Things I have learned from our nonprofit customers that you can use!

We just hosted our first Customer Success Tour. The idea, which seems like a no brainer now, had never been done before. We wanted to bring our customers together. Share where we are going and see where they are and want us to be. Simple!

The event was an amazing success. Here are a few of the top lessons I learned from our customers that you can use for your donors:

1. Communicate- Your donors want to know more. Email is not enough. We need to share what we are doing multiple times, and we need to share it in multiple channels.

2. Share- Your donors want to know how the organization is impacting others and what others are doing in the organization. One of the primary benefits of the success tour was being able to share the success The Jazz Foundation is having with Sage Fundraising Online. It was a win/win for everyone in the room. We were able to share the success of great product, and our customers were able to learn a great deal about online fundraising. You can do that in your organizations too. (Thanks Petr!)

3. Give them what they want- I have said this a million times and heard it a billion, but it bears repeating. If you are sharing information about dog rescue with a cat person the message will not be heard. Target your audience based on what they want to hear and what they care about.

4. Timing- New York in December is beautiful, but it is also hard to navigate and a very busy. Sadly we inconvenienced our customers by bringing them into the city during the Holidays. A great lesson for us and you. Is the timing of your events suited for your schedule or the schedule of your donors? Make sure they both jive.

5. Answer the questions- A great learning for me was that we need to have a more succinct resource for supporting our customers, so we put together a customer resources page to help answer their questions. Time and again, I stumble upon nonprofit pages that don’t answer the basic questions of donors.
- Who are you?
- Why should I give you my money?
- Are you accountable for the money you have gotten before?
These are must have’s for all nonprofit websites, and it was a great reminder for me.


Take-away: All in all, I learned more from those four short hours than I have in my five years with Sage. When was the last time you got your donors together and asked them how you were doing? Maybe it’s time!!!

5 Steps to Help Your Nonprofit Survive the Stock Market Rollercoaster

I recently read an article on small business and the impact this month of scary political maneuvering is causing. In fact, it has been a scary month for every nonprofit organization. Watching the stock market is enough to make anyone sick, and nonprofits everywhere nervous. Many financial experts believe that the market is always a leading indicator of where the economy is headed. Some are even predicting a "double dip" recession. How will the tumbling of the stock market affect your organization?

The survey of small business owners last week revealed the following:
- Forty-eight percent think sales from their customers will “decrease as a result of a fear of a new recession."
- Forty-three percent replied that “it would have no effect at all.”

So, whether the U.S. is headed into another recession is unknown. But, the author recommends small business owners stop worrying and take more control by following five steps. I have taken the liberty of adapting those five very well thought out steps to the nonprofit world, because I 100% agree with all five of them.

1. Forget Chicken Little
Ignore the daily stock market ups and downs. To listen to the pundits, the world is coming to an end. It is not helpful to get caught up in the emotional hysteria of these massive swings. Don’t try to "time the market" on your own personal investment strategy either. You may get lucky, but for most of us, this is a loser. Turn off the daily negative media if that helps. Just say NO!

2. Find your share of donations
The U.S. donation volume was $303 billion in 2010, and $15 billion online. Do you think you could find another million dollars worth of donations to help grow your organization in such a large pool of donors? Darn right! Stick to the fundamentals and start exploring what you can do instead of what you are scared to do.

3. Watch your cash flow
Cash tends to slow down in a tough economy. Make sure that donors are still engaging with your organization and keep the lines of communication open. Organizations that have positive cash flow and are willing to invest in the future can always find opportunities to prosper.

4. Get boring fast
The knee-jerk reaction is to broaden your organization’s solutions to gain more donors. This is the absolutely wrong strategy. Focus on the areas where new strategies are working for other nonprofits (i.e. online fundraising, year end giving) and where old strategies are proven.

5. Keep selling every day
Again, the first reaction is to cut costs and curtail “overhead expenses” like marketing and sales. Results show that organizations that market through difficult times are more profitable when donors get more money to spend. Remember growing an organization is about building long-term trustful, engaging relationships. None of this can get accomplished successfully if your organization stops marketing itself daily.

Take-away: Is the sky falling? What tactics will you be taking through the remainder of 2011? Share with us here and with other nonprofits!

Say My Name, Say My Name

One of the local restaurants that I happen to frequent has a waitress that always says my name and knows my order. I love, love, love her and often tip her well above my normal tip. That got me thinking...just how valuable is saying someone's name?

Well, if you google research on saying a persons name you get 80,000,000 results. Hundreds maybe thousands of books have been written on the power of saying a person's name, and yet it is rarely used in a customer experience manner.

Take-away: Today, when you thank a customer, thank them by name!

Customer Experience: Following Up

After my post earlier this week, I received the following email.

Ms. Brandt,

I want to sincerely thank you for praising our direct mail piece at the Grant Professionals Association Conference and in your video online
(http://customerexperience101.blogspot.com/2010/12/great-example-of-outstanding-nonprofit.html).

Our Creative Department puts a lot of care and thought into these pieces, and it’s
great to know they are appreciated.

Thank you so much for your support!

Happy Holidays!

-Megan Winslow
Web Content
Specialist

Food For The Poor
http://www.foodforthepoor.com/

WOW! This organization is really doing it right. They do amazing work, promote it appropriately, have great marketing, and they follow-up. Obviously, this is pretty impressive, and the great thing about it is that you too can replicate this wonderful experience.

Take-away: Get on Google Alerts or some other tracking technology so that you know when people are talking about your organization. Then you can take advantage of becoming a part of that conversation, thus enhancing your experience.

Customer Experience Leaders

Today I stumbled upon a great blog http://experiencematters.wordpress.com/. Almost every entry has something of value. I especially enjoyed reading the http://experiencematters.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/quick-6-with-jerry-adriano-sprint/ article. In that article Jerry Adriano, Sprints VP of Customer Experience discusses what it takes to lead with customer experience. He states:

Start with the understanding that it’s a journey, so develop a multi-year plan that allows you to prioritize and register some early wins, gain executive support, evangelize at all levels, identify a way to engage all employees in the customer experience improvement and don’t be shy about being the voice of the customer.

Speaking from experience, I can tell you that representing the "right thing" to do for customers/donors is not always as easy as it should be. Most organizations embrace the idea of experience right up until it means more money. I am delighted to work for and with many organization that truly embrace customers, but I also appreciate the work it takes to get there.

Take-Away: As you start or even continue your journey down the customer experience road, remember that it is a journey and each decision you make today will impact tomorrow.

Don't Block Santa

I was recently at a spectacular event, the Annual Macy’s window unveiling in New York city. I have seen/heard about this for year's and always wanted to visit.

Enter opportunity! I happened to be in New York for a conference, the very same week. I was elated. Macy’s did a fantastic job they integrated Broadway, a touching story, and even a children’s choir.

Can anyone say nauseating? I loved it!

As the event started all of the executives from the Macy’s store came out to see the show, and instead of standing in the back or on the side, they stood right in front of all the little kids that had been standing outside the store for over an hour to see Santa.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I bet they did not realize how that experience impacted all of the people around them.

Take-Away: Executive teams should not "Block Santa”—If you are planning an event for your customers, keep them front and center!

The Art of Surprise

Today I returned to a hotel I visited for a conference over four years ago. At check-in I was greeted warmly and presented a letter thanking me for returning and offering me a free koozie. They were “delighted” I had returned.

What a pleasant surprise! I have shared this pleasant letter with everyone I can because it is so simple and easy to implement, and it made me feel very welcome.

If you are reading this blog it’s likely because you too are looking for ways to create loyalty. If that is the case, I would highly recommend you take a tip from the Tradewinds Resort in St Petersburg, FL. Remembering when people come back to you is a great way to ensure that they will come back again.

Take-Away: A pleasant surprise perfectly placed, can lead to a lifetime of loyalty and positive goodwill.

Share Your Experiences for the Greater Good

I am feel like one of the lucky people in the world. I have an amazing and loving family, and more friends than I can keep up with. I have learned how short and precious life is through each of them.

Lately several of them have taken to writing for the causes that impact their lives, and I wanted to take a moment to share the stories of two great people in my life because I think there is something we can all learn from both of them.

The first is my dear friend Kristi Simmons. At the age of 29 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Not only that, her mother and her Aunt were also diagnosed. In 2007, her mother lost her fight with this devastating disease. If that is not enough, my friend Kristi, not only under went and beat this disease, she remains one of the most optimist, positive people that I know. Read more about her story here: http://www.komenaustin.org/assets/race-documents/why-i-race/kristi-svec-simmons.pdf

The second is my sister, Michelle Hensel. In April of this year she gave birth to my niece and nephew at 23/24 weeks. For those of you that haven't already done the math, they were only carried for about 6 months--not long enough. Her struggles to get through this emotional time, and fight to bring those babies home was tremendous. In August of this year, both babies came home. The road ahead is still long for all of them, but they are still with us to travel it. Read her inspiring stories here: http://camdyncade.blogspot.com/

Now, other than great reading I think there is something to be learned by these inspirational words. Experiences are what connects us...they are the things that bring us together...that move us to act...that inspire us.

Takeaway: Think about how you can use the stories that impact your life to do great things. Kristi uses hers to raise money for Susan G. Komen, Michelle uses hers to help other families of premature babies, & starting today, you will use yours to____________________.

Puppies, Babies & _ _ X!

Re-posted from http://community.sagenonprofit.com/

I was once told that the best sales tools are puppies, babies, and _ _ X! Well, the last is inappropriate for this venue, so we won't be discussing it. I have often questioned puppies and babies but, I am going to give one a shot here.

The photo left is one of my niece and nephew, they are 4 months old. For those of you with no baby reality, they are super small for their age. That’s because they were born at 24 weeks. Yes, for those of you putting it all together, they are a modern day MIRACLE!

I decided to blog about them for two reasons:
1. They are adorable.
2. To make a point to all of you about the importance of telling your story.

Day in and day out, I see nonprofits trying to make the most of what they do and missing one of the most important parts. Connecting!

People can’t connect with you unless they know something about you. It’s critical to share who you are, who your organization is, and what you are trying to do. Organizations that do that will be those that are the most successful.

Take-Away: Customer experiences are influences by the connections you make with people.