ProSpeak: Where Lies the Future of Digital?
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
2. Be willing to cut your losses
It’s scary, but we must let go of the way we have always done things. Nonprofits have a hard time understanding that their databases of donors, members or potential customers may not be worth anything anymore. Few are comfortable with the prospect of dumping 75 percent, 50 percent or even 20 percent from their rolls, but it’s time to recognize that too much effort is being directed toward prospects who are unlikely to convert. The Pareto principle, or 80/20 rule, tells us that 80 percent of donations typically comes from 20 percent of donors. Accepting this rule of thumb goes a long way toward helping nonprofits and other organizations cut their losses and move forward.
3. Maintain data
Once an organization has established a cutoff point and started anew from data point B, there must be controls in place to assure data remains clean and consistent moving forward. Important steps include doing database merge-purges and simple tasks such as updating email account information to maintain the integrity of the clean data.
4. Build source code logic
It’s imperative to build comprehensive source code logic that, by channel, tracks conversion (what campaign, what type of creative, what hook, what date, what time of year, etc.). Simply put, there is no such thing as a single-channel donor. No one spends all his or her time using just one medium. Source code builders must think from a consumer or donor standpoint and build a source code logic that is comprehensive and flexible enough to capture as many scenarios as possible. Perhaps 100 percent capture is impossible, but 80 percent is realistic.
The entire process can be labor-intensive. However, if you invest the time and energy up front into building your SOPs and training your staff, the investment of time and resources more than pays for itself over the long run.
