organisation-wide and your organisation adopted a fundraising CRM years ago? Have your fundraising requirements outgrown the existing CRM? Can you demonstrate the investment in a change will return dramatic financial results through increased revenue and improved efficiencies/time savings?

Perhaps staff require leadership to invest in training on the existing CRM. Maybe there are add on features your organisation needs to acquire in order to meet new business requirements which did not exist when you adopted the existing CRM 7-10 years ago.

Investment

Searching for and implementing a new CRM is an investment. The investment is not simply what you will pay in licensing and implementation/services costs to a supplier(s), but also the cost to engage your staff in the implementation. Additionally, there will be some loss of productivity as you ramp up the use of the new CRM and staff become used to new processes. The cost is never the cost presented when you sign the agreement to purchase. Study the true cost of ownership, which includes staffing resources and other costs.

The new car smell is gone in a month or two. Ensure the decision to leap to a CRM search is the right decision before you leap to a CRM search. Make sure you have done the analysis so you do not have buyers remorse after driving the car off the lot.

Stephen Mally Blackbaud CRM, Charities, End of year tax appeal, Non-profit, Raiser's Edge, Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack, segmentation, tax appeal

Is your non-profit’s tax appeal file ready?

Is your non-profit’s end of tax year appeal file ready for your supplier to create your tax appeal? Have you appropriately segmented the file? It is getting late on the calendar – 30 June is nearly upon us.

Many charities take the “easy way out” and send the same tax appeal package to everyone on the data file. These organisations do not take the time to segment the data file in order to test various treatments against one another and to measure and monitor which segments are performing best and which are underperforming. To some, segmentation and data preparation is direct marketing 101. Others would rather have a root canal.

Non-profit organisations using tools like The Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack, Blackbaud CRM, and others have premium tools at their fingertips. These tools allow for charitable organisations to properly segment each data file. Creating segments such as recency, frequency, and value (RFV) segments may be done in a few hours. Once the RFV segments are set up, you will be able to use the same strategy for marketing efforts into the future. Imagine having your tax appeal set up correctly and deploying the same strategy for the second wave of the appeal and having it in place for the Christmas appeal!

Your end of tax year appeal file segmentation does not have to be something you dread. It ought to be considered as best practice. Contact FundraisingForce if you require assistance with your next data file.