Direct Mail Marketing

Transcription

1 Direct Mail Marketing Benefits, Strategies and Expectations Kimberly Knab President Beyond Direct Marketing

2 What are some of the benefits of direct mail?

3 What are some of the benefits of direct mail? Introduces your affiliate to new people Helps you communicate consistently with donors Keeps your organization top of mind and your need urgent Gives donors a convenient way of giving a financial gift Renews relationships with lapsed donors Builds a pool of major and planned giving prospects Offers recognition (branding) and fundraising Ability to target the right audience Offers program stability and growth Increases online and other giving Makes your donor feel important Easy to track and analyze!

4 Direct Mail 101 A STRATEGIC direct mail program consists of three parts: 1. Acquisition A cost-effective way of reaching thousands of qualified prospective donors. Pump new donors into your program. Major/Planned Donor Pump new donors into your program. 2. Donor Renewal Mail active donors regularly to stay top of mind, keep your need urgent and give them the opportunity to give. Active Donors 3. Acknowledgement and Cultivation Thank donors, inform them about how their gift is making a difference, invite them to events and personally cultivate them to minimize attrition. Prospects Prospects Donor Attrition

5 What does direct mail do? Gets into the hands of the right people. Grabs the reader s attention. Gets the reader to open the envelope. Captivates the reader. Gets them to give a gift!

6 What does a strategic direct mail appeal look like? The anatomy of a direct mail appeal. Creative Design Design to minimize the struggle to read at any age. Use the right images. Plain, corny and obvious is what works!

7 The anatomy of a direct mail appeal continued... Writing to Fundraise Make it URGENT Make it EASY TO READ Make it REPETITIVE Make it CONVERSATIONAL Make it COMPELLING Make it BALANCED Make it LENGTH-APPROPRIATE Make it CLEAR Make it PERSONAL Personalize

8 What else is important when I send The List(s) out a direct mail appeal? Timing and Planning Take Advantage of Discounts Donor-Centered Make Your Donor the Hero! Stop Making it About Your Personal Preferences Let Data Drive Decisions

9 Top Three Direct Mail Myths Too much mail It s the thing donors most often complain about. But the fact is, more donor contact means more donor revenue, both in the short term and long term. And cutting back donor contact leads to weaker donor retention. Here s the fact: You re in a lot more danger from sending too little mail than too much. The Rested Donor Can you think of any healthy human relationship that improves with no communication? Donors who don t hear from an organization for months after they ve given are far less likely to ever give again. Here s the fact: The more recently a donor gave, the more likely she is to give again. The Killer Complaints If you say anything at all to a large group of people, some will complain. Some donors will complain no matter what you do. Too much mail. Too little mail. Mailings are too expensive. Or too cheap. They complain about your sense of urgency, your grammar, your color choices. It feels bad when donors complain. I have seen nonprofits so fearful of donor complaints that they scrapped successful campaigns because of a handful (or even just ONE) complaint. Here s the fact: Only program-wide results should guide how you act program wide. Source: Jeff Brooks, The Fundraisers Guide to irresistible Communications: Real-World Field-Tested Strategies for Raising More Money

10 What can we expect from sending out direct mail appeals? Donor renewal and acquisition appeals perform very differently, and thus, they must be tracked separately. DONOR RENEWAL Response Rate: 3-6% Average Gift: $ ACQUISITION Response Rate: % Average Gift: $35-$45

11 How can we track direct mail? Append a simple tracking code to a remit slip. Tracking Code At a basic level, analyze the following: Average Gift = Total Revenue / # of Responses Response Rate = # of Responses / # Mailed Gross Revenue = Total Revenue Generated Net Revenue = Revenue Costs Net Revenue Per Piece = Net Revenue / # Mailed

12 CAMPAIGN ANALYSIS ACTUAL VS. PROJECTED REVENUE COMPARISON January 1, December 31, 2012 Habitat for Humanity Sample Client DONOR RENEWAL TOTAL REVENUE COST NET MAIL ACTUAL NUMBER NUMBER % GROSS AVERAGE PER PIECE PER REVENUE TOTAL DATE PROJECTED DONOR RENEWAL APPEAL NAME DONOR SEGMENT MAILED RESPONSES RETURN REVENUE GIFT MAILED PIECE PER PIECE COST 1/23/12 Actual January Partnership Fund Drive $1+, 0-36 months 2, % $12, $72.98 $ $4.85 $1, /23/12 Projected January Partnership Fund Drive $1+, 0-36 months 2, % $8, $75.00 $ $3.15 $1, /12/12 Actual March Help Build a Better Future One Square Foot $1+, 0-36 months 2, % $4, $61.86 $ $1.26 $1, /12/12 Projected March Help Build a Better Future One Square Foot $1+, 0-36 months 2, % $5, $65.00 $ $1.68 $1, /11/12 Actual June Everyone Deserves a Decent Home $1+, 0-24 months 1, % $5, $65.67 $ $2.28 $1, /11/12 Projected June Everyone Deserves a Decent Home $1+, 0-24 months 1, % $4, $55.00 $ $1.88 $1, /6/12 Actual August Back to School $1+, 0-24 months 1, % $7, $75.68 $ $3.79 $1, /6/12 Projected August Back to School $1+, 0-24 months 1, % $5, $65.00 $ $2.33 $1, /10/12 Actual September Matching Gift $1+, 0-48 months 2, % $23, $ $ $7.85 $1, /10/12 Projected September Matching Gift $1+, 0-48 months 2, % $11, $90.00 $ $3.45 $1, /15/12 Actual October Fall Handwritten $100+, 0-36 & $25-99, , % $13, $ $ $8.57 $3, /15/12 Projected October Fall Handwritten $100+, 0-36 & $25-99, , % $13, $ $ $8.08 $3, /5/12 Actual November Holiday Letter $1+, 0-60 months 3, % $21, $ $ $6.21 $1, /5/12 Projected November Holiday Letter $1+, 0-60 months 3, % $9, $85.00 $ $2.38 $1, DONOR RENEWAL ACTUAL TOTALS DONOR RENEWAL PROJECTED TOTALS DIFFERENCE IN DONOR RENEWAL TOTALS (ACTUAL - PROJECTED) 15, % $89, $ $ $4.99 $11, , % $57, $79.80 $ $2.97 $11, % $31, $28.84 $ $2.02 $0.00 ACQUISITION TOTAL REVENUE COST NET MAIL ACTUAL NUMBER NUMBER % GROSS AVERAGE PER PIECE PER REVENUE TOTAL DATE PROJECTED ACQUISITION APPEAL NAME LIST ORIGIN MAILED RESPONSES RETURN REVENUE GIFT MAILED PIECE PER PIECE COST 9/10/12 Actual September Matching Gift Response List 24, % $7, $47.12 $ ($0.36) $15, /10/12 Projected September Matching Gift Response List 24, % $6, $35.00 $ ($0.39) $15, /5/12 Actual November Holiday Letter Response List 25, % $8, $47.47 $ ($0.30) $16, /5/12 Projected November Holiday Letter Response List 25, % $8, $37.50 $ ($0.31) $16, ACQUISITION ACTUAL TOTALS ACQUISITION PROJECTED TOTALS DIFFERENCE IN ACQUISITION TOTALS (ACTUAL - PROJECTED) 49, % $15, $47.32 $ ($0.33) $31, , % $14, $36.38 $ ($0.35) $31, % $1, $10.93 $ $0.02 $0.00 OVERALL ACTUAL GROSS REVENUE $105, OVERALL PROJECTED GROSS REVENUE $72, DIFFERENCE IN OVERALL GROSS REVENUE $32, LESS OVERALL COST $45, OVERALL ACTUAL NET REVENUE $59, OVERALL PROJECTED NET REVENUE $27, DIFFERENCE IN OVERALL NET REVENUE $32,549.12

13 What are additional strategies Integrate your online and offline fundraising efforts. Make your website donor-friendly. Integrate additional marketing channels. More cultivation! to increase results?

14 Kimberly Knab President, Beyond Direct Marketing