Donors may be helping you -- or hurting you -- more than you think

From the Church of the Customer Blog, here's a chart on customer value taken from the cell phone industry:

See Wominomics.

("Wom" is short for word-of-mouth, the always-powerful force in marketing that has become super-charged by the web and by the fact that so many people don't trust advertising any more as a useful source of information.)

We tend to look at donors as if they're all in that middle column: The only action they take is writing checks. But clearly, there are some in the two outer columns: They're talking you up and helping motivate people around them to become donors. Or they're unhappy with you and they're helping chase away prospects.

It's easy to see what the cell phone companies should do: they should be super-nice to the people in the left column. Discounts, free upgrades, happy surprises. They can afford to invest in that group. And their customers on the right? They should "fire" them. Every day they keep those customers, they lose more money. Either that or start treating them right so they have less to complain about. (Ha ha. That last suggestion was just a joke.)

What should nonprofits do? Pretty much the same thing. Happy, well-treated donors are a lot more likely to be your best advocates. Annoyed, mistreated ones can torpedo you in the marketplace.

Knowing that, I'd bend over backward to have flawless service for donors, and to create a communication program aimed not just at harvesting donations, but at pleasing and rewarding donors.

Technorati Tags: fundraising, WOM

Comments

[DRE DAWG]

"...creat a communication program aimed not jsut at harvesting donations, but at pleasing and rewarding donors."

How?

Could you stear us to information that goes into detail regarding this? I'd especially like to know how to "please" and "reward" sans gifts since, during this economy, donors can appreciate an nonprofit more that doesn't spend money on useless stuff.