Bridge to Brisbane
Wishing all the runners a terrific race in the Bridge to Brisbane and congratulations on monies raised for charity! @bridge2brisbane #charity #nonprofit #fundraising
Charity
An awesome telemarketing call from a charity
An awesome call from a charity. Am I nuts? Whoever says such a thing?!
I received a wonderful telemarketing c
all from Seeing Eye Dogs Queensland on Monday evening. I love these calls – especially when the caller provides a good quality experience for the recipient!
This caller identified herself from Apple Marketing Group. She really made me feel appreciated for my past financial support, stated a strong case for support, and encouraged me to give a regular gift and to become a “super” supporter. In the ask, she described the benefits of giving at this level.
You know what else I liked about telemarketing call from Seeing Eye Dogs Queensland? The Apple marketing Group employee did not make me feel uncomfortable, I did not feel pressured, and she respected my time. It was truly a conversation between two individuals – the rare type of telemarketing call from a charity or supplier. In the end, she left me with a very good impression of Seeing Eye Dogs QLD, the organisation’s services, and my ability to make a difference.
The following day, I received another call from an energy company. The caller, hard to understand, had to repeat his pitch to me three times, he made me feel as though I was incompetent because I am using the wrong energy supplier, and I never fully understood his pitch. I ended up telling him to please take me off their list.
Does your organisation monitor your telemarketing agency? Most agencies will allow you to listen in to various calls throughout your programme so you might applaud people like this particular caller and correct issues or misinformation on other calls. Telemarketing is not an inexpensive channel. You owe it to your organisation to monitor calls and to make such monitoring part of your quality assurance.
Ice bucket challenge – creative, innovative, and successful
On Saturday, I was in Zambia packing to return to Australia while BBC World News was on the television. A panel discussion was occurring and one of the topics, in addition to the situations in Ukraine, Syria and Iraq, was the Ice Bucket Challenge for the ALS Association. Seriously? This made BBC World News?
The fact is the entire world is talking about the Ice Bucket Challenge. It has become one of the most successful fundraising drives of our time. The ALS Association has raised over $62.5 million as of 23 August compared with $2.4 million during the same time frame (29 July to 23 August) last year and the numbers continue to add up.
Why is the Ice Bucket Challenge such a huge success? Social media. And, peer pressure. People around the world are being doused with ice water and making a $10 donation to the ALS Association. Should people choose not to be drenched in the ice water, those challenged are making a donation of $100 to ALS Association. In either scenario, parties challenged continue to challenge by nominating work colleagues, family, friends, and even famous people to face the same challenge!
All in the name of research into the debilitating disease known as ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
One reporter on the BBC panel said that this was nothing but an example of “narcissism” and compared it to you and I posting pictures of us with friends while having dinner or on holiday. Another complained about the waste of water. Both of these comparisons are ridiculous, in my opinion. First, diseases such as ALS need our personal support given government cutbacks and arguments that government cannot do everything for everyone. The fact is most government grants for medical research go to the more established research studies rather than cutting-edge research. Regarding the wasted water argument (which was laughed at by the BBC host), the ALS Association has answered the call for not wasting water, particularly in areas where water supplies are running short, by suggesting people simply donate to the ALS Association and pass the challenge on!
In the end, this is an incredibly creative, innovative and successful means to raise awareness and badly needed funds for the ALS Association. Anyone who has ever personally experienced Lou Gehrig’s disease or has lost a loved one to this debilitating thanks everyone who has faced frigid water and ice over the past several weeks. The rest of us applaud you.
New donor welcome packets – a thing of the past?
Many people know that I have conducted a mystery shopping study in Asia Pacific over the past four years. This study, self-funded, self-guided and self-directed, focuses on the gift giving experience, receipting and acknowledging, follow on solicitations, and other donor care treatments received. I have reported on study findings prior and today I want to discuss the new donor welcome packages part of the study.
Are new donor welcome packages a thing of the past? I ask this question because less than 2% of the organisations in the study sent me a new donor welcome package. Those received would be rated a 1 out of a possible ten and here is why:
- None of the new donor welcome packages were truly new donor welcome packages, with essential components one would expect in such a package.
- Two of the new donor welcome packages appeared to include a copy of every publication produced over the last year. The packages included magazines, newsletters, brochures and other materials with no sense to why the copies of the publications were included.
- As a result of the above, the postage paid to send these extensive packages, full of publications, was a large percentage of my original first gift. Most people will view this as a waste of money.
- No ask was included in any of the packages. I view this as a missed opportunity. Why wouldn’t the charities take the opportunity to ask me for a second gift or to join their regular giving program? Why produce such a package without making a further ask?
Here are the key ingredients of any new donor welcome package:
- A welcome letter from CEO/Chair of the Board.
- Material to tell the organisation’s story with the ultimate goal to maintain the engagement of the new donor. This material should not be over the top in nature and cause the donor to wonder if you simply are cleaning out your publications storage.
- Calls to action, including: a coupon encouraging the donor to join the organisation’s regular giving program or to make a repeat single gift and a trigger to encourage the donor to leave the charity in their will.
- Links to: like your organisation on Facebook, follow your organisation on Twitter, and other social media.
Keep the new donor package simple, yet attractive and professional looking.
New donor welcome packages, if produced correctly, offer a host of opportunity to continue to engage the brand new donor or the renewed lapsed donor. New donor welcome packages do not have to be complex nor do they have to be costly to accomplish your engagement goals. So, why do so few organisations in Australia produce new donor welcome packages?
Customer service – your most important deliverable
Both non-profits and suppliers in the non-profit marketplace must deliver solid customer service. If a charity does not deliver a high level of customer service, the likelihood of the charity retaining their donors is nil. Likewise, if suppliers do not deliver a high level of customer service, the likelihood of retaining the charity customer is the same.
Customer service failures are easily identifiable. Think about a time when you became agitated with a company you were dealing 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 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 our 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?
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 – 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.
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.
Make this the year of customer service. Following these simple tasks will let you, as a non-profit or a supplier in our space, shine throughout the year.