www.missionbased.com

Management Tip
New Marketing Strategies
NOTE: You may notice that this month all my website suggestions are, for the first time, blogs about nonprofit marketing. That's because more static websites, while still good to read and use as resources, can sometimes tend to either fall behind or fall off our radar. And nonprofit marketing cannot fall off your radar. It's very dynamic, with new opportunities showing up all the time.

If adversity is the mother of invention, then this recession has birthed a lot of innovation babies in the world of nonprofit marketing. From new ways to reach out, to new strategies for keeping in touch with existing supporters, to new tools in outcome measures and telling your mission story, nonprofits have really been motivated to do some cool things in the past 18 months.

I hope that they don't go back to the old ways when things get better.

Most of the changes have been in accelerating the use of marketing online. From FaceBook to Twitter to Constant Contact to YouTube, nonprofits decision makers have decided to push their online presence in ways they wouldn't have thought of two years ago. Some of this is due to the recession, but much of it is due to twin tipping points--more people are seeking services, or places to donate, volunteer or work online, and the technology of really useful and inexpensive (free?) tools has matured to a point where it makes sense.

So are the underlying strategies really new? No, of course not. We still need to ask people what they want and give it to them to the extent practical. We still need to provide superb customer service to everyone, and "everyone" still means the people we serve, our staff, board, non-governing volunteers, donors and funders. We still need to be able to tell our mission-story in human terms, but more than ever, we need to be able to tell it in video-and in many languages. We still need to show the outcome of our mission, but now we need to show it in more detail and with more speed than 24 months ago.

What follows are a few ground rules, newly stated, but based on timeless marketing techniques:

For the people you serve:
People want to be treated/recognized as individuals and treated with respect. Respect doesn't just mean remembering their names (although that's a good start). It also means respecting their opinion when it comes to service design, listening to their ideas, and including them in your mission strategies. So ask them.

For Donors and Funders:
These people want to know that your mission has effect, and what that effect is. They sometimes ask or measure you in, shall we say, non-optimal ways, but you need to engage them more in the measuring process helping create outcome measures that make sense.
So go visit them.

For Staff and Volunteers.
These people come to your organization for mission first, not for money. They also need to see the effect of their labors, and to have input into the ways that your nonprofit can become more mission-capable.
So get out of your office and go engage them.

For Everyone:
Some people will only find you online. Some will never go online to find you. You have to meet widely varying techspectations.

Note: If you're a manager/decision maker who does not care about Facebook or Twitter, remember that many, many potential donors, volunteer, staff and people to server do. So, empower your younger staff and volunteers to use technology in a way that moves your mission forward. Again--you don't have to be on Facebook--but your organization sure does. Your younger staff, all of whom were born digital, can help you with this starting today.

It's a challenging time in marketing. Remember this: your mission is your most valuable asset. As you construct your marketing strategy, keep it front and center.

May, 2010 -by Peter C. Brinckerhoff