Multiple Channels Can Strengthen Each Other
Multiple Channels Can Strengthen Each Other
Multiple Channels Can Strengthen Each Other
March 21, 2006
By Abny Santicola, editor, FundRaising Success Advisor
An e-mail campaign should be central to your multi-channel marketing efforts, says Sheeraz Haji, CEO of Berkeley, Calif.-based provider of online constituent-relationship-management services GetActive. While it does depend a bit on an organization's audience and constituents, Haji says there are very few demographics not online today.
In multi-channel fundraising efforts, when considering which donors to solicit via e-mail, don't rule out the older demographic. While audiences aged 55 and older have the lowest e-mail penetration rates, their penetration rates are also growing the fastest and they're spending the most amount of time online, Haji says.
He adds that if you're doing multi-channel campaigns it's critical to integrate your online and offline efforts so that, for example, a donor who gives, say, $10,000 offline isn't solicited for a $100 gift in an e-mail. "But, maybe more importantly, there's this huge opportunity that if you can take what you know about a donor in your offline interactions with them and use that to personalize and customize your online interactions, that's just going to lead to a better response rate and more dollars raised," he adds.
In addition, organizations can use e-mails to improve the response to direct-mail campaigns. Haji says GetActive client NARAL has tested sending out pre-direct mail and post-direct mail e-mails. The pre-e-mail alerts recipients that NARAL is sending them a renewal offer in the mail that they should look out for. The post-e-mail says something like, "We have recently sent you a renewal offer in the mail. Please take a look at it and send it back." "Those have proven to have a positive impact on direct-mail response rates," Haji says.
Sheeraz Haji can be reached via http://www.getactive.com
