Guest post by Gabrielle Perham, Director of Marketing for AccuData Integrated Marketing
As a nonprofit fundraising professional, you know the importance of understanding your target audience. By tuning in to what makes donors tick, you can craft outreach materials that are more likely to resonate with them.
One of the most effective ways to get to know donors on a deeper level is to dive into your data. With data marketing, you can take a categorical approach to donor management and stewardship using information that you know to be true, rather than guesses.
There are a few different ways to put your donor data research into practice to launch a successful marketing campaign. Use these tips to kickstart your next campaign:
Take a more strategic approach to your email campaigns.
Give digital targeting a try.
Revamp your direct mail strategy.
Refine your supporter segmentation practices.
Put your prospect research to use.
Data marketing opens up untapped opportunities for your organization to explore. It allows you to tailor your marketing materials to align with your audience’s interests and preferences. Whether you’re looking to raise awareness of your nonprofit or launch a full-fledged fundraising campaign, these tips will help you make the most of your donor data.
1. Take a more strategic approach to your email campaigns.
Email marketing has quickly advanced in the past several years. A basic email strategy will no longer cut it. If your email approach is generic or lackluster, your supporters will send your messages right to the trash. In addition, upcoming changes related to consumer privacy mean that emails will have a harder time making it to the inbox.
Whether you’re looking to promote an upcoming fundraising event or initiative, engage donors in your monthly giving program, or promote another aspect of your fundraising efforts, you can kick off your campaign with an acquisition email marketing strategy.
Acquisition email marketing is the process of engaging new supporters using email communications. If you’re interested in kickstarting your next data-driven marketing initiative with an email acquisition campaign, there are a few best practices to keep in mind:
Craft your ideal audience with the help of a data marketing firm. You can build your organization’s database by partnering with a dedicated data marketing provider. These specialists help organizations craft their ideal target audience using prospect lists. Prospect lists are lists of potential supporters who are most likely to be interested in your cause.
Send prompt welcome emails to prospects. Whenever a supporter signs up for your email list, send a warm welcome email thanking them for their support.
Re-engage lapsed audience members. If certain prospects open your emails less frequently, reach out to them with a targeted message to win back their support. For example, you might send an email along the lines of “We missed you! Here’s what’s been happening since we last talked.”
With a strategic email approach, you can capture your audience members’ attention, especially your millennial audience. Don’t underestimate the power of email marketing — you can use this channel to speak directly to supporters and maintain their support.
2. Give digital targeting a try.
Did you know you could send digital advertising to individuals based on their home address? IP Targeting/Addressable Geofencing is the process of identifying and marketing to audience members based on their physical location.
According to AccuData’s guide to IP targeting, this process is an effective way to put your data research to use. You can pinpoint your organization's exact target audience based on their physical location and get your marketing materials directly in the palms of their hands.
You can use IP Targeting/Addressable Geofencing to access supporters on a certain network. Let’s say you’re looking to ramp up your marketing campaign ahead of your nonprofit’s next local donation drive, and you’re specifically seeking donations from college-aged students. Using these digital targeting techniques, you can market your event to individuals who access the network of a local college. You can do this by sending digital advertisements to all devices on the university’s network.
When conducting digital targeting strategies, keep these best practices in mind:
Don’t over-target. Keep your specifications for the audience members you are targeting to just two or three parameters. This ensures that you’re casting a wide enough net and not excluding valuable supporters.
Use A/B testing to refine your ads. A/B testing is the process of creating two ad campaigns with slight variations and determining which receives more engagement. In the context of digital targeting, you can change your audience parameters to determine which segments engage the most with your outreach.
Deploy effective ad copy. Even if you reach your target audience, they won’t respond to your messaging if it’s not compelling. Ensure your ad copy is streamlined and inspirational. You can also use A/B testing to create different versions of your ads and assess which is more effective.
This is another area where working with a data marketing firm can provide a boost to your strategy. Digital targeting is a more advanced marketing strategy, but it can be highly effective for reaching your desired audience.
3. Revamp your direct mail strategy.
Although it might seem old-school, direct mail is still a highly effective marketing channel for nonprofits. Direct outreach campaigns that combine direct mail with at least one digital media element have a 118% increase in response rate.
Using your supporter data, you can revamp your direct mail strategy to only reach out to those who are most likely to engage with your content. This can decrease direct mail expenses significantly, as you won’t be sending mailers to individuals who are unlikely to respond.
For your next data-driven marketing campaign, pursue a combination of a housefile campaign and a prospect campaign:
A housefile campaign involves sending direct mail to addresses already in your database. Marketing experts recommend starting your direct mail campaign with a housefile effort because it has a higher chance of success. You can reinforce and grow relationships with your existing audience.
A prospecting campaign involves sending mail to audience members who don’t have a previous relationship with your nonprofit. The objective of prospecting campaigns is to establish contact with those who are most likely to support your organization. This allows you to add more supporters’ information to your in-house database, growing your audience.
Use your digital marketing efforts to supplement and support your direct mail campaign and vice versa. For instance, include a QR code on your direct mail materials that sends audience members to your website or online giving page.
Additionally, you should use uniform branding across all marketing materials to promote cohesion and unity with your marketing strategy. Doing so helps you foster greater brand recognition and awareness.
4. Refine your supporter segmentation practices.
Donor segmentation is the process of grouping supporters based on shared characteristics.
The point of supporter segmentation is breaking your audience into smaller categories and marketing to them based on their unique circumstances or preferences.
There are plenty of different options for grouping your donors based on your nonprofit’s marketing and fundraising goals. You may choose to group them based on their:
Engagement type: You may have audience members who are donors, volunteers, advocates, or peer-to-peer fundraisers. Grouping supporters by engagement type allows you to send messages with information that each group is more likely to be interested in.
Demographics: Depending on your marketing goals, it may be helpful to divide audience members into categories based on demographics, such as age, gender, or location.
Communication preferences: You can segment supporters based on their preferred communication platforms and frequency. You may find some supporters prefer digital platforms, while others favor direct mail or phone outreach.
Engagement frequency: You likely have donors who give regularly, such as your monthly donors, along with those who give more infrequently. Most nonprofits also have plenty of lapsed donors who have gone longer without giving. Segmenting supporters based on how frequently you hear from them allows you to craft different stewardship strategies for each level of engagement.
You can tie advanced supporter segmentation strategies into your next fundraising or marketing campaign. These techniques can be used on multiple platforms, from your direct mail outreach to your email marketing campaigns.
5. Put your prospect research to use.
Prospect research is the process of identifying audience members who may or may not have a relationship with your organization yet, but who exhibit characteristics that indicate they would be willing and able to donate to your cause.
Approaching your next data-driven marketing campaign through a prospect research lens offers many benefits. You can use prospect research to identify opportunities for:
In-kind donations: Using prospect research, you can identify audience members who work for companies that offer in-kind donations or other forms of corporate giving. Then, you can specifically reach out to these individuals and encourage them to donate or participate. Your organization will benefit from greater access to necessary goods or services that support your mission.
Matching gifts: Similarly, prospect research can reveal supporters who work for companies that offer matching gifts. According to Double the Donation’s corporate matching gifts guide, these programs involve companies pledging to match donations that their employees make to eligible nonprofits. Matching gifts allow your supporters to maximize the impact of their single donations and provide your organization with a funding boost. You can reach out to individuals who have made match-eligible donations and encourage them to begin the gift match process.
Major gifts: You can also use prospect research to identify audience members with a greater level of wealth and a high affinity for your organization. Search for individuals who exhibit certain wealth indicators such as stock ownership, real estate holdings, or a higher-up job title. Then, craft a dedicated strategy specifically for reaching out to and stewarding major donors.
When you conduct your data-driven marketing campaigns through the lens of prospect research, you can save your organization time and money because you’re sending marketing materials to those who are actually interested and willing to give.
By focusing on wealthier prospects or those whose companies offer corporate philanthropy programs, you can refine your marketing outreach efforts even more and create messages that resonate with these specific audiences.
There are plenty of ways to incorporate data-driven marketing strategies into your next campaign, from firing up your email approach to segmenting your audience for more targeted outreach. Consider your organization’s goals and needs to choose the best idea for launching your next campaign. A combination of these strategies will provide your organization with the reach it needs to market your cause effectively. Good luck!
About the Author:
Gabrielle Perham, MBA, Director of Marketing
Gabrielle is the Director of Marketing for AccuData Integrated Marketing. She joined the organization in 2017 and possesses more than 15 years of experience in strategic marketing, branding, communications, and digital marketing. She earned a B.S. in Marketing and an M.B.A in Marketing Management from the University of Tampa.