Dan Galante

https://www.slideshare.net/markfulop/nnswwa-slides

In Non-Profit Organizations, funds to help people and causes are largely generated from donations and grants. Donations and grants are what pays employees and other operational expenses. While many Non-Profit organizations get donors to donate money, they struggle to get repeat donations from these donors. According to Seth Godin, the average donor retention rate is 29.3%. This leaves a lot of missing Revenue.

Much like their for Profit Counterparts, Non-Profits need to find ways to keep and retain customers. It is cheaper to retain current customers than to acquire new ones. Yes, Customer Acquisition is important but it is not effective to forget about current customers as they can help with customer acquisition using work of mouth.

Non-Profits can Generate Revenue beyond Donations and Grants in the following ways:

1. Charging for Conferences and events
2. Creating a Subscription Based Blog or Newsletter either charging for this or offering a freeminum model with paid features
3. Offering Free Trials of Products and Services then charging for them
4. Charge for Memberships to the Non-Profit or Professional Association offering discounted pricing to stakeholders at various institutions
5. Partner with Colleges and Universities to Offer Free Memberships to Students with elevated pricing as they go into the profession
6. Partner with the Private Sector, offer Sponsorships. 

Marketing, Sales, and Branding for Non Profits and Professional Associations

If I was going to launch a bunch of new product features and I was tasked with developing a social media marketing campaign to market these features to existing customers and generate new leads.

What questions might I have when starting to plan the campaign?

I would ask:

Which channels do customers use when making purchasing decisions?

I would work with the Product Team during beta testing to interview customers to gather feedback on the new features; taking the information to develop blogs and other related messaging. I would also ask customers to provide testimonials about the new features and include them in social media campaigns.

Also, I would survey customers about their learning style and which content format they prefer i.e. videos, blogs, etc. Based on the data from the survey, I would decide which channels I would use along with the type of content to develop.

With what I learned, what might my campaign look like?

The campaign would revolve around a series of Social posts based on customer feedback Including Customer Testimonials obtained from the beta testing and videos of customers using the product. I would build anticipation online using videos to announce the new features. I would have a contest online where users would need to submit an email address.

Which social platforms would I use?

I would use a blog, Email, LinkedIn, Slideshare Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube platforms to educate customers about new offerings.

Are there any emerging social strategies I would want to try?

I would like to attend industry events where I could interview experts in the space. I would want to create a group to reward loyal customers and develop an evangelist program where customers would tell their friends.

How have you marketed new product features to current and prospective customers?

Feel free to comment and share.

When marketing and selling a product or service, it is important to ask two questions to understand your buyers.

1.What motivates people to buy a product or service?

2.How do people find a product or service to buy?

I surveyed my LinkedIn audience for answers.

1. What motivates people to buy a product or service?

People buy a product or service to: solve a problem, meet a need, or fulfill a want or desire. 49% buy products and services to solve a problem, meet a need, or fulfill a desire. 27% wanted to solve a problem, 16 % want to meet a need, and 8% wanted to fulfill a want or desire.

2. How do people find a product or service to buy?

People find and buy products or services through word of mouth, social media, online search, and,/or product reviews. Of those surveyed, none said they found or bought products from seller calls or emails. No one found or bought products attending trade shows or events; this can be because of the pandemic.

63 % found or bought products from social channels or word of mouth, and 37% found or bought products or services from online searches or product reviews.

These findings suggest businesses need to create products and services that are customer-centric. Businesses need a great reputation to survive in a competitive marketplace.

Answering these questions will help businesses develop, create and, position products and services customers want to buy.

Your approach will vary depending on your industry.

What motivates customers to buy your products and services?

How do your customers find products and services?

Join the conversation.