Rethinking about Reorganizing

Silos block us from thinking in a coordinated fashion about our customers, says author Ranjay Gulati. I had the pleasure of talking with him about his new book Reorganize for Resilience. It's one part common sense and 99 parts practical advice on how to break down silos and focus on integrated solutions that drive customer value.

Specifically, Gulati writes about five levers we can pull to reorganize ourselves for resilience:

1. Coordination
2. Cooperation
3. Clout
4. Capabilities
5. Connections

Gulati also said in my interview with him that sometimes customers can't always articulate what they want, but that is where our creative efforts should be. I was struck by this statement in terms of how non profits work to solve problems for people who are often so overcome by their situations that articulation of solutions is beyond their capabilities. The irony, however, is this invaluable skill employed on behalf of the populations served is often lacking when it comes to funders. Funding organizations and peoples have problems too that need to be solved -- albeit different ones. Helping them to articulate their needs in terms of ROI for support is essential in driving up participation and dollar amounts.

What donor problems have you uncovered? What have been your solutions? Did you have to breakdown any organizational silos in your non profit or the donating org to get a solution in place?

-- David Kinard, PCM

Why are You Still Unemployed?

I need to be careful in this post as I am going through the process of hiring a new team member in my department. But I wanted to give some feedback to those of you who may be unemployed and can't seem to break through to an interview, or even a job offer. And, as always, I'll bring this around to why non profits continue to struggle with their marketing and what they can do to fix it.

First, your resume is your elevator speech. It is your first and last impression. It needs to be packaged to set you apart from all the other noise. For example, I am hiring a graphic designer and we've had more than 40 people apply for this position so far (actually, I think we have more than that -- those are only the resumes I've seen). My first pass was to go through the resumes and remove any resume that wasn't designed. If you can't package your own content, how should I expect you to package my company's content?

While not everyone is applying for a graphic design position -- you are applying for something and trying to sell yourself. How have you packaged your content? How do you stand apart from the rest of the crowd? Are you one of many, or one of one? Non profits have the same issue when it comes to their direct mail and other promotions. Have you packaged yourself in the same envelope, same tri-fold, same flyer as everyone else? How do you stand apart?

Second, in your resume and cover letter you have to make me the subject of your focus. Nearly all the resumes I review are focused on the person. Well, it's the standard convention, right?!? However, occasionally there is one that stands apart because it talks about what you will do for me, what I get from hiring you, what the benefit to me is. Those that make this leap from self-focus to value proposition make the second cut.

Non profits spend a lot of time talking about themselves, the work they do, how important it is, and how good they are at doing it. Yes, that's all fine and well, but so what? At the end of the day there are hundreds of thousands of other companies also performing in a similar fashion and saying the same things. Tell me how your work will improve my life. Tell me how supporting you will benefit me. The value of answering these questions in this way demonstrates you understand your audience and that you can solve their problems or address their needs. Doing so puts you light years ahead of everyone else.

Finally, deliver on the promise. Your resume has been picked and you're scheduled for an interview. An expectation has been set -- by you -- based on the impact and positioning of your resume content. Make sure you meet that expectation, and over deliver against it. Prep, study, learn, absorb. Don't come into the interview cold. Have questions ready, read blogs, search the Web for links, Google the interviewer; whatever you do, don't do nothing!

Non profits who capture the hearts, minds, hands, and pocketbooks of their audiences must also be sure to deliver the experience that target is expecting. Recently I got a group of people together to donate money to a cause that buys livestock for people around the world. The brochure was amazing and I was looking for an equally amazing high once I put in my credit card information and hit the send button. I was less than thrilled with the confirmation screen and follow up since then and am not as jazzed to support them again. Something got lost between the promise, and its delivery.

So, why are you still unemployed? I am sure there are lots of really good reasons. It's a tough economy and a tight job market. I get that. But you need to make sure you're not sabotaging yourself by missing these simple three points.

-- David Kinard, PCM

Go Back and Change Someone's Mind

I've had the chance to interview Jack Trout three times in my career. The first time I was working to get him to come to Seattle and speak to my chapter of the American Marketing Association. The second time was when we talked about his (then) new book In Search of the Obvious. This time, I spoke with Jack about his latest book -- one that revisits his seminal work of nearly 30 years ago.

While positioning was all about the battle for the mind, Repositioning is about adjusting those perceptions once they've been made. He liberally uses the examples of Mac versus the PC -- how Mac changed the argument from one of technology to the type of person you wanted to be. This is just one of the three keys he mentions: competition, change, and crisis.

Trout spends a lot of time talking about the difference between value and price -- and how they're not the same thing. While that may seem obvious, it isn't common practice. What stirs someone to want to make an investment into a product -- to find that there is something special in that product or service? Trout says it's about repositioning your argument based on what they're telling you.

While this may seem tried and true Trout, you're right. Trout has been selling the same choir book for more than 30 years now, but it is so fundamental and so truly important that the refresh is welcome. While we can learn from history, and other people's mistakes, I think we can also learn from Trout on how to set ourselves apart from the masses, and deeply entrench our value promises in the minds of our audiences.

Specific to non profits, Trout suggests that everything he's written completely relates. He goes one step further to note that not only do non profits need to get really good at what they do, but they also have to be seen as specialists. I can't agree more on these two points. Non profits must be experts at doing what they do, but they also have to be seen as niche experts and leaders -- those practitioners worthy of special consideration and funding.

-- David Kinard, PCM

How Evolved is Your Marketing?

What has changed about today's consumer that makes meaningful marketing more relevant than previous types of marketing? What is meaningful marketing? Those are just some of the questions I asked Bob Gilbreath, chief marketing strategist at Bridge Worldwide, one of the nation's largest digital advertising agencies. He's also the author of The Next Evolution of Marketing: Connect with Your Customers by Marketing with Meaning.

In the podcast interview, I asked Bob if the evolution in marketing he writes about has been primarily driven by media consumption or by some other factor. Of course, it's a mixture of things. But after interviewing lots of people like Bob over the past five years, I think that there's a common thread of time-starved people who are controlling their media rather than merely absorbing whatever comes their way. In other words, we're all functioning with a bit of attention-deficit and therefore are looking for media that is going to fill needs rather than just time.

Gilbreath takes the ubiquitous Maslow's hierarchy of needs and transforms it into a new pyramid that is broken into three main categories. At the bottom is Meaningful Solutions -- those marketing efforts that provide information, incentives, and services. One level up is Connections -- those marketing efforts that create entertaining experiences that are shared amongst others, along with the introduction to personalization. Finally, at the top of the pyramid is Achievement -- those marketing efforts that enable a user to learn a skill, improve their community/world, and cause-related marketing efforts.

In essence, Gilbreath's book is about the fact that marketing is evolving to the point where those companies that can improve the lives of their customers through the marketing itself will win out over those companies who simply try to buy usage and loyalty.

What does this mean to the non profit? A whole hell of a lot.

This past November, I received a gift catalog from Heifer International. It was one of the many in the mail but this one stood out amongst the others. Not because they used flashy printing or graphics, but the simple message that communicated it was the most important gift catalog in the world. That catalog became the pivot point for my Christmas giving, enabling me to gather together like minded people who contributed to a joint gift. This gift allowed several of us to make a meaningful contribution to our world -- a far more meaningful use of our money than things wrapped in plastic and cardboard boxes. And, at the end of the purchase experience, Heifer enabled me to share my experience with others (though their system could have been better in this regard).

The point is, I think people are looking for meaning, especially when it comes to their money. So, for the non profit the evolution is not to just rely on traditional direct mail and the annual fundraiser, but to CREATE meaningful experiences for those who flitter around the periphery of your organization, drawing them deeper into the core of your cause, and increasing the meaning at each step (think Gilbreath's hierarchy noted above).

How are you creating meaning in your marketing? Share your story here!

-- David Kinard, PCM

Holiday Travel Takes $4 Billion Hit

Are you staying home this holiday season? According to a recent poll by Maritz Research Hospitality Group -- you are!

For the past few years, it's been my pleasure to interview Rick Garlick, senior director of consulting and strategic implementation, at Maritz Research. They do an annual poll -- and have done one for a decade now -- about holiday travel plans. Though we have weathered 911, high gas prices, economic sluggishness, and other ailments in the past, it seems that this year these woes have finally taken their toll on Americans and we're staying home, traveling less, and spending less on hospitality this holiday season.

"Holiday travel has been remarkably reslilient," said Garlick. "This year for the first time in a decade we're seeing a drop in travel and spending." And while that drop is only 3%, it equates to a whopping $4.05 billion less spent this holiday season, mostly in airfare. When asked what people are going to do this year, 80% of them said they're going to stay home with family or friends.

Click here to listen to my podcast interview with Rick.

Okay, so what does this mean for your non profit? I asked Rick what marketers should do as they head into the holiday season to mitigate the loss of revenue in the travel and hospitality sector and his advice is OH SO RELEVANT to all of us I thought I'd pass it along to you.

1. Understand what your brand stands for and target a particular type of customer. This seems like common sense, but isn't often common practice. Many non profits try to be all things to all people (especially in their fundraising efforts) and end up communicating a generic, vanilla, and so-so message. Knowing who you are and who you serve means also knowing who you are not and clearly defining and drawing those boundaries. It's okay to say no as a non profit, and the first place we need to say no is in our brands.

2. Add value.
Good advice but this also can be poorly executed. The knee jerk reaction to this means cut prices or lower access costs. Not a good idea -- and most experts agree. Adding value does not always mean reducing costs. It means adding value through HIGH VALUE experiences (read my entries here, here, and here).

3. Be original. (this is my idea, not Rick's)
Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead said it best, "You don't want to be considered the best at what you do. You want to be the only one doing what you do." As a non profit are you essential? Are you critical? If you're not there, does another organization just pick up after you or are you so unique and special that important needs go unmet? Work on your compelling, credible, unique contribution and market that year-round. Your essentiality (nice new word, huh!) will help to mitigate any down turn.

Would you add to this list?

-- David Kinard, PCM

What Women (and Non Profits) Want

I just finished a great podcast interview with Michael Silverstein, senior partner at Boston Consulting Group and coauthor of Women Want More. (Just to wet your whistle, according to Silverstein, women around the world want more of three basic things: Money, Time, and Love -- and they control about $20 trillion in consumer spending world wide.) The podcast will be available soon, but this whole interview got me thinking about what do non profits want.

I think the non profit list is the same: More money, more time, and more love.

For the purists out there, I would agree that the ultimate want is to not be needed anymore, to have the cause or need they are trying to meet actually met. But for the sake of discussion, let's assume that although a superior goal, the means to achieve it is still more money, time, and love.

I don't know any non profit leader that feels they have enough money. And this isn't necessarily a bad thing -- just a fact of the business. Even Josette Sheeran, executive director of the World Food Programme, who is credited with being a remarkably successful fundraiser after raising more than $5 billion in 2008, would like more money. According to Silverstein, Sheeran says that with $10 billion the world could rid itself of hunger. She needs more money.

And most non profits are always looking for more hours in the day to get everything done. Unfortunately, some non profits are not set up to work with volunteers -- there is no system or method for those who want to give their time for the cause to be engaged. But for many, even the 169.7 million hours of volunteer time each year in the US is not enough to meet current needs.

And love...non profits need more love. What I mean by this is that non profits need more people to fall in love with their causes, their goals, and their visions. Some are naturally easier than others to love, but some make it inexplicably hard. Take Oxfam's Trailwalker program, it's designed with engaging people in personal and constructive ways. Quite a contrast to PETA's efforts to stop the clubbing of baby seals. Both are worthy issues, but one generates love, the other divisiveness.

I asked Silverstein what marketers should do if they wanted to genuinely and respectfully meet the needs of women and tap into the trillion dollar female economy. He noted a four step process that I am adapting for non profits. The 4 R's he notes are the same -- I've just changed their focus a bit.

• RECOGNIZE the value of your constituents. What value does each category of constituent have for your non profit -- and what value do you offer them in return. Without this fundamental knowledge, you won't know if you're spending your time, energy, and money in the right places.
• RESEARCH the satisfaction of your constituents with your organization, and their usability of what you offer. You've got to figure out the degree of relevance and usage barriers for your offerings.
• RESPOND to these insights in a respectful and precisely targeted way. Focus your energy to maximize your ability to generate money, time, and love.
• REFINE the process based on real time learning and keep it going. Constantly improve. Kaizen!

What do you think non profits want more of? Would you add to the list of three? What else would you suggest non profits do to get started in their efforts to generate more money, time, and love?

-- David Kinard, PCM

The Fall of Fundraising

I may be the only non profit marketer who is thinking this right now, but I think fall is a horrible time to do fundraising. To be more clear, rather I think it's a horrible idea to wait until fall to do fundraising. In fact, I think it's downright wasteful, irresponsible, and fails to appreciate the relational aspects of generating support for an organization.

As marketers, we know that it would be silly of us to be quiet for nine months of the year and then try to make all our annual sales quota in the last three months. We also know that in order to get consumers to buy our products or services, we need to constantly remind them of our value, our uniqueness, and the big damn difference we can make in their lives or businesses.

But since it's fundraising, let's ignore the simple laws of relationships and marketing and postpone everything until the last minute; 'cause that is the way we've always done it, right?!?!

Don't get me wrong, there's a good reason for our current practice in that many giving organizations will begin evaluating their budgets and see what they have left in terms of dollars to spend. Some may even be looking for some tax benefits. And still others are preparing for the following year so it makes sense to get on their radar screen now. BUT, way too many non profit marketers try to do ALL parts of their fundraising in these last three months. Again, not a good idea.

I will freely admit that I am not an expert in fundraising. Yes, I've generated monies for the organizations I've been involved in, but not to the extent that professional development people have. But I am an expert marketer and I do understand human nature -- and one key element to keep in mind is that fundraising begins at the moment your organization is first introduced to someone and continues until either you close your doors or that person's will is finally executed. Fundraising is a way of being, a way of communicating, a golden thread that must be woven through every communication and interaction with your community. This is not to say that you're always asking for money. On the contrary, what it means is that you're always giving your community reasons for them to see the value in supporting your mission.

Perhaps this fall, as you begin writing your annual ask letter and start your push through the end of 2009, you'll also begin a parallel path of looking at how you can retool your organization's interactions and communications with your community to create reasons for funding, create opportunities to demonstrate value, and communicate your big damn difference in such a way that people come to you with open wallets before you even ask them.

-- David Kinard, PCM

What Are Your 2010 Priorities?

Believe it or not, we're quickly approaching the telltale time of the year where marketers start peering into their crystal balls and try to predict what's going to happen in the coming year -- or otherwise known as the annual budgeting process. The challenge, however, is knowing what is going to be important, and what should be culled away as chaff.

According to a survey by virtual events provider Unisfair, your priorities are simple: Grow customers (or members), show how smart you are, and serve your customers in richer/fuller ways.


But while marketers may all think those are reasonable priorities, how to achieve those results vary widely. Not surprisingly, all things social media and online continue to drive to the top of the tactic list for most marketers.


But before you go out and plan your online strategy, build your budgets, or even set in stone your own priorities for 2010, ask yourself a simple question -- WHY DO YOU EXIST? And please, don't write the generic answer that's quick and easy to come by. Write a detailed and specific answer, one that defines your reason for being. Then you're ready to ask yourself the burning questions related to 2010 priorities such as:

1. How do we do this better?
2. How do we reach people who need what we have?
3. How do we find resources that match our vision and goals?
4. How do we engage in dialogue and communication to generate conversations?
5. How will we know if we made a big-damn-difference at the end of 2010?

Or, you can take the easy path and just do more of what you did this year -- more of the same -- hoping for a different outcomes (isn't that the definition of insanity?).

-- David Kinard, PCM

Making a Big, Damn, Difference

Recently, I unplugged. I decided to unplug from the socially-networked world and just be quiet. I found myself getting caught up in all the hype and frenetic pace of blogging, twittering, RSS-ing, and Facebooking that I forgot what I was doing there in the first place. You see, I started this blog because I wanted to equip and enable marketers to increase their ability to market for good (and yes, the double entendre is intended). But what I found was that I started posting just to keep up rather than because I had something to say that was important.

Earlier this month, marketing celebrity and pontificater Seth Godin wrote a blog entry entitled The Problem with Non. I think it's safe to say that non profit marketers and leaders got their underpants in a twist over the things he noted. Seth being right or wrong isn't the point of this blog entry. Many have already voiced their opinions to what he said (read here, here, and here). What struck me, and frankly pulled me from my self-imposed social media fasting, was that non profits continue to struggle to find their own voices.

Even in a sea of communications options, and with decades of instruction on how to craft stories, generate dialogue, and connect on an intimate level with communities, most non profits still fail at what I think is the single most important part of what they do -- telling the world why they are the only option for solving the problem they address. Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead said it best, "You don't want to be considered the best at what you do. You want to be the only one doing what you're doing." I love that.

To me, it isn't (as Seth notes) that non profits have failed at taking advantage of social media, but that most interactions with non profits are non events in themselves. Godin asks, "When was the last time you had an interaction with a non profit that blew you away?" Sadly, I think the answer is not frequently enough.

YES, there are non profits out there that are changing lives via one, two, or two hundred people at a time. YES, there are non profits that are making a difference in the world by building schools, feeding the hungry, digging wells, and even holding the hand of a lonely person who is on their death bed. YES, there are non profits that are blowing people away on a regular basis. But again, I think those are the exceptions, not the rule.

Finding our voices as non profits isn't about finding the tool to carry it. It's about being unique, being special, being the only ones. It's about making a big-damn-difference and then TELLING and SHOWING how if you weren't there that something huge and important would be lost.

I am ranting, I know. But to me we have an important opportunity right now to do our craft better...to not just accept the mediocrity forced upon us by our tight budgets or lack of resources. We have an opportunity to become the topic, become the solution, and become the voice that is heard from the mountain tops.

Earlier I noted that I took some time off to stop and listen. To unplug. I think that break was refreshing. It reminded me of my own purpose, and got me thinking about how non profits market -- and what we do well and what we fail to do. So, here's to a reenergized season of marketing for good. And while we're on this journey together, let's see if we can become the big-damn-difference we're trying to make in the world.

-- David Kinard, PCM

A New Speak to Get Peoples' Attention

Well, I am embarrased that it's been nearly a months since my last post. Honestly, I've been sooooo busy doing the work that it's been difficult to find time to write about the work. That's good, I suppose, but I still want to fulfill my mission for this blog and increase your ability to market for good.

I have a backlog of things to write about but one thing that recently came across my radar screen was a podcastCurrence and Associates. The podcast is an early glimpse into the AMA's Non Profit Marketing Conference.

As someone who has been marketing non profits for decades, I find Cynthia's comments spot on. Not only does she understand the history of where non profits have been, and what's worked, but she is savvy enough to know that things have changed and new rules are in play. The podcast is a worthy use of 18-minutes of your time.

Something that specifically caught my attention was what Cynthia said, that we need "a new speak to get peoples' attention." In my own work recently, we've been hit by a deluge of sponsorship requests by very worthy organizations. And many of these organizations, unfortunately, have approached us for funding with the message that, "You've been a loyal sponsor for many years and we continue to rely upon your support." While that may be true for the past, it does not take into account the realities of today's market demands.

No longer can non profits rely on the "it's the right thing to do" approach when seeking support. In my position I am responsible for top line revenue generation and bottom-line impact. I have to show a return on all my marketing investments (ROMI), and those organizations that get my attention are the ones that use a new speak -- not relying on the old approach but DEMONSTRATE to me how sponsoring them will improve my business.

This is a new skill -- this new speak -- that must be learned by non profits. And the risk, according to Currence, is not just financial, "but that the penalty is going to be a loss in trust, a loss in brand credibility, and that will have an impact in volunteerism, money, and advocacy -- it is the most far reaching damage that can occur."

If you want to learn more about the AMA Foundation Non Profit Marketing Conference in Chicago, IL, click here.

-- David Kinard, PCM

Blockbuster Marketing

In anticipation of the summer blockbuster movie season, trailers have been playing for quite awhile now. The biggest stars, the biggest budgets, the most thrilling, action-packed, and special effects laden shows will all coalesce into a few short months vying for our dollars, our attention, and our word-of-mouth advertising.

I’ll freely admit, I love movies. I love going to the movies. And I especially love movie trailers. They are usually the best parts of the movie, carefully edited and packaged to create the most excitement and anticipation for the film. And, usually, it works.

I was thinking about the marketing we do for non profits, and how we could take a page from what Hollywood is doing.

1. Direct Appeal
Rarely do you watch a movie trailer and not get a pretty good idea as to what that movie is all about. It’s typically pretty clear if the movie is designed to scare you, make you laugh or cry, if it is going to be an action-packed romp, or a thriller that keeps you guessing till the last minute. And, typically, you as an audience member immediately know if that is something you want to see.

2. Emotionally Engaging
All movies trailers are designed to engage us emotionally. Execs know that emotions are at the heart of our purchase decisions and that our brains are wired to remember and recall things from an emotional perspective. Trailers engage us at the deepest core of who we are, what we believe, what our triggers are, and even how we want to feel about things.

3. Integrated Messaging
Movie trailers, posters, advertisements – online or offline – all use an integrated approach. First and foremost they try to keep the emotional connection built from the trailer in all their materials. Messaging is designed to tell a story and as you experience various mediums you get various parts of the same story. Typically there is no disconnect between any of the mediums used to promote a movie.

4. Adaptability
When a movie trailer is launched to the public, the messaging and promotional materials have usually been tested, either by using prior stats on similar successes, or by using focus groups and audience panel feedback. But after the launch, as a wider audience reacts to the upcoming movie, sometimes the message is modified to respond to critics or acclaim. The ability to quickly adapt to audience response is critical to the success of a movie launch.

5. Staged Roll Out
Movies are stories and as the time for the movie’s premiere date, more parts of the story are typically released to the target audience. This helps to maintain interest and momentum going into opening weekend as trailers can be in theaters as much as a year prior to the release of the film. Keeping audiences engaged for that time take a thoughtful roll out of the various story elements.

Okay, so as we think through our own marketing, one challenge for us is to think like a movie producer and find ways to tell an engaging story in stages. As we reveal threads of our story, we can do so by integrating different channels into the mix, and work to ensure our consistent message remains adaptable as we receive feedback. The whole goal here is to build anticipation, excitement, and word-of-mouth buzz for our premiere. And, as we get acclaim after the launch, we immediately tie that into our messaging.

I don’t think there’s any reason to wait for an event to start adding some of these elements into your marketing. So, why not try integrating these ideas into your existing marketing programs and see if you can’t create some blockbuster marketing of your own.

I’d love to hear how things work out if you try this approach. And, if you think I’ve missed an important element, let me know so others can consider adding it into their mix as well.

And, this summer, I'll see YOU at the movies!

-- David Kinard, PCM

Play the iPhone Music and Market Your Cause

This is what I love about the human ability -- or drive -- to take a product and transform it into something else. This video, which shows a new app for the iPhone, allows you to blow across the iPhone's speaker and a tone much like a flute emits from the speaker. With a few well-placed fingers, you've got yourself a musical instrument.

So, what does this have to do with your cause or nonprofit? Tons.

First, if you're a struggling music society or arts center, why not have a concert done wholly with technology, not traditional instruments. Not only is this idea fresh and unique, it's buzz worthy and therefore sponsor worthy. A communtiy fundraiser added to the concert and WHAMMO, you've got an instant evening of fun.

The point IS NOT that you need to use the iPhone in your next awareness or communications program. The point IS that you can begin to think about the unusual and find ways to incoporate that into what you do. The public has learned to treat your calls for help as ever present, and never urgent. Masses are looking for somethign to surprise them (not shock them) and give them a moment's respit from the frenzy of their world.

So, put this idea to action by scheduling a brainstorming meeting with your staff and invite a few people who have nothing to do with your organization. Get the sales manager from a local car dealership, get a mail carrier or the UPS delivery person, aks a chef from a nearby restaurant, and how about the kid that works behind the counter at Best Buy. Have them come for a session on how to think about what you do and how to communicate it in different ways. Harvest the low hanging fruit from the ideas and have fun.

-- David Kinard, PCM

From Junk Mail to Power Mail

Last week blogger Nancy Schwartz wrote about receiving a direct mail piece from one of her favorite nonprofits -- the adoption agency they used. But instead of receiveing a direct mail piece that engaged and nurtured the relationship between the agency and Nancy's family, the piece ended up having them question the strength of the operation. Her experience inspired me to write a bit about how to turn your Junk Mail into Power Mail.

How much mail do you get every day? For some, that daily ubiquitous pile of paper is almost a status symbol. For others, it is just one more hassle and headache in an already crowded day.

The issue of what is so commonly referred to as an overload of “junk mail” has gotten worse, or so a report released by the Consumer Federation of America says. The report, which surveyed more than 1000 people found that 78 percent of respondents believe the amount of unsolicited mail, or junk mail, they receive irritates them "a lot or a little."

Of the 78 percent who found it irritating, 48 percent said junk mail irritates them a lot. That's an increase of 2 percentage points over the prior year's survey.

Direct marketers say, however, that if direct mail is targeted, it is a very effective and welcome form of marketing communications. And the United States Post Office agrees. They rank direct mail third just behind TV and newspapers in marketing effectiveness. The critical ingredient in making direct mail work, however, is targeting.

Think about it, sometimes that “junk mail” catches your eye, and quietly, while no one is looking, you may even open it. Why? The reason is quite simple. The offer or packaging of the mail interested you enough to cause you to look further. Junk mail are only those pieces which promote a product or service you don’t want or need, or a cause which doesn’t resonate in your hearts.

The most savvy direct mail experts all agree that you should have the best offer and packaging in your direct mail piece. However, it is the list that you send it to which determines your success.

Next time you prepare to send out a letter, brochure, or other direct mail piece consider the following questions which will help increase the effectiveness of your list.

1. Is direct mail the best medium to carry this important message? If not, go back to the creative drawing board and identify the best way to get your voice heard.


2. Who is the specific target audience for this piece (men, fathers, women, mothers, purchasers of fitness equipment, general public, registered voters, etc.)?


3. What is the audience’s profile and characteristics (age, sex, lifestyle, work habits, relationship to your product/service/issue)?


4. What does the target audience do in terms of lifestyle (What do they read on a regular basis, where do they live, or where do they go for vacations, dinner or entertainment)?


5. When is the best time to reach them with your message (time of year, day, month, event considerations)?

By identifying these basic characteristics of your target audience, you can purchase lists that more accurately match your ideal prospect, thus increasing your direct mail piece’s effectiveness and staying away from “junk mail”.

-- David Kinard, PCM

Non Profit e-Marketing

In yesterday's radio program I had a great conversation with Allison Van Diest, a senior product marketing manager for Blackbaud (they’re a company that for the past 27 years has created software solutions to support the needs of schools, universities, healthcare, human services, cultural groups, and even faith-based communities). We talked about event registration, email strategies, Web site analytics, online communication strategies, and even fundraising -- and what non profits need to know.

Specifically, online donors are a key growth segment for nonprofit organizations. With the average online donor giving more initially and having a higher lifetime value than conventional donors, the importance of online giving as a revenue stream is growing. In fact, if I heard correctly, the average online donation is $60 for those sites with just a "Donate Here" button. But for those that integrate technology into their broader fundraing communications the average donation skyrockets to more than $120.

What strikes me in today's troubling economic times is that only 6% of non profits say that fundraising is their top driver, and only 36% expect to increase their efforts in this area. With an exptected $11 billion raised in 2008, up from $7 billion in 2007, and the proven micro-donation precedents set by last year's presidential campaigns, this should be a top priority across the board (pun intended).

You can listen to the interview with Allison here.

-- David Kinard, PCM

Metric Monday: Measuring Awareness, Attitudes, and Usage

In a recent survey of non profit leaders and marketers by the American Marketing Association and Lipman Hearne, respondents of small, medium, and large organizations said that building awareness was their top priority. In today’s edition of Metric Monday I am going to suggest a few ways of measuring your organization’s activities toward achieving this goal.

Typically referred to as AAU (Awareness, Attitudes, and Usage), this metric is most useful when results are set against some form of comparator – that is data from a prior term (e.g. year-over-year), different markets (e.g. geographic or demographic), or with the competition. An AAU metric by itself is meaningless until you have a pivot point from which to demonstrate movement. In that light, several data sets are essential to identify valid trends and movement in AAU.

In a nutshell, AAU looks at:

Awareness: the percentage of your target audience (customers or potential customers) who recognize your organization or its brand, either aided or unaided. It also measures what knowledge the target audience has about your organization’s products and services. So, not only do you look to see if they know about you, you measure what about you they know.

Attitudes: this is a combination of what your target audience believes and how strongly they believe it. Measurements cover the target audiences’ perceptions of quality, effectiveness, and value as they relate to your organization, and also cover intention to purchase or become involved with your cause.

Usage: this is simply the target audiences’ self-reported behavior as it relates to your organization.

So, how do you get this type of information? Here are two ideas.
Caveat: make sure you specifically identify the target audience you’re wanting to measure. I can’t emphasize the need for specificity in this step. Saying you want to measure awareness amongst the general population will not give you actionable data as your organization likely doesn’t have the marketing budget of General Electric or Coke. Think specifically about the finite group you want to study.

1. Use surveys conducted by research organizations who know how to reach your target audience. These might be online, intercept, mail, or telephone surveys that ask a series of questions. USE THE SAME SET OF QUESTIONS over time so you have data points to measure against. Yes, you can administer a survey yourself if you’re measuring your internal constituents, but I’d still suggest you employ a true researcher to help with the set up, collection, and analysis. They’re the experts at this type of work – you’re likely not.


2. Scan discussion boards and social sites for first-hand comments and reviews. You can gather a wealth of knowledge by being a quiet participant in user forums and sites that are talking about you. Resist the urge to defend and comment. Just listen and regularly monitor the tone and information shared.

Here are a few scenarios of data streams you might get and what to do:

• High awareness, high attitude, low usage – I know about you but I do not think highly of you and will not engage with you. Things to do: these people may not know of ways to engage with your organization. Maybe you’re communications are unclear as to volunteer opportunities. Maybe your opportunities for engagement are not what this audience wants. Go to them and find out how they want to engage you and create those opportunities.


• High awareness, low attitude, low usage – I know about you but don’t think highly of you and will not engage with you. Things to do: these people should be left alone and you should focus your energies on higher yield opportunities.


• Low awareness, low attitude, low usage – basically I don’t know you exist and do not engage with you. Things to do: an awareness campaign might migrate members of this group into another category. You’ll need to evaluate the cost of what it takes to break through the noise in the market space as you compete for attention. Make sure you have a plan in place to engage or disengage these people once you do.

Bottom Line: For many non profits or cause-related organization marketers, the idea is that if more people are aware of our organization then there will be more supporters to our cause and more users of our services. They equate awareness with moving the organization forward and increased success. My friend Katya Andresen, author of Robin Hood Marketing, recently quoted her mentor Bill Novelli as saying, “If your goal in life is to raise awareness, you might as well be shoveling pamphlets out of airplanes. Be in the business of creating action, not awareness.” Ultimately, while AAU may be a sexy metric to follow, it is a poor substitute for measuring your ability to do good.

If your organization is measuring AAU, please share how and what you're learning. If you have other ways you've gathered data for this metric, what are they?

-- David Kinard, PCM

Flashmobs and Non Profits

How much fun is it to be a part of your cause or organization? This video is part of a public marketing effort by T-Mobile and from the faces in the crowd you can see they're having fun.

From what I can make out, there are plants in the crowd -- those who are part of the event, know the songs, know the choreography. But what is exciting to watch is how more and more people are added into the mix over time, and many who are not part of the marketing program.

This video reminds me of an old camp song that starts, "It only takes a spark to get a fire going." I wonder what could be done in today's cause-related organizations to add an element of fun, of excitement, of spontaneity that would engage all those around you. Here in Seattle, one of our famous companies Pike Place Fish knows how to do this as they are world-famous for their fish-throwing antics and customer engagement (yep, that's them in the FISH and FISH STICKS videos). Here are two for-profit examples of companies who learned to engage those around them. What are good non profit examples?

Whether you like T-Mobile or not, you can't deny the impact these flashmobs have had. Googling t mobile dancing video produces more than 22 million results. YouTube has more than 40 related videos on their site just from that same search and people are talking, buzzing, and sharing. Not to mention those who participated will share the story offline making individual and powerful connections.

Think past handing out fliers in the park. How can you add delight and amazement to your marketing and positively (leave behind the offensive sandwich boards and negative messaging) engage the public in your cause. Think of the smiles and joy you see in the faces of the people in this video -- how can you add that same quality to your own community engagement?

-- David Kinard, PCM

Does Your BHAG Measure Up to King's and Obama's?

Today -- Inauguration Day 2009 -- Whew!

Okay, so let's put politics aside for a moment and focus on the critical element of what has made Obama the "man" transform into Obama the "movement". It was a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal. Or more like a whole set of them.

Obama's approach is something that has been talked about by business gurus around the globe for years -- if you want to inspire, engage, and activate a community around your cause, give them something big to believe in. And Obama did just that. With approval ratings at or above 75% he has inspired not just tens of millions of Americans, but the world. Yet Obama gave us not just anything to believe in -- he could have said he wanted to build a giant ladder to the moon and we would have discredited both the man and the goal. So, what made his goals so believable? I'd like to suggest the following:

1. Big Hairy Audacious Goals require time -- They likely will take 10 to 30 years to complete, but they have a specific end date.


2. Big Hairy Audacious Goals require more than what we have to offer right now. We must grow, change, and evolve into something better in order to achieve them. We must transform ourselves during the journey.


3. Big Hairy Audacious Goals are measurable and achieveable. You should be able to envision and describe what success looks like with extreme clarity, with definition, and with a clear sense of what it will take to arrive at that point.


4. Big Hairy Audacious Goals inspire, focus, and align. They give us something big to strive for, focus our attention on what's most important, and align our resources to achieving that end state.

As you think through your organization's vision and goals -- how well do they match up to these four critical ingredients?

What are your thoughts? Do you think these four are enough?

-- David Kinard, PCM

Validation

I ran across this video today and was immediately struck by how validation can serve in our internal organizational communications.
First, you have to watch the video (just click on the photo -- and yes, that's one of the guys from the TV series Bones). It's about 16 minutes long, but well worth your time -- at least it was worth mine. I loved it.

Now, without giving too much away, we've all gotten our parking vouchers validated so we can get free parking. Not only does this guy stamp your ticket, but he also validates you. He's not being silly, or even making backhanded compliments...he's just pointing out the best in each person he meets. And the end result is amazing.

It is a growing belief, backed by research, that investing in employee morale and culture results in higher profits. See the Employee-Customer Profit Chain article at HBSP for one such report. You can also listen to Rick Garlick of Martiz Research talk about this on my radio show. Even from the branding side there are many gurus out there today who are suggesting the strongest brands are generated, in part, by strong employee development.

What strikes me here is that in our organizational communications we can do a better job of not just highlighting the work of someone (e.g. "And special thanks to Joan for her work this month on getting volunteers for the community clean up.") but dive a bit deeper into the qualities that made Joan successful, (e.g. "Our community clean up this month was a result of Joan's strong organizational skills and her can-do attitude. She is really good at taking on big tasks and making them enjoyable for others to participate.") It's very different to have your work recognized versus having yourself validated. Not to mention, this type of validating recognition also identifies the behaviors that are important to an organization, and shoudl be modeled.

In external communications, I think our communities also want to hear these types of validating comments about staff or employees. Knowing the above validating statements about Joan makes me want to work with her when I call. It gives me an idea of the kind of experience I might have interacting with her. And that experience directly translates into positive brand associations.

As you plan out the next edition of your organization's newsletter or even awards section of your all-staff meeting, rather than just recognizing the people who did this or that, try validating them as individuals first. Let their actions speak for themselves.

-- David Kinard, PCM

Brands Using Twitter

Former radio show guest Paul Dunay has compiled a list of various corporate brands that are using twitter to stay in touch with their communities. I especially like this this for two reasons:

1. Many corporate marketers today are decrying the inability of businesses to use and engage with social media tools like twitter to connect and nurture communities of followers. Well, this list puts that to rest. Big and small, they're on here and likely many more exist that just didn't make Paul's list (see the comments for proof).

2. This list makes it clear that non profits must use tools like twitter to tap into the communities that already exist around their cause. No excuses. If you're a member of the American Marketing Association, sign in to your Marketingpower.com account and listen to the member-only Webinar that I hosted back in December. We had three amazing marketers on the program (Toby Bloomberg, Julie Fleischer, and Greg Verdino) give very specific advice and perspective on social media and how it can be used in your own marketing. (And as a side note, all three of these people will be at Mplanet later this month.)

And for those who think that that using twitter may be a silver bullet, let me dissuade you from going down that path. Like any other social media tool, twitter is a mechanism that equips you to dialogue and communicate only. It won't create relevancy, it is a poor substitute for integrated communication plans, and it will never overcome an inauthentic voice.

-- David Kinard, PCM

Ford an Example for Non Profits

John Gerzema, author of The Brand Bubble, recently wrote in his blog about Ford working with an open platform and CEO Alan Mulally's focus on partnership and connectivity. While I won't try to make the leap between Detroit and non profits (even if there is an inherent pun in saying that) I do like the idea of Ford attempting to climb its way out of economic duldrums through this type of transparency and innovation.

It seems all to common for non profits and cause related organizations to try and go it alone; or at least I think that is a widely held perception. Little islands out there floating in a sea of need. Sure there is partnership, but that's usually in the form of accepting donated services or products to support the mission. But what if that same non profit began to create an open platform where infrastructures were shared between other groups?

When thinking through your partnership possibilities, consider first the recipient of your work. If the homeless are your beneficiaries, then think through what other organizations (for and non profit alike) benefit from solving the homelessness challenge. If you're an alternative school, think through who else benefits from having kids educated and how could others participate and make that education even better.

This kind of open platform -- where there are no secrets, no hidden agendas, and shared ownership -- is where collaboration thrives. It's the truest example of synergy in action where one and one equal three or more.

-- David Kinard, PCM