Lead generation is more about building relationships than it is being at the right place at the right time such as when a prospect is ready to buy. It’s a process that you can begin at any point and this process should first revolve around the prospect, not you. The best kind of process would be cross channel choosing the appropriate media depending on your objective with each point of contact. For example, sometimes email may sufficient enough to touch base without having to send a letter. But what is the best way to make sure you can commit to this process? Get off to the right start.

It’s best to first open up the lines to initiate two-way communication with your prospects so they can ask questions and seek information. Then, provide valuable information to educate them and become more of a knowledgeable resource rather than a “salesperson”. Providing prospects with a personalized micro-site for them to visit not only provides a channel where they can seek information or ask questions but it also provides you the opportunity to gather whatever insight you would like from them that could better help you understand their needs. Do not waste time and energy overwhelming prospects with too many marketing pieces in this first stage. Establish the relationship first.

Follow-through is critical. Longer-term leads, which are often abandoned somewhere down the line, represent about 77% of potential sales.* The more you build a relationship with a prospect, the more you will come to know them and understand their needs. Only after that are you in the best position to inform them as to how your product/service could help them, why they need it, and why it may be better than what they are doing now. By this point you have also gained their trust.

Without some sort of strategy as to how you are going to first help your prospect before they can help you paired with a proper communication plan, your lead nurturing process could prove to be lackluster and so will your motivation to follow through. And without the follow through the sale will not occur.

*Carroll, Brian. “Lead Nuturing – Ripening the Right Bananas.” Start With A Lead. 12 Nov. 2010 http://www.startwithalead.com/article.asp?ARTICLEID=162



The tangibility of paper makes this medium, and its message, more real to recipients. It creates a connection and memory that other channels do not. Digital of course still has advantages over paper such as interactivity and the potential for more sensory appeal but the tangibility of paper still creates an impact. Which, again, denotes the importance of using multiple channels.

A blog post from Neuroscience Marketing goes into more of the scientific details on digital versus paper.

So how do you choose which media channels to utilize?

1. Take generation into account. Yes, millenniels will be more responsive to social media than boomers and boomers will be more responsive to direct mail than millenniels but that doesn’t mean eliminating either channel for these groups. Find the balance for each of these mediums as they apply to each generation.
2. Consider how engaged your prospect is with your company/organization. Do they typically open emails? Have they responded to direct mail? Have they ever reached out to you for information? You should always be tracking such data. Dedicating too large a portion of your budget to a group this is not likely to respond will only create a negative impact on ROI. Email is the least expensive way to reach out to those who are not highly engaged and this means saving money on direct mail marketing while not staying completely out of touch.
3. What means of communication do your customers prefer? This is information you should have. If you don’t know, ask them and keep current with this data. A personalized URL with a survey would be the best way to capture such data. That way you can make sure you aren’t wasting money on a channel that is ineffective with a certain person or audience.

As always, these types of analyses and decisions require sufficient data. Data will always be your golden ticket in best determining how to choose media channels and allocate marketing dollars. A blanket approach is no longer an adequate method. Break down your audience into niche groups and tailor your media mix for each. This will both lower your costs and increase your revenues.

This type of partnership is possible because printers are learning about different kinds of media so they can provide customers with cross channel marketing/media solutions and not just keep them limited to print. These other types of media include email, personalized url’s (PURL’s), and social media, all of which work together in harmony in multichannel integrated campaigns. Campaigns are tailored to clients depending on their vertical market and specific need(s). Printers do recognize that print is not necessarily the only means of communication anymore and are now integrating a variety of media and cutting-edge technology with print.

Of course with more channels involved, it’s necessary to make sure the message is clear and consistent and achieves the objective across the board. This cross channel marketing may last for a few months and may even involve multiple phases. This is where printers have stepped in to take on the role of marketing service provider. They are the ones who develop and execute these campaigns from start to finish and keep track of results and ROI. Most have even created in-house marketing teams to help with this new aspect of the business. Printers have made it possible to have a one-stop shop for print and marketing services.

• Consumer thought process before and after the transaction – Consumers want information and guarantees before a purchase and reassurance after the purchase. You may have to go out of your way to make these things happen but it’s worth it.  Do you have a process that helps guide consumers in their decision making? Do you pleasantly surprise customers by providing something extra afterwards? One great example of a company that considers the consumer thought process prior to a purchase comes from Mail Chimp. I have been looking into new email service providers and they did not just talk about how great they are. Instead, they provided a comparison chart right on their website comparing similar companies in the industry which saved me the hassle of going website to website and putting together my own chart. I loved them right then and there for that simple gesture.
• Where consumers initially go for information – You may be all ready with packets of information and brochures to hand out to customers when they come to your company or organization, but what about the information they are getting before coming to you? This includes information from friends, peers, online communities, and social networks. Are you present in these arenas? Are you actively participating or guiding these conversations in any way? If not, what are you waiting for?
• Direct AND indirect competition - I know paying attention to both direct and indirect competition is not a new concept, but it’s important enough to reiterate. Nonprofits, for example, are not just competing with other nonprofits. They are competing for consumer dollars that could go anywhere else, even to a new pair of shoes.
• Cross channel marketing, not just multichannel – Email can increase direct mail response ROI, social media can boost email ROI, email can help social media ROI, etc., etc. Integrated marketing strengthens campaigns, I mean really strengthens campaigns. You could send a postcard here, email a coupon there, set up a website…but without taking an active approach in using each channel to strengthen and improve the other you are missing out on the full potential of your marketing efforts.

After considering all of these points the important thing to ask yourself is: “Is there anything I could be doing to make life easier for my customers in the grand scheme of things?” Think outside the box. Read It’s the Little Things That Count to learn more about this.

1. Thou shalt be optimistic - Despite less than optimal economic conditions, individuals and businesses have not stopped their charitable giving. Instead, there has just been a change in giving patterns where donors are now opting for longer-term pledges and gift commitments. Learn more about this by clicking here. Also, as mentioned earlier more people are giving due to the new collective awareness of the importance of philanthropy. The economy has helped us all to focus on what’s really important.
2. Thou shalt recognize the importance of  email marketing – Frogloop, Care2’s nonprofit online marketing blog, conducted a survey and found out that even many well known (and nationally recognized) nonprofits are under-performing in their email marketing. According to another article, email accounts for 46% of content sharing activity on the internet which gives it a lot of potential in terms of “word-of-mouth” marketing. Also, email provides the option for real-time communication when thanking a donor for their contribution. This is very important because the quicker you can respond to them, the more likely they are to donate again in the future.
3. Thou shalt realize the effectiveness of direct mail - The Direct Marketing Association estimates that non-catalog direct mail returned $15.22 for every dollar spent in 2009. Also, several surveys have revealed that direct mail is one of the most effective ways to recruit new donors. It is also one of the best ways to provide donors and potential donors with new information not to mention that donations still come through mail so it’s important to keep that channel open. Click here for more insight on how direct marketing is often underestimated.
4. Thou shalt not underestimate the power of social media - Social media has opened up a new channel for fundraising. One success story that illustrates this involves Epic Change, a nonprofit that used Twitter to raise $11,000 in 48 hours to build a school in Tanzania. 98% of those who donated to this campaign had never donated to Epic Change before.  Social media has also opened up new doors for marketing. Individuals are becoming champions for their causes through social media and their support emanates through their social networks via news feeds and social share features for all their friends to see.
5. Thou shalt understand the need for cross channel marketing – Online and offline channels reinforce one another helping the message to stick. Click here to read about the increasingly important role of multichannel marketing for nonprofits or click here to read about the rising need for cross channel marketing in general.
6. Thou shalt engage donors - With the rise of the internet and social media donors are expecting to be more than just check writers. They want to interact and influence nonprofits and feel like they have a hand in the mission. Opening up two-way communication channels (i.e.-social media) to engage your donors and get their opinions/ideas allows for this kind of interaction.
7. Thou shalt have a stellar web design - A website is very important to potential donors when deciding where/how to donate. If a website is difficult to navigate, has content that is unclear, is too bulky, not consistent with brand image, etc. (the list of potential problems could go on) the responsible nonprofit organization decreases their chances of receiving all potential donations. It’s been estimated that with every click a potential donor has to take to find information or figure out how to donate that there is about a 40%  decrease in the likelihood that they actually will donate.
8. Thou shalt tell stories – It’s important for donors to feel connected to the mission of a nonprofit. Storytelling is more effective in accomplishing this rather than just giving straight facts and asking people to care. Tell stories about your organization, those positively affected by your organization, members of your organization, etc…anything that can help conjure up emotion and interest and create a connection between the potential donor and your mission. According to Network for Good, people don’t give to organizations they give to people.
9. Thou shalt not forget about planned giving - “Considering the average planned gift is 200 times the value of an individual’s largest major gift, cutting back on marketing them is an unwise choice.” (via PlannedGiving.com) Planned giving is often overlooked as it takes a more proactive approach to market this type of giving program but none-the-less the pay-off can prove to be worth it.
10. Thou shalt personalize donor communication – You can increase the likelihood of your direct mail being opened by 44% just by including the person’s name and 70% of people prefer personalized direct mail over generic direct mail. It’s becoming expected and almost necessary to personalize communication these days in order to achieve a desirable response rate.

I hope you found these commandments helpful.  Please feel free to leave comments or share any of your own tips! Happy fundraising!

You can use direct mail to drive traffic to your website by printing your website address on the mail piece along with any social media avatars, integrating social media or online promotions into direct mail campaigns, and/or sending out direct mail pieces to make announcements about online events. You could also invite current customers back to the site to provide feedback or reviews.

There was such a giant shift in marketing efforts from offline to online that online channels have now become too cluttered and something is needed to supplement these efforts…print media. According to one study direct marketing tactics (such as direct mail) are twice as likely to drive traffic to a website than digital marketing alone. In fact, 60% of the people surveyed felt that a personally addressed mail piece was more likely to drive them to visit a website than an email with the same message. That’s probably pretty surprising (and good to know) for people who strictly market online. To leave you with one more tidbit on direct mail; recent studies show that 63% of 18-34 year olds consider receiving direct mail to be “a pleasure”. There are so many opportunities when it comes to direct mail that are not being taken advantage of. Now is the time to utilize direct mail to both stand out from the competition and improve your online presence.

By providing the option to respond to direct mail online you are also opening to the door to continued personalized communication. The information gathered from a personalized URL page (granted that mail recipients go to it and answer the questions) can be invaluable to your business/organization. You can use it to communicate with respondents in the future via mail or email with personal and relevant information. It is likely that you can double your response rate by incorporating a personalized URL and relevant content in your marketing campaign. According to PODi, the leading association for Digital Printing Service Providers and Vendors of Digital Printing hardware and software, campaigns that utilize both relevant text and graphics can increase response rates up to five times.

Click here to read more about making the transition from multichannel marketing to integrated cross channel marketing.