Marketing Research for Nonprofits. Brad Majors Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands SC

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1 Marketing Research for Nonprofits Brad Majors Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands SC

2 You can only improve something if you can measure it. William Thomson, Lord Kelvin

3 Marketing Research The systematic and objective process of generating information to aid in making marketing decisions (Exploring Marketing Research by William Zikmund) Specifying what information is required Designing the method for collecting information Managing and implementing the collection of data Analyzing the results Communicating findings and implications

4 What to research? Attitudes/Behaviors of current/prospective donors Knowledge of nonprofit held by business sector Awareness/understanding of mission Attitudes of employees Demographic trends of current/past donors/clients Awareness of specific news story Satisfaction with current services Services needed by community (Community Needs Assessment)

5 Knowledge, Attitudes and Behavior All marketing research can be divided into Knowledge Research, Attitudinal Research and Behavioral Research. When we ask someone what facts they know about something, we are measuring knowledge. When we ask people how they feel about something, we are measuring attitudes. When we measure an activity, like who actually uses our services, that is Behavioral Research.

6 Measuring Knowledge Determining what people know about your nonprofit is knowledge research. In many ways, when we measure awareness, we are measuring knowledge: Does the community fully understand your mission? What programs at your nonprofit are people familiar with? Do they know about stories that appeared in the press? Do they know how to contact your nonprofit? Do they know how your nonprofit contributes to the community? Mission awareness/understanding? What FACTS about your nonprofit do they know? Do they recall any of your NPO s advertising? What is the NPO s campaign theme?

7 Measuring Attitudes Here, we are measuring feelings and your questions should reflect this. How do you feel about the NPO s new name? What do you feel are the NPO s major strengths? Do you feel the NPO s intake system is customer- friendly? How can our nonprofit better address the needs of key organizations in the community? How do you feel the NPO is meeting the needs of individuals in the community?

8 What Behaviors can we measure? Those served (by demographic segment) Gender, age, ethnicity, location, program Attendance at organizational events Articles in the newspaper about the NPO Visitors to the NPO website Social Media Engagement Interactions with NPO donations made, volunteer hours served, etc.

9 Secondary vs. Primary Research If you are performing the initial research study, you are involved in Primary Research. If you are learning more about a subject from someone else s research, you are conducting Secondary Research. Both are excellent sources of learning and market wisdom.

10 Categories of Marketing Research Secondary Data Analysis Experience Surveys Observation Case Studies Pilot Studies Experiments Focus Groups One- on- ones Surveys Projective Techniques

11 Secondary Data Analysis This technique should always be the first step in any marketing research. Look at all the information already gathered by someone else. It could prove very useful and might alleviate the need to fund more expensive primary research. Sources Internet search engines like Google US Census Bureau (population, housing, etc.) Federal/State/Local governments (Dept. of Employment & Workforce, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dept. of Veteran Affairs) Business/Professional Organizations (SCANPO, Association of Fundraising Professionals, etc.)

12 Qualitative Research Observation Pilot Studies Experience Surveys Case Studies

13 Observation This is Behavioral Research at its best. What are people DOING? Get a clipboard and watch what clients, prospective donors, etc. are doing Secret Shoppers: how are clients treated at your intake center? What patterns do store shoppers follow in our Goodwill Industries stores? How do website visitors use your website? (Usability studies, Google Analytics) What are they responding to on various social media platforms? When do people volunteer?

14 Pilot Studies Qualitative techniques Focus groups One- on- ones Projective techniques

15 Focus Groups Used heavily in the advertising agency business Best used when Trying to collect a range of opinions for future quantitative research What types of training programs should GI offer in the future? Generating new ideas by having participants build on each others contributions

16 One- on- Ones An intimate discussion between the questioner and the respondent Benefits over focus groups Overcomes the group think that can happen in any focus group if the moderator does not monitor closely Allows for a very in- depth discussion of important issues

17 Projective Techniques Oscar Wilde: A man is least himself when he talks in his own person; when he is given a mask he will tell the truth. Projective technique: an indirect means of questioning that enables a respondent to project beliefs and feelings onto a third party, an inanimate object, or a task situation. This type of qualitative technique has been closely associated with Account Planning in many advertising agencies.

18 Projective Techniques Word association tests Sentence completion method Third- person/role playing Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Series of action pictures - - what happens next? Cartoon tests Dialog bubbles completed by respondent

19 Experience Surveys Exploratory technique in which a person with considerably more experience in a specific area is interviewed about their expertise or previous market experience. A good interviewer can make this search for best practices very productive. This technique is used often at GIUMSC. If we know another Goodwill is particularly strong in a certain area, we will go visit them and learn from their Best Practices. What fundraising programs are working best for other Goodwills?

20 Case Studies Case Studies are another qualitative technique similar to Experience Surveys but the emphasis with Case Studies is the situation and not the person being questioned. What was the situation before something happened? What happened and what was the effect? How did the NPO respond? What was the outcome of that response? What are the lessons learned from the situation?

21 Quantitative Research Surveys Experiments/Test Markets

22 Experiments Quantitative research Most popular type of Experiment is a test market. These are in- market trials to determine if a certain product or service has market validity. Most accurate as predictive research Very expensive

23 Surveys Several types, but most popular are: Syndicated ongoing surveys - - e.g. AFP s annual salary survey, IU s Center on Philanthropy s annual giving survey One- time study - - a snapshot in time Polling - - one question to check attitudes Longitudinal (panel) study - - ask same questions year after year but are looking for changes in attitudes or behavior over time

24 Surveys Big news continues to be Survey Monkey Low cost: $200/year, unlimited number of responses Simple process Design your survey Collect responses Analyze your results

25 Survey Monkey SM can be used to determine attitudes regarding Name of your nonprofit To what extent people embrace your mission What others think of the impact you have in the community Opinions of your signage and other marketing communications How well people were treated when they visited your NPO

26 Final Thoughts Be sure you have identified the information needed thoroughly. Go into the research wanting the truth from respondents. Use the appropriate research technique. Develop your questions so that you remove all bias. Ask the big questions and respect the time of the respondent. Manage the in- field experience so that your effort is not compromised. Demonstrate value of research by showing next steps during presentation of findings.

27 Next Steps Think about two burning questions you have right now. Can one of them be addressed with qualitative research? Can you use Survey Monkey to address the other issue in a quantitative study? Consider doing one quantitative study every quarter. This ensures you stay on target in helping your organization make data- driven decisions.

28 Contact me if I can help Brad Majors Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands SC bmajors@goodwillsc.org 115 Haywood Road, Greenville SC 29607