hand written note

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Handwritten envelope? Sort of…

You may recall, I have written about hand written envelopes prior and their ability to capture a donor’s attention amongst a mountain of mail in our letterboxes.

BHA Envelope 2Bush Heritage Australia nearly got there last week with this interesting piece.

I received an appeal from Bush Heritage Australia and the carrier had an interesting font, which is unusual and particularly stood out amongst the charity mail received last week.

Hand written envelopes (not actually hand written at all, but machine produced in a hand written font of the non-profit’s choice) are rare. The fact is we receive hand written Christmas cards (becoming rarer these days), birthday cards, and perhaps the occasional thank you note.

But, how many charities send hand written devices to stand out amongst their peers?

Remember non-profit organisation shave three challenges with direct mail:

  1. Getting the piece delivered to the correct party at the correct address.
  2. Getting the piece opened.
  3. Getting the piece responded to.

To achieve #1, you have to practice good data hygiene. To get to #2 and #3 you must produce a captivating piece, which will not end up in the recycling bin. I am not suggesting your organisation will employ hand written as a strategy for every appeal. But, testing it for one appeal next year would be prudent.

Your suppliers likely have the tools, in house, to produce hand written pieces.

Bush Heritage Australia produces outstanding pieces of direct mail. Last week was an example of how Bush Heritage Australia stands out often in my letterbox. How will your non-profit organisation stand out in letterboxes in the new year?

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University of Queensland understands good stewardship

Good stewardship – made simple. That’s what University of Queensland understands. On Tuesday of this week, I received a hand written note from a third year pharmacy student thanking me for my recent contribution to the University of Queensland.

When was the last time you received a hand written note? Maybe a birthday or Christmas card, but rarely anything more. When you receive a hand written piece in Post, it stands out in your letterbox amongst the mountain of machine-processed mail. The added personalisation matters. Not every piece of mail could be produced in this manner due to volume and time constraints. However, pieces like this one, received from University of Queensland, make a difference when hand written.

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What also matters about this piece is the fact it is not just hand written, but it comes from a student receiving financial support from many donors across the university.

I wrote a FundraisingForce blog post about the gift giving experience with University of Queensland and the dynamic call received from a student. This hand written note is just one more step University of Queensland take to engage people like me, giving small amounts of money on a routine basis. Want to improve your organisation’s stewardship? Look to University of Queensland as a model.

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Complaint calls – a donor care opportunity

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None of us like to get them – the dreaded morning complaint call. Your team has just sent out an appeal – renewal or acquisition – and it feels, at the time, the only thing the appeal letter is generating is a complaint call!

Here are  twelve things to do when you find yourself in this situation:

  1. Respond to every call. Even when it seems uncomfortable to call someone who is upset or appears to be extremely agitated, you must call them. Remember for every person who takes the time to complain, there may be ten others who are not directly telling you their feelings. Therefore, show the person who writes or calls the respect they deserve.
  2. Be prepared to address every issue on the phone. You might not be given the time to get through every issue, but do your homework in advance of the call to have answers to the typical questions/concerns.
  3. Do not try to convince the person who lodged the complaint that they are wrong (even if their facts could use a reality check). Be an active listener and respond with statements such as: “You are correct to point out”, “I really understand your point. In fact”, “We have heard this feedback before and here is what we typically do”.
  4. Apologise for the situation, but not for what you do. Fundraisers should never apologise for asking for money. At the same time, it is OK to tell the donor you are sorry they felt one way or the other.
  5. Have the CEO respond to the complaint calls. The CEO? Yes. These calls should not be considered a training ground. Instead, these calls ought to come from the top of the organisation as a way to show the donor you heard them and you are responding!
  6. Always be ready to discuss cost of fundraising. Cost of fundraising will come up on a majority of the calls. Be ready with statements such as: “Cost of fundraising is the #1 concern of our CEO, board, and leadership and we are doing everything we can to ensure we have the lowest cost of fundraising of our peer organisations. Just this year we have…”.
  7. Send a hand written note as follow up. If appropriate, send a hand written thank you note immediately after the call. These types of treatments stick out in the donor’s mind.
  8. Donor-centricity works. Give the complainant a chance to drive the solution. If the person is asking to opt out of all future communication, tell them you can offer them a few options: a) Completely removing them from your data set; b) coding their record to receive just donor communications, but no solicitations; or, c) coding the record to receive just one ask per year. Then say, Mrs Smith, we value you and do not want to lose you. May I suggest you let us send you our important updates and to ask you for money just one time per year”. Mrs Smith will likely see that as a winning option.
  9. Donor centricity, again, works. Ask the donor what time of the year they want to hear from you by offering the times you typically mail. Let the donor choose rather than choosing to send her a tax or Christmastime.
  10. Place the call the same day the complaint arrives. There is nothing worse than letting the complaints stack up and responding to them at once. First, those making the complaints get more agitated because of your non-response and second, you will not be at your best when you have to call 12 people at once!
  11. Turn every complaint into a positive. 90% of the complaint letters and phone calls may be turned into a positive. Someone who threatens to stop supporting the organisation, to stop the monthly regular gift, or, to be taken off your mailing list will likely change their mind after hearing from you. Most reasonable people simply need to get something off their chest or simply want to be heard. In the end, by hearing them and by addressing their issues, you are likely to retain them!
  12. Do not let a complaint letter drive your decision to direct market, to conduct and acquisitions programme, or to ask via a certain channel. At the end of every appeal, build the number of complaint calls in your metrics and report them to the team. If you mail 250,000 pieces and receive 6 complaints, report the low percentage of complaints and the results of the calls. On the other hand, if you get 1,000 complaints, address the issue and make the change needed.
  13. Charities should not simply gravitate to positive feedback. Keeping on top of negative feedback will give you additional opportunities to manage change in your direct marketing programme and to personalise the very impersonal world of direct marketing.

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Hand Written Thank You Notes? That’s Time Consuming

Hand written thank you notes may be time consuming, but think of the difference they make. When was the last time you received a hand written note of any kind? Besides Christmas and Birthday cards, which are becoming more rare each year, it is high unlikely you will receive many, if any, hand written cards this year. Think back to your childhood (I may be dating myself here) when our parents wrote their parents and other relatives letters, rather than placing long distance telephone calls, and people took the time to say thank you in the most personalised fashion possible – with pen to paper.

A recent news story out of the US called this to my attention and required me to take a moment to write (OK, type) about this very thing.

Why aren’t more charities taking the time to thank those important to them via a hand written note? Our heroes including our donors, volunteers, clients and staff deserve to have us take the time to thank them and to recognise them via a personalised note or phone call.

Take the pledge – write a personalised note or call one donor each day this week. Experience the difference this will make, as “Doc” Emrick has, with his outreach. In addition to the gratitude you will show those close to your organisation, think about the impact this will have on your donor relations.

Does your organisation send personal notes or place phone calls to constituents who are closest to your organisation? Have you seen that this strategy made a difference?