Engagement Strategies: Marketing Insights from Alumni, Annual Giving Directors & Top Businesses

Transcription

1 Engagement Strategies: Marketing Insights from Alumni, Annual Giving Directors & Top Businesses September 23, About the Presentation This presentation highlights six winning principles employed in the private sector that are being adopted by forwardfocused annual giving directors Our sources include: The Mood of Alumni survey conducted by Engagement Strategies Group in Spring 2010 Interviews we conducted with annual giving directors at 36 of the Top 100 schools Our experience conducting strategic research among alumni at top universities Best practices of Fortune 500 companies 2

2 Six Paths to Engagement The future is already here. It is just unevenly distributed. -William Gibson 3 #1 Know Who s in the Driver s Seat The Importance of Right For Me Marketing 4

3 1. Know Who s in the Driver s Seat The Importance of Right for Me Marketing Shifting role of the university as voice of authority, purveyor of information and controller of the alumni relationship Google, online communities, etc., put information in hands of stakeholders The new paradigm is that all data is attainable, by me The value is in the information itself, not who delivers it Information transforms people from passive consumers to engaged stakeholders I m seeing greater demand for things that constituents want input on. In most respects that s a good thing, but I m a little taken aback by the number of people who feel they have a stake in what we do. (Annual Giving Director) Today it s alumni who are in the driver s seat. They decide how, when, where and why to interact Know Who s in the Driver s Seat The Importance of Right for Me Marketing Desire for control plays out in concepts like micro-giving We re struggling with the micro-giving concept We re seeing that as something people want to do for example, they want to see the student who is getting their financial aid or personally pick which student research project they re going to fund It sounds really cool but the reality is micromatching is a bear. (Annual Giving Director) Links to broader trends towards accountability and desire for personal connection Shift from controlling to facilitating and leveraging your alumni s engagement. 6

4 1. Know Who s in the Driver s Seat The Importance of Right for Me Marketing The time of one size fits all has passed It s about segmentation based on like attitudes and behaviors Ultimately it s all about personalization Every facet of communications must be relevant (to me!) and personalized Personalization is becoming expected. Those who don t do it seem dated and out of step Know Who s in the Driver s Seat The Importance of Right for Me Marketing Best Practice has become Standard Practice Think Backroads Adventure Travel: You loved our trip to Turkey last year, how about sailing the fjords of Norway this year? Why not? Based on your interest in the classics, you might want to find out more about Professor Smith s webinar on The Odyssey in Today s Society Personalization is a critical path to building brand loyalty. It makes people feel important and understood. 8

5 1. Know Who s in the Driver s Seat The Importance of Right for Me Marketing Ease and convenience are essential Something as simple as providing the name of a contact person could make it easier for alumni to get things done 9 1. Know Who s in the Driver s Seat The Importance of Right for Me Marketing Best Practices Think Southwest Airlines, with their easily refundable fares & free baggage Nordstrom, with their pristine customer service policy USAA, with their triggers for a change in a customer s life situation Amazon, with ability to re-order based on past orders Ask alumni what s easy for them they will tell you. 10

6 #2 Get to Know All of Me, Not Just Parts of Me The Imperative of Integrated Marketing Get to Know All of Me, Not Just Parts of Me The Imperative of Integrated Marketing Transactional silos focus on only one part of the person not the whole person When no one within an institution is responsible for the sum of the transactions, productivity is hindered 90 of annual giving directors report that internal silos are a major internal barrier to doing their job effectively Furthermore, silos can create bad will rather than goodwill 12

7 2. Get to Know All of Me, Not Just Parts of Me The Imperative of Integrated Marketing Evidence that walls are coming down at some schools What I m seeing is there s a lot more connectivity between alumni relations and annual giving in a lot of schools when I started, there were a lot of people I met that said their annual giving team and their alumni relations team didn t talk. (Annual Giving Director) We re coining the phrase constituent engagement rather than just annual giving. (Annual Giving Director) It s a relationship, not a series of transactions Get to Know All of Me, Not Just Parts of Me The Imperative of Integrated Marketing Best Practices: First, start with your overall strategy for the entire relationship with alumni Then devise the tactics that support that strategy For example, Build relational databases with one 360 view of alumni Create segment owners End-to-end marketing (E2E) Experiment Learn Tweak Expand Start small. Take 100 alumni and create a segment. Prove the concept and then expand. 14

8 2. Get to Know All of Me, Not Just Parts of Me The Imperative of Integrated Marketing Keep in mind that execution strategy One of the things that none of us understand well enough is how do we wrap some of these new technologies into our strategies? (Annual Giving Director) A need to sometimes silence the internal choir We get s saying, We should be looking at this. I think the biggest concern would be the rabbit holes that we take all this time and effort to check out one of these (social media tactics) and then it s passé in 6 months. (Annual Giving Director) Tactics like social media are how you get things, but can t be mistaken for a solid strategy. 15 #3 Don t Just Watch What I Do Listen to What I Say The Importance of Understanding The Why Behind Behavior 16

9 3. Don t Just Watch What I Do Listen to What I Say The Importance of Understanding The Why Behind Behavior Focus of understanding alumni is often too heavy on behaviors and too light on attitudes/feelings Burning questions like What would make alumni give and why don t they give can t be answered by giving or nongiving data When research questions are stove-piped, so too are the research results Make sure that you re studying the why as well as the what. Confirm the validity of messages before investing in them. 17 Before We Share More Data, Here Is Some Context on the Alumni Research ~ 700 online interviews* conducted among alumni of undergraduate higher education institutions Included a representative sample of 500 alumni from the top 100 National Universities ** Interviews conducted from February 23-March 15, 2010 Inquiry focused on questions such as: Current giving behavior to all nonprofits Current relationship to alma mater/desire to strengthen Barriers to giving to alma mater *Respondents screened from major national commercial online panel. **According to the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings. 18

10 3. Don t Just Watch What I Do Listen to What I Say The Importance of Understanding The Why Behind Behavior Alumni are more likely than annual giving directors to say a barrier to giving is: The perception that they have paid enough already A lack of deep emotional connection Alumni are less likely to say a barrier to giving is: A small gift won t make a difference Ranking of Barriers Total Top 100 Alumni Annual Giving Directors I feel that I ve paid enough already for tuition 1 6 I don t think the school really needs the money 2 1 I haven t been given a good enough reason to give 3 5 They haven t done enough to connect with me beyond asking for money 5 3 I feel like donations go into a black hole 6 4 I feel like a small gift won t make a difference 8 2 I want my donations to go for a specific purpose and don t have that option 7 8 I don t feel a deep emotional connection to the school 4 11 I m confused about the difference between the various fundraising programs 9 7 They haven t been aggressive enough in asking for money I m unhappy with the direction in which the school is headed 10 8 There has been bad publicity about the school Don t Just Watch What I Do Listen to What I Say The Importance of Understanding The Why Behind Behavior Differences by age reveals big gaps in barriers to giving <35 years Indicates Factor is Major or Minor Barrier (188) (113) (94) (81) I feel that I ve paid enough already for tuition I don t think the school really needs the money I haven t been given a good enough reason to give I feel like donations go into a black hole I feel like a small gift won t make a difference I want my donations to go for a specific purpose and don t have that option I don t feel a deep emotional connection to the school I m confused about the difference between the various fundraising programs Target messages based on the motivations that underlie behaviors. And not just the gateways but the barriers as well. 20

11 #4 Out of Sight, Out of Mind? The Importance of a Life Stage Strategy Out of Sight, Out of Mind? The Importance of a Life Stage Strategy Opportunities evident to strengthen connection at all ages It s the middle years (35-64) where alumni appear to get lost in the wilderness < Strongly connected Want to better connect Ambivalent Unconnected Keep alumni engaged through a life stage strategy that recognizes changing needs, values and priorities. 22

12 4. Out of Sight, Out of Mind? The Importance of a Life Stage Strategy While alumni think highly of their alma mater, they do not believe the institution values the relationship and keeps them closely connected Say Attribute Describes Completely/Very Well < Is a world class education institution Has an excellent faculty Has a supportive environment that helps students thrive Does a good job of balancing tradition with the need for change Displays a strong sense of values and ethics Values its relationship with alumni by keeping them closely connected Average rating across six measures Alma mater is Latin for nurturing mother, but some alumni instead view their college or university as an abandoning mother once their on-campus experience is over. 23 #5 The Young Alumni Conundrum The Importance of Making Alma Mater Matter 24

13 5. The Young Alumni Conundrum Separate Fact from Fiction Statistics suggest that young alumni are not contributing to the annual fund at the same rate as older alumni However when young alumni talk about their total relationship with their alma mater, they report a higher level of giving (versus their capacity to give) Age of Alumni <35 yrs Gave $1+ to any non-profit who gave $1+ to Alma Mater Mean total Donations Past Year $970 $2,180 $2,430 $3,520 Mean to Alma Mater Mean Donation to Alma Mater $194 $174 $146 $422 Schools that recognize young alumni as budding philanthropists are smartly taking a long-term view The Young Alumni Conundrum Separate Fact from Fiction And it s not clear that older alumni gave at a high rate when THEY were younger Make sure you re developing strategies based on fact, not anecdote or superficial conclusions. 26

14 5. The Young Alumni Conundrum The Importance of Making Alma Mater Matter Young alumni are more likely than older alumni to feel their alma mater hasn t done enough to connect with them beyond fundraising appeals Indicates Factor is Major or Minor Barrier They haven t done enough to connect with me beyond asking for money < Consider what you are offering young alumni to reward their emotional and financial allegiance The Young Alumni Conundrum The Importance of Making Alma Mater Matter Cultivate the relationship with young alumni by focusing on the whole person Take a 360 look at communications, services and fundraising appeals targeted to young alumni Communications Young Alumni Services The tactic we re planning to try is to make them feel very connected in the first year out showing that the school has a place in their life as an alumnus, almost providing them with a concierge service. (Annual Giving Director) Fundraising Think about the quid pro quo. Is the alma mater being nurturing or needy? 28

15 #6 Know Your Strengths The Importance of Playing to Your Competitive Advantages Know Your Strengths The Importance of Playing to Your Competitive Advantages Clear competition for alumni dollars is evident from other good causes Other education institutions don t appear to pose significant threat <35 of $ Donated in 2009 to: Mean to Alma Mater Mean to Other Educational Institutions Mean to Other Good Causes It s worth understanding how to compete with other good causes even a small gain could translate into large dollars. 30

16 6. Know Your Strengths The Importance of Playing to Your Competitive Advantages Don t fall prey to an inferiority complex the perception that the contributions of higher educational institutions don t compare to the urgent work being done by other nonprofits How does higher education compete with (Haiti) and really make the case why it s important to keep giving and make it relevant in a world that s pretty saturated with a lot of pleas for help? (Annual Giving Director) Test messaging that makes a case for giving to a top university based on capacity to address social issues. 31 Quick Summary: Six Paths to Engagement The Importance of Right for Me Marketing The Imperative of Integrated Marketing Understand for the Why Behind Alumni Behaviors Market and Message by Life Stage Make Alma Mater Matter Play to Competitive Strengths 32

17 Contact Information Our Team Leader Is Cindy Cox Roman