Sell solutions, not problems

For those of you who believe that marketing your nonprofit mission is all about explaining a problem…

Wise up!

Donors at all levels want solutions that solve the problem, not perpetuate it. For new or smaller nonprofits, establishing that you have the resources to do that is one of your biggest hurdles.

That's not to say that you shouldn't include the high points of the problem as a explanation for your solution. After all, there has to be a reason to ask for other people's money, whether you are selling a car or a cause.

That's what the statement of need is for, but if your whole pitch is about telling people what they probably already know, you're going to lose their interest quickly.

Unless your mission is very unique or seldom addressed, donor education on the problem is sometimes regarded as just so much more PR hype. More importantly, it wastes valuable space in your proposal.

For local nonprofits, much or your funding is going to come initially from your local area; usually at  the city, county or sometimes state level. 

A case in point

To  combat a stray dog problem,  county commissioners passed an ordinance requiring all dogs be spayed or neutered to receive a license, or that the owners get a $350 annual kennel license for unaltered animals.

As often happens when governments get involved, the policy had unintended consequences. The population of unlicensed and freely breeding dogs skyrocketed.

A local but small  mid-South animal rescue had been trying to build a no-kill shelter for almost five years, with little success. They had four acres of donated land, but little else. The cheapest plans they could put together were still coming in at $2.7 million dollars for construction and all the corresponding preparation costs, including an environmental impact study.

The problem wasn't so much irresponsible pet owners as it was the cost of the surgery. Even at the so-called county discounted average price of $175.00 per animal, most owners in the economically distressed county just couldn't afford it.

The rescue wanted to switch tactics. They contacted every vet in the area and asked them if they could offer  spay and neuter services for $75.00 per head in return for guaranteed payment. 87% of them agreed.

The new mission of the rescue was to collect funds to offer prepaid vouchers to the owners to give to the veterinarians. The owner would contact the rescue, receive a voucher number, take that to the vet within 30 days of issuance, the vet would turn in monthly confirmation of the surgeries  to the rescue, and they would then pay the vets. They will call the campaign "More pets, less puppies"

At present, there are still some logistics to be worked out, such as what to do with animals that have no owners, but initial response to the concept has been outstanding. Pledges have tripled in just a few months.

Why this works

County residents already knew about the problem. They wanted it fixed, but not at the expense of maintaining another shelter forever and ever.

This idea offers a real solution to animal overpopulation. It short, people can see the time when the need for the program will dwindle down to a minimum level.

Results are germane to the county residents. No one wants to have their dog impounded and destroyed, but economics is still the driver of family budget decisions. People who are tired of packs of free roaming dogs can see an end in sight.

Veterinarians, some of whom  had been doing some surgeries for free as a public service, will realize more income, most of which goes back into the community in the form of wages and local purchases.

 

Even the county benefits, since their animal control personnel can spend more time on abuse cases instead of rounding up whole packs and litters of dogs. What little extra revenue was coming from dog licenses will be more than covered by a reduction in county personnel costs for overtime.

Focusing on impact

Rethink your approach to your mission. See if your programs can be redesigned to offer real solutions to the root cause of the problem. Give donors a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel, instead of just a longer tunnel.

Should you be on YouTube?

I get a lot of questions about just using YouTube for marketing, from both for-profits and nonprofits.  The general consensus seems to be "everybody's doing it."

Yeah, they are…and they shouldn't all be on there.

Some things lend themselves very well to visual media.  Some things don't.

In general, my own personal take is that if you are trying to impart  static information, like an annual report or even something like an instruction manual, you might be better off not putting it on video.

If what you are saying needs visuals, then sure, go ahead and use it

But by all means, if you aren't going to do the video well, don't do it at all.

Case in point.  I wanted to find out more about a business, but the only place they were out there was on YouTube. The video was basically just "Boy are we wonderful". I, on the other hand wanted to know if they worked on  transmissions. Nowhere in the whole darn video did it tell me what services they provided.

They weren't in any phone book on or offline, and the Google Map was out of date.

The phone number given was disconnected. They didn't have a website. Probably out of business, right?

Well, I was sitting there looking at the place, so probably not. Since it was Sunday they were closed, but definitely still there.

And of course, there was the website that had a help button, but it went directly to YouTube, where there was no help at all. Oh, there was a long six-minute convoluted video with background music that drowned out the speaker, but help…not so much.  The information I needed I got from an unrelated site, in a PDF that I could have printed off and kept, and it took me about 15 seconds to read what I needed to know.

The point of marketing is communication. Not everyone reacts to the same formula.  Some people want to read it in print, some want to see it in pictures, and yes, some will take the time to find the video, maybe download a player, and then sit through a commercial and put up with slow buffering. Think about your audience!

BTW-the shop I was trying to research?  I don't know if they do transmissions or not. I went someplace else.

Think you don't need content? Think again.

For some reason, try to market "content" to most small businesses and nonprofits, and the first words out their mouths are often " We don't use or need content".

OK, fair enough.  If you don't sell anything or have a mission to support, then you are probably right…you don't need content.

On the other hand, if you have a website, a blog, a newsletter, run appeal campaigns, apply for grants or financing, sell goods or services or use brochures, then you are already using content

.

Content isn't something sleazy or esoteric.  Content is simply words that inform, sell or connect you to your supporters or customers. It can be as simple as a three-line product description or as complicated as an annual report, case study or statement of need. 

While hard-sell marketing tends to be the area that most people think of when they think about content, that isn't the only focus.

 

Good content can be educational, informative or simply a product update. In the business world that may translate into more sales, but it can also just be a way to keep them connected and aware of you. 

Content is an integral part of donor management and retention for nonprofits as well. Content is the way you stay relevant and top-of-mind with the people that matter to your mission. Instead of just announcing an event and essentially saying "bring money", spend a little time explaining how it will benefit the attendees. Will they hear an awesome speaker, learn something new, enjoy great food or listen to great music?

Good content not only engages the people who already know you, it should encourage new people to interact with you.

   

Notice I said "good content". Rambling on about things that aren't connected to your business focus is not a productive use of your communication dollars. That's fine for your personal life, but it isn't going to produce results for your business or nonprofit.

Whether you are a nonprofit or a for-profit, you need people to succeed. There might be trillions of dollars squirreled away in bank accounts, but you don't get at it without connecting with the people that own it. Well, at least not legally!

Content today has to be more than just SEO or mass mailings.  It has to be relevant to the audience as well as to you. It should be time-conscious. The reason stores have back to school sales in July is to encourage people to think ahead and be prepared when school does start.  Oh yes, and also to fill the revenue gap that typically occurs between the 4^th of July and Labor Day.

Planning a good communications strategy is not something you should be doing three days before you need it published. Like almost any other business task, it requires planning and strategy. 

If you are about as excited about sitting down and producing content as you would be to have splinters driven under your fingernails, you won't produce effective content. Outsourcing the job or assigning one person whose job  is to actually craft good content may the best use of your communication dollars.

There should be a goal, a master plan if you will, for your content. At Cloudlancer Writing Services, I work with both businesses and nonprofits to learn their needs and work with clients to produce content that supports their goals throughout the year.  While I certainly have clients who have rush jobs, one of the first things I like to see is a calendar or timeline for their goals, whether that is writing proposals, updating a web page, or keeping their blog fresh and relevant.  If you don't have goals for your communication needs now, that would be a great place to start.