Loud & Clear - Successfully Marketing your Nonprofit

Nonprofit Marketing Fundamentals

Deborah [email protected]

June 2012Creative Solutions & Innovations |

www.creative-si.com | 404.325.7031

Loud & Clear

Successfully Marketing Your Nonprofit

Creative Solutions & Innovations | www.creative-si.com | 404.325.7031

“If you don’t know where you’re going it doesn’t matter which way you go!”

Said the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland

Marketing FundamentalsGoals for today’s session:

Understand the Role of Marketing in Nonprofit Organizations• Define what marketing is and how it fits into the organization • Learn why marketing-oriented Nonprofits typically outperform other

companies

Understand and Align the Components of the Marketing Mix Learn the components of marketing tactics and how they align with one

another • Learn how to see your nonprofit offerings as a bundle of customer-

desired benefits • Explore various pricing objectives and strategies • Compare and contrast various options for distribution or awareness

building • Discover the strengths and weaknesses of various promotional methods



What is Nonprofit Marketing?

“Marketing is so basic that it cannot be a separate function. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of its final results, that is, from the stakeholder’s point of view.”

Marketing Guru Peter Drucker


Marketing consists of the strategies and tactics used to identify, create and maintain satisfying

relationships with your donors, members, volunteers, clients and other stakeholders that

result in value for both your organization and your stakeholders.


A Marketing Mindset

Requires that your organization systematically study customer’s

needs, wants, perceptions, preferences, and satisfaction – using

surveys, focus groups and other means.

Kotler & Andreasen, Strategic Marketing For NonProfit Organizations

Strategic MarketingI: Develop Your GoalsII: Situation AnalysisIII: Market Analysis and SegmentationIV: Target MarketsV: Develop Market Strategies for Target MarketsVI: Programs and ServicesVII: Promotion and OutreachVIII: Implementation and LeadershipIX: Evaluation


Develop your GoalsGoals: What do you want to achieve?

o Goals can be short, medium or long term. o Example:

“Gain increased recognition and status for our organization”“Engage members of the community who care about children’s health to be financially and visibly supportive”


Communications Goal• Develop a communications goal to support

organizational goal.To capitalize on <name of organization>’s

existing band awareness and create additional awareness among target audiences in order to assist in raising additional funds and volunteers. *(Goal is result of research and consensus between nonprofit management, executive committee and consultant.)


Situation Analysis - InternalStarts with where your organization is right now.

• Mission• Values• Skills• Culture• Systems• Strengths, Weaknesses in structure,

technology, support services, etc.


Situation Analysis - External

• Funding climate• Comparative analysis of other organizations –

your competition, and • An understanding of your organization’s

market position relative to your competition. • Social, cultural, technological, ecological,

economic, and political factors to effect your nonprofit.


Who Is Your Competition?


Evaluate The Competition

• What services do they provide?• Where are they located relative to your

locations?• To which segments of the market do they

appeal?• What do stakeholders say about them?


Unique Service Features

• Meet stakeholder needs better than other groups

• Wide selection of services• Convenient Location• Easy to use• Transportation available• Funding or fees on sliding scale available


Competitive Advantage Statement

Competitive Advantage Statement = Values& Beliefs + USP (Unique Service

Proposition is the positioning that will make your organization different from your competition.)


Market Analysis & Segmentation

Market is defined as a group of people who behave in similar ways relative to your organization’s products or services.

Market is synonymous with audience, stakeholders, constituents, or clients.

• Segmentation is the process of defining the largest potential market in a way that is most useful to an organization.


Market Segmentation

• Your nonprofit provides services to different “market segments”

Market segmentation variables: Geographic – place people call home Demographic – age, income, gender, ethnicity, marital status,

race, religion, social class Psychographic – lifestyle, interests, attitude Behavioral – way people use, benefit, obtain and are loyal to

your services


Address Needs in Each Segment

Rank needs in each segment:• Range of services• Quality• Fees• Location• Transportation• Facilities


How Can you identify needs?1. Identify a number of your clients and ask them if you

can come interview them for 15 -20 minutes. Another option is to do a survey or focus group lead by someone other than staff from your nonprofit.

2. Ask what each sees as the five most important things they look for at your nonprofit.

3. Once identified, ask them to rank them from 10 – 1. 4. Then ask them how well you have done in meeting

their needs. Ask them to measure these from 10 to 1.5. After interviewing as many as you can, create a master

list the customer needs with the two measures after each.


Target Markets


Your StakeholdersSomeone who has an interest or

concern in your organization or its work. Stakeholders can include donors, employees, board members, clients, volunteers, and the public.

About.com


Who Are Your Stakeholders?• Donors & Prospective donors• Sponsors• Volunteers• Educators• Advocates• Administration & staff• Board & advisory board members• Government Agencies• Clients/patients• Bloggers & Twitter Influencers• Who else?


Number 1 Rule in Nonprofit MarketingReally knowing your target audience

“Getting to know your supporters, volunteers, clients and other participants in your mission is easy, if you build that listening and learning

into your everyday work.”• Be curious, all the time• Formalize that curiosity

• Convene Informal Focus Groups• Conduct an Online Survey

Kivi Leroux MillerCreative Solutions & Innovations

| www.creative-si.com | 404.325.7031

Marketing Strategieso Market strategies are the comprehensive approach an

organization takes to engage its target markets. They must be action oriented.

o Strategies include: how the organization designs and delivers programs and

services; how it positions itself on issues; how it designs campaigns; where it locates or places its programs and information; how it prices or values its services; how it executes its

communication, public relations, and outreach efforts.


Competitive Positioning

Sets your organization apart from your competitors and helps ensure a lasting, defensible place in the marketplace.

Identifies your services & helps ensure that your target audiences perceive your organization & offerings distinctly from your competitors.

Helps identify your competitive advantage that differentiates you from other providers.


What is a positioning statement?

A positioning statement is a tight, focused description of the core target audience to whom a brand, is directed, and it provides a compelling picture of how the nonprofit wants its targeted audiences to view them. A well-constructed positioning statement brings focus and clarity to the development of a marketing strategy and tactics. Brandeo


Programs & Services

To reach and engage your target market, your nonprofit organization may need to:

redesign or develop new programs. An organization’s programs

Programs must support your mission Show a congruence between activities and

messages and alignment with their own values and needs.


Marketing Mix

• Product/Service - What exactly are you providing to people?

• Place - How and where will you deliver it to them?• Price - At what “price” will you provide it? How will

you get the funds to cover your expenses?• Promotion - How will you get stakeholders to use

your services?


Product (Services)

• Define your services, e.g. what you offer• Determine your target market• Build images that speak to value and

consistency of message based on your mission.


Identify Unique Service Features

Our services:• Meet our stakeholders needs• Offer a wide-range of options• Are conveniently located• Easy to use• Have no cost and/or sliding cost


Place

How much does place effect your stakeholders?• Do you have a centralized location? Multiple

locations to meet needs?• Are your locations convenient? • Do you have distribution channels for products?


Price

While there is no true ‘price’ for nonprofit services you need to consider the expenses involved in running the organization so you can secure funds to cover them.

Expenses – • Fixed – whether anyone uses the service or not• Variable – varies with the activity

• Price ceiling – maximum ‘price’ a stakeholder will pay for your services.

• Price floor – lowest ‘price’ you can provide your services & still survive.

MSD Resources


Promotion & Outreach

Promotion refers to all communications, public relations, and outreach efforts. They

engage, and develop relationships with an organization’s target market.

Promote meaningful engagements.


Main Vehicles• Website• Newsletters• White papers• Email blasts• Yahoo Listserve Groups• Professional Conferences• YouTube Videos• Viral/marketing [Word of Mouth]• Social Media, e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter• Brochures/booklets• Media & blog outreach• Search engines• Advertising• Events


October 16, 2008Creative Solutions & Innovations

| www.creative-si.com | 404.325.7031

WOM Communications

• While other marketing channels slow, WOM skyrockets.

• Great way to involve leadership and other volunteers in your marketing efforts.

• Twitter & FaceBook support WOM efforts.• Invitations are key to WOM. • Integrate personalized email & ‘hard copy’

invitations.


Mailings 411• Mailings - invitations, announcements, “Save the Date”

Cards – are still a vital part of your arsenal to reach your goals.– Give them something tangible to hold onto– Ask for a reply by mail, adds commitment on their part– Preview the event, program, cause, to build excitement

and interest• Add print and mail to your budget, it more than pays for

itself, especially at Nonprofit rates!Erna Schneiderman

Morningside Marketing Group, Inc.404-840-6663

www.morningsidemktg.com


Experiential Marketing

“Research shows that face-to-face events have a greater return on investment than most other forms of advertising or public relations.”

Mike Clearly, Abcom


Experiential Marketing & Sponsors

North American businesses spend billions sponsoring events. These included charity galas, athletic contests, concert series, and the like -- according to IEG Sponsorship Report.


Implementation & Leadership

A strategic marketing plan is meaningless unless it is implemented.

Implementation includes buy-in from staff and leadership.

Evaluation is important to gauge if the implementation is on target.

Identify your leadership to support and promote the implementation of your plan.


Evaluation

• Measure outcomes What is working best/not working at allHave we met our objectivesHave we engaged our leadership, volunteers

and members


Major Principles for Guiding Your Nonprofit Through a Marketing Lense

1. Always market your mission, not your current services. The ability to adjust its services to suit client need is key to ensuring the organization’s survival and its financial support.

2. Carefully define whom your mission serves. You need to meet the needs of our corps stakeholders.

3. Measure your constituents’ needs. Research, research, research to ensure your programs & services resonate with your target audiences.

4. Design programs that meet needs.5. Evaluate the success of programs & their relationship to your

mission.6. Communicate regularly & consistently.


Major Principles for Guiding Your Nonprofit Through a Marketing Lense, page 2

7. Craft your messages to reflect how our mission affects your different audiences.

8. Communicate in terns of your ROI even when it is not in monetary terms; quantify your economic impact.

9. Celebrate your successes. Show how your ‘market diversification’ creates the funding to provide your services.

10. Know your organizational elevator speech so you can articulate your vision & Competitive Advantage Statement.

11. Keep a “face” on your marketing initiatives12. Evaluate often & be prepared to refocus your efforts.


The Marketing Plan

GCN Marketing Plan OutlineChristopher Lemley, GSU, J Mack Robinson College of Business

Marketing Department

A Marketing Plan is a written strategy for generating revenue for an organization. It is a reflection of how a company views itself; its position in the market place; and how it intends to gain and retain customers and a resulting revenue stream. A successfully implemented Marketing Plan is backed by carefully collected market-, customer- and Competitor information; general marketing conditions; and it is built upon how a company thinks of its own strength and weaknesses.


Why Prepare a Marketing Plan?

The Plan enables you to recognize and take action on any trends and consumer preferences that other companies may have overlooked, and to develop and expand your own select group of customers now and into the future.

The Plan also shows to others that you have carefully considered how to produce a product or service that is market-facing, unique and acceptable to current and future customers- improving your chances of stable-to increasing sales and margins.


Contents of a Marketing Plan

• Title Page Include the name of your organization, period of time that the

contents of the plan covers, and completion date. Use a clean and professional format with examples of your

organization’s logo and, if different, logos of your programs and services.

• Table of Contents List all the contents of the marketing plan in the order they

appear, citing relevant page numbers. List tables, graphs and diagrams on a separate page. List the

appendices that will be included at the end of the document.


• Executive Summary Two-Three page section forms an overview of the document. Highlight

areas of the plan that are particularly crucial to the reader, and provide an indication of how this plan will help your organization attain overall success in the future.

• Historical Background Give the reader an historical overview of the formation of your nonprofit,

how and/or by whom the organization was founded, and the scope of your organization’s activities and opportunities for expansion. *Indicate how the future success of the organization can be attributed to the strategies found in the Marketing Plan.

• Situation Analysis Market Analysis Environmental Analysis


• Profile of your ‘clients’ and past ‘clients’o Provide information from your thorough examination

of customers present and past, focusing on their characteristics:

Demographically Psychographically Behaviorally And from a usage of your services point of view


Marketing Goals and ObjectivesStart with the positioning statement of the nonprofit. Identification of Target Markets Product/Service Objectives Revenue/Sales Objectives Margin Objectives Pricing Objectives Logistics (Channel) Objectives Marketing Communications and Promotion Objectives


• Strategic Marketing Focus Product or Service Location Promotion Price• Financial Information Show predicted level of sales – with and without

strategies outlined in the marketing plan. Forecast the “break even point” for each for 5 years• Tables, Graphs, Diagrams and Picture Attachments


Nonprofit Marketing Fundamentals

Deborah [email protected] www.creative-si.com/blog

(888) 924-4648

June 2012Creative Solutions & Innovations |

www.creative-si.com | 404.325.7031

Loud & Clear

Successfully Marketing Your Nonprofit

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.creative-si.com/blog