Charity

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Customer Service – what does it mean to non-profit organisations?

Customer service failures are easily identifiable. Think about a time when you became agitated with a company you were dealing with as a consumer. Was it an airline, an online store, a retailer, a hotel, or a restaurant? What got your blood pressure up? How could this customer service experience have been prevented?

You and I do not put up with poor customer service as consumers. If we receive poor customer service, we likely complain directly to the supplier via letter, email, phone, or, even, Twitter and other more public channels. In the NFP sector, why would donors put up with a charity and why would non-profits put up with suppliers who are not on top of their customer service game?

I had a conversation yesterday with a customer about what it means for a supplier to deliver good customer service to the NFP sector. We talked about the great customer service NFP suppliers deliver pre-sales; however, once the purchased is signed, the solid customer service goes out the window. We talked about companies who serve our sector and how little customer service is delivered, especially on a pro-active basis. We also talked about the fact that often smaller suppliers deliver far more superior customer service than the larger suppliers.

Customer Service Action Items

What must each of us do to ensure those things do not occur in our organisation or business?

Good customer service begins at home. Your team – whether in a charity or supplier to NFPs – need to consider their work colleagues to be their customers. We need to be responsive of one another in meetings, email, and other forums. A positive atmosphere is infectious, as is a poisonous atmosphere.

When customer service is delivered to one another, it spreads to our external customers – donors or charities.

Turnaround time. We should expect to hear back from one another within a business day when there is not a holiday or sick leave situation. When a day’s turnaround time is not possible, set expectations with the “customer”. Be clear about length of time and, perhaps, reasons why it may take you a bit longer. Keep the consumer informed about your progress.

Gift entry/acknowledgement. Charities should be responsive to donors when a contribution is received. How does your organisation measure up? You don’t know? You should. Processing a gift and returning a receipt/acknowledgement within 48 hours is critical. I have said it before. You and I cannot control the amount of time it takes Australia Post to get the donation to the charity. Likewise, we cannot control the amount of time it takes Post to get the thank you letter to the donor. Therefore, we must control the length of time the gift is in our custody.

Processing time must be measured, goals set, and KPIs monitored.

Friendly, upbeat greetings. Whoever is on the telephone or greets visitors to your organisation needs to be friendly and upbeat at all times and no matter the distractions. Remember the old saying that you do not get a second chance to make a first impression? Use that rule at the reception desk.

Do Not. As a member of a team, you cannot blame others for not being able to respond in a reasonable time frame. Additionally, do not tell people you are “flat out” and cannot complete their task. Doing so makes it seem like you believe they, too, are not busy. We are all busy. And, doing so also diminishes the importance of their task!

Absence won’t make the heart grow fonder. Be sure to have constant coverage and even during holiday and sick periods. Do not assume your donors or customers will understand and will simply wait for their key contact to return. Set out of office messages on the phone and email systems.

Be proactive. Reach out to your donors in between asks. Check in with your donors just to see how they are doing. Suppliers should do the same. Suppliers should reach out to NFPs to share ideas, discuss how other customers have overcome a challenge.

The hard stuff. Having difficulty accomplishing the hard stuff should not prevent us from delivering good customer service and it should not prevent us from accomplishing the day-to-day, more routine, items. If a donor or a customer, in the case of a suppler, asks something that cannot quickly be answered or, perhaps will require a bit of research, set clear expectations about the timeline it might take to get an answer.

Under promise and over deliver.

Good customer service levels do not have to be difficult to achieve. Start at home; repeat it to your external audiences; set metrics for turnaround time; ensure friendly and upbeat atmosphere at the point of reception; do not blame others and do not use the “flat out” excuse; fill gaps in staffing during holiday and sick periods; and don’t let the hard stuff get in the way of the more routine items.

Following these simple tasks will let you, as a non-profit or a supplier in our space, shine throughout the year.

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It’s not too late for non-profits to conduct data hygiene

DataEarlier this week, I wrote a blog post about the first Christmas Appeal received this year. It’s the only one received so far, which suggests others may still be navigating the many tasks they need to complete in order to drop their Christmas Appeal. As part of those tasks, it’s not too late for non-profits to conduct data hygiene!

Assuming some charitable organisations are behind with their Christmas appeal, perhaps the reason is data hygiene. One of the single most important steps prior to the Christmas appeal drop is the need to complete hygiene.

Some non-profit organisations take the important step to cleanse their data, while others do not. Those non-profit organisations who perform data hygiene, perform this task at least one time per year.

Data cleansing includes, but is not limited to, high level activities such as:

  • National Change of Address (NCOA).
  • De-duplication of constituent records.
  • Data enrichment, including:
    • Deceasing of records
    • Do not mail flag.
    • Do not call flag.
  • Other important mass data management practices.

As suggested in prior FundraisingForce blog posts, dirty data gets you nowhere…except broke. Proper data cleaning prior to dropping the all-important tax and Christmas appeals is not optional. Do you put this in the “too hard” basket? Hire an expert like FundraisingForce who will guide you through the process, management of suppliers, and develop a process for you to follow for years to come.

Don’t assume someone else will do this task – whether you are assuming the mail house does it or someone else on your internal team. Develop a process to get this task done and to ensure the cleansed data makes it was back to your organisations CRM. To merely cleanse the file for the appeal and to not load the clean data back to the CRM (a common mistake made by charitable organisations) is like cleaning your child and putting them back on the playground.

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The first charity Christmas appeal received from….

It’s something I report on each year via the FundraisingForce blog. The first charity Christmas appeal was received from…The Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army has been the first for the past several years.

I’ve talked about the need for a charitable organisation to stand out in the letterbox in several past FundraisingForce blog posts. It’s really the key to successful direct mail. Your piece has to stand out amongst all the postal mail one receives. If the letter does not get opened, it is not going to get a response.

Salvation Army stood out in my letterbox because it arrived in early October and it was the first charitable organisation to send me their Christmas appeal! The organisation also stood out amongst my other mail because of the the art on the package.

As in the past, the appeal is a Christmas Wish catalogue, which is full of items I can purchase to change the lives of those Salvation Army supports. Once purchased, I will receive a gift card and envelope to give to a person on my list to share the joy of giving. A simple concept and something that stood out in my letterbox the beginning of October.

Many charitable organisations likely do not have their segmented direct marketing lists prepared and sent to their mailing house. Some may still be working on the letter copy, package content, and various approvals that go with the task. Where is your non-profit organisation in the process? Is the data pull and the segmentation all a little too hard in your CRM? It does not have to be. Hire experts like FundraisingForce to properly segment your data and to create that segmentation inside your CRM. Once set up, this segmentation may be tweaked and pulled for appeals in the future.

Don’t delay setting up your segmentation for your Christmas appeal because it is too difficult, too time consuming, or something you do not have knowledge to do. Let’s get the data ready so you can get the appeal in the mail and then you’ll be able to focus your time on other tasks – like assisting in the processing of the donations and the receipts!

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Lots of discussion about excessive premiums in charity direct mail

PremiumThere have been lots of discussions about “excessive” premiums in charity direct mail lately. The conversation was raised in various circles, including at the Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) conference, as well as during the development of the new FIA Code. Card packs, pens, shopping bags, and other items are sent to various prospective donors to entice them to give a first time gift to a charitable organisation.

The fact is premiums work for some charitable organisations and premiums have proven to be a strong method to get people to give. On a recent visit to my parent’s in the United States, I found dozens of packs of address labels and other items sent to them from various veteran, healthcare, and other types of non-profit organisations. They have enough address labels to wallpaper a small bedroom.

The “debate” and discussion around premiums raises several questions:

  • Who decides what is excessive?
  • Should the cost of the premium item for a direct mail donation be deducted from the value of the donation for tax purposes?
    • The US follows a similar rule.
  • How do charity lotteries fit into this discussion – i.e. the luxury automobiles, $1 million+ homes, boats, and lavish holidays that are given away by hospitals, medical research, and other types of non-profits?
  • Does the ratio of those luxury prizes to the cost of the ticket mean they are excessive?

In interest of full disclosure, I am a big fan of charities using premium packages for their direct mail and they cause me, as a private donor, to respond. I have seen some fairly create premium packs used by some key direct mail suppliers in the Australian marketplace. That said, the debate is worth having and this discussion is worth the calories. I purchase many lottery tickets from the likes of the Mater Foundation, MS Queensland, RSPCA NSW, and others. Also, in interest of accuracy, FIA chose to remove clauses related to excessive premiums from their Code.

 

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Cure Brain Cancer knows how to attract young donors

Every charity in Australia struggles to acquire young, energetic donors who are willing to invest in their non-profit organisation. Cure Brain Cancer knows how to attract young donors. On Saturday evening, I attended the Wolfy Foundation/Cure Brain Cancer Sydney Spring Ball at The Stables in Randwick. Here is what I witnessed:

  • 600+ well-dressed young people.
    • These young people were passionate not only about being there in the fight against brain cancer, but who were also looking for a nice evening out.
  • A spectacular food and drinks package for guests at the event.
  • An exciting raffle with outstanding prizes, such as return business class airfare to Bangkok, Los Angeles, and London.
    • Prizes were donated by Qantas and Virgin Australia, amongst others.
  • A fun photo booth sponsored by Virgin Australia.
  • A group of family and friends who had their hearts in the right place.
  • Fundraising!

The Sydney Spring Ball is a joint initiative of Cure Brain Cancer Foundation and the Wolfy Foundation for Sydney’s savviest.  Their  aim is to raise awareness and funds for brain cancer research and to honour David Wolf, who passed away from brain cancer at age 23, and all others who are affected or have been affected by brain cancer. David’s family and friends have become deeply engaged in fundraising since his death and are doing everything they can to ensure other Australian families do not have to face the hurdles they faced.

At this year’s event we learned that less than 10% of the Australian government’s money set aside for cancer research goes to brain cancer.  Private support is critical in the battle against this horrific disease. Research can get us possibly to prevention and maybe even a cure in our lifetimes. The Wolf family’s initiatives are pretty spectacular.

The Sydney Spring Ball had the complete package – the right mix of fun, education, and passion to young donors aged 23-30 to embrace the passion of the Wolf family and friends. It’s a case study every charity should explore.

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Video is a fantastic partner when making an ask

After watching the Houston Texan’s (and former Wisconsin Badger) JJ Watt lead a fundraising effort for the victims of Hurricane Harvey, the impact of video cannot be underestimated. It is obvious video is a fantastic partner when making an ask. Over the last ten days, JJ Watt , the US football hero, has used video to encourage people to give to JJ Watts Houston Relief Fund and he has also used video to applaud, encourage, and steward those who were supporting the effort. To date, JJ Watt has highlighted the fact that millions of dollars have been given to the hurricane relief effort through the Fund via a crowdfunding platform. The campaign has been so successful JJ Watt has had to increase the goal multiple times.

Plain and simple, video brings your story to the donor. It is also does the following:

  • Connects the charity or the cause to the audience.
  • Evoke emotion.
  • Increase the non-profit’s reach.
  • Inspire others to share a story or a cause.
  • Increase awareness.
  • Engage,

In this case, JJ Watt recorded an original message to get people to give and then he recorded regular updates where he expressed his gratitude for dollars raised and educated donors about where the money was going. These videos were shared on the Web via the Foundation’s Website and also via social media. Sure, JJ Watt is a national celebrity. Nonetheless, he took matters into his own hands and recorded the videos to prove the power and effective use of video.

Not only have average people become engaged, but JJ Watt captured the attention of the media and of celebrities. People have been jumping on the bandwagon due to the personal nature of Watt’s approach. To date, Watt has raised over $27 million. And, he is not done yet.

Most of us carry a video camera with us each day. Non-profit fundraisers can cut unprofessional, but personal, videos at any given moment. These videos are effective and and easy to deploy. There are also firms who produce very professional videos to tell our stories. There is one such firm which caters to the video needs of the NFP sector, Big Review TV/Big Cares. Big Review TV produces video packages for your non-profit organisation to use over the course of a year to bring the story closer to your prospective donors.

Whether you need a video to get the word out immediately, such as the case of a disaster relief effort, or you want a full range video package to build your brand, increase awareness, and show the emotive nature of what you do, video is becoming a necessary component in our fundraising efforts. JJ Watt has given us a case study to learn from and encouraged us to put videos in our toolbox.

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CRM loses the new car smell quickly. Is a change worth it?

CRMFundraisingForce receives a telephone call or web enquiry every four days from an organisation seeking to find the “perfect CRM”. They’re using The Raiser’s Edge, eTapestry, ThankQ, iMIS, Salesforce, or one of the other lesser known solutions. “It’s time to change”; the current system “does not work”, “it is not meeting our needs”, “it is antiquated and I know there are more up to date systems out there”, and “I used ‘ABC’ system at my old job. It worked really well” or “my friend uses DEF system at her organisation and she likes it”  are all typical comments made. But, should you change CRMs just to change? The CRM loses the new car smell quickly. Is a change worth it?

There certainly are legitimate reasons to convert from one CRM solution to another. The most legitimate of the statements above includes “it is not meeting our needs”. I would ask “what are your needs?”. Most charitable organisations, schools, and universities cannot articulate their needs or CRM requirements. That’s where organisations like FundraisingForce come into play.

FundraisingForce has a five step CRM process to guide any non-profit organisation, school, or university to find the most suitable CRM for their organisation. The fact is there is no “perfect” CRM, but finding the most appropriate fit for your organisation is what it is all about. Here are the steps we follow:

  1. Requirements gathering. Our team will spend a number of days working with your staff to identify the key requirements for any new CRM.  Workshops are held, business processes are analysed, and gaps in the current system are surfaced.
  2. Market supplier identification. Here we identify which suppliers FundraisingForce recommends should be included in the CRM search opportunity.
  3. Documentation. FundraisingForce creates a Request for Proposals (RFP) packet to distribute to the market, which includes:
    • Notification letter. A letter to be distributed to invited solution supplier participants inviting them to participate, outlining the process and the timeline, and asking them to sign your organisation’s confidentiality agreement.
    • RFP letter. A cover letter to go with the Request for Proposals.
    • RFP. A Requests for Proposals is written to outline the request you are making for the suppliers to submit a proposal.
    • Business Functional Requirements. A large Excel spreadsheet containing a tab for each department and all associated requirements.
    • FundraisingForce Observations and Recommendations. A document containing our observations and recommendations, which is then used for your organisation to address issues in parallel to teaching for a new CRM.
  4. Demonstrations and discussions. FundraisingForce will facilitate the demonstrations and discussions between suppliers and your selection committee.
    • These demonstrations often require a couple of rounds.
  5. Negotiation. FundraisingForce will assist you to negotiate and solidify the best possible agreement and scope of work for your project.

Changing to a new CRM because it is clean and shiny (has the new car smell) is no reason to change at all. Base the decision to change in fact. Base it in facts surrounding the following:

  • Your organisation has outgrown the limited functionality in the CRM.
    • The current system does not meet requirements 1.7, 1.9, 2.4, 3.3, 6.9, and 11.4. Those six requirements are where your organisation plans to grow the most strategically and without a system meeting these requirements, that growth will be stunted.
  • The customer service received from your current supplier is appalling.
    • Some suppliers believe customer service ends with the sale. Once you sign the dotted line, it is difficult, at best, to get any sort of attention from the supplier. The only time you hear from the supplier is when the invoice is sent.
  • The demonstration received from your current supplier suggests the supplier has no plans to improve their technology to meet our expanding requirements.
  • The value for money paid to convert to the new CRM outweighs the cost maintaining the status quo.

Once you decide to conduct a process, ensure it is facilitated by someone you trust to do a thorough and fair job. Then, used properly, your CRM is as key to your fundraising success as having an army of talented major gift officers. Find the right CRM, implement it correctly, and keep watchful maintenance over the CRM for years to come.

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Qantas lost and found is a treasure for one charity

QantasEvery day people lose things on airplanes and in airports. Having recently left an item at the Sydney airport, I learned the Qantas lost and found is a treasure for one charity.

In early April I was going through the security in the Qantas terminal at Sydney domestic airport. The buzzer continued to go off as I removed my belt, shoes, wallet, and other items. You know the drill. Each item removed was placed in a separate bin and scanned. Well…you guessed it. I left an item behind. After sitting in the Qantas lounge for more than 15 minutes, I reached down and felt a lack of a belt. Thinking I had left my belt at home (I also lacked a couple of cups of coffee at this hour of the morning), I went to Oxford – a men’s store in the airport and purchased a new belt.

When I returned home from the overnight I trip I realised my double error – the belt was not forgotten at home, but at the security line at the airport and I did not need to purchase a new belt as a result!

On my next trip through the security, I asked one of the staff where the lost and found was located. He informed me the Qantas lost and found was downstairs. I decided I would check with them when next in the airport.

When I visited the Qantas lost three weeks later, I found it is an amazing organisation. Sorted by month, the lost and found is further sorted by type of item and each item is tagged with the date and other details. When I stated I had lost my belt in early April, the gentleman produced a bin marked men’s belts with more than 50 belts from April 2017.

Enter Qantas Charitable Giving

I asked the Qantas staffer what happens with the eyeglasses, laptops, luggage, clothing, and other items carefully inventoried and stored for claiming. Apparently, Qantas provides the items to Mission Australia after it is stored for more than a month. Additionally, I was informed the eyeglasses go to a charity focused on assisting people with eyesight issues overseas. This was music to my ears. I was pleased to learn the items are put to good use once unclaimed after a set length of time. Giving these items to non-profit organisations, rather than disposing of them, makes a lot of sense.

Perhaps this is common practice in the airline industry. I do not know. But, kudos to Qantas for their organisation skills and for ensuring lost items are given a new home.

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Age of social media requires delicacy, professionalism

Social mediaThe United Airlines PR department has been extremely busy. All of us watched in horror as the police dragged a United passenger from a flight. The age of social media requires delicacy, professionalism, and, sometimes, rapid response. Companies and organisations must be on top of their game, including those of us in the non-profit sector. This United Airlines situation was not handled well by any stretch of the imagination.

None of us know all of the facts about this circumstance or fully understand the way US airlines overbook flights to try to gamble on revenue. Nonetheless, the manner in which this story went viral, including the subsequent handling of the situation, provides lessons for non-profit organisations to learn, including:

  • Twitter and Facebook are not just used for positive and social reasons.
    • Every company and non-profit needs to be prepared to respond to customer complaints/issues 24/7.
    • The joke emojis on social media continue more than a week after the incident.
    • This story likely went viral before the plane even left the ground.
  • eMail is never private and confidential.
    • eMail may be forwarded externally, as the United CEO found his internal eMail to staff forwarded to the media following this incident.
  • Blaming the customer is never a good idea.
    • Someone even investigated the passenger’s past and surfaced unrelated information. This information was released to the media. The focus of the story became about the man’s past rather than about the incident or the situation, which caused the problem in the first place.

In the end, the way United Airlines handled this situation caused them more harm financially than it would have cost the airline to hire two pilots to fly the passenger and his wife privately to their destination. The financial impact of this story goes well beyond the 100+ passengers on the flight. On top of the reputational problems United Airlines now faces, the airline will likely face a lawsuit and ongoing/further financial ramifications.

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One charity has sent seven acquisition pieces in five months

Acquisition direct mailI have never lived at my parents’ address in New Mexico USA. Yet, one charity thinks I currently live with my parents. In fact, this one charity has sent seven acquisition pieces in five months.

I am not against charity acquisition mail. In fact, I welcome it and believe it is a necessary part of the charitable direct marketing mix. But, what puzzles me is why this particular charity thinks I live at this address. Even more, I wonder how the charity associated me with my parents at this address when, in fact, I’ve not lived with my parents for 33 years and never lived in the US state of New Mexico.

The direct mail pieces include membership offers, as well as return address labels. The address labels look fantastic. I wish I could use them; however, to use them will mean I will attract even more mail to my parents’ address!

I have a responsibility to contact this non-profit organisation to ask where my name was acquired. Informing them will solve the mystery and will also save the charity postage, mailing, and material costs. Most recipients will not exercise this responsibility and will, instead, let the issue bother them or, worse, discuss it with others. (Okay, I am blogging about it; but I am not naming the charity directly). The charitable organisation, likewise, has a responsibility to cease mailing me at my parents and to investigate the source of their data to see if an algorithm or some other issue caused names like me to make it onto the file.

 

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