Your Supporters Are Your Investors

As a mother, I would like to be an omnichannel for-profit.

Wouldn't that be great? To provide my first grader with a wonderful, seamless experience of happiness and satisfaction every time I deliver "no" to all the various channels of his engagement:

"No sweetheart, you may not have $199 for the limited edition 1977 Jaws lunch box (and quit shopping online)!"

"No more Doctor Who. Turn it off. NOW! I MEAN IT!"

"Put the chocolate back. I'm still making breakfast."

"OMG! How many times do I need to ask? If you don't move the piles of Kaiju and Pokémon from the center of the floor, I will step on them and then you will be sorry."

But I suppose one could argue if I'm able to keep turning down the outrageous spending requests, I've somewhat managed to turn a profit. It's a matter of perspective.

So consider this perspective from a conversation we had last fall, when he was starting kindergarten. This is an exact quote from my notes on Sept. 12, 2013, as I often write down what he says:

"After a long discussion regarding school lunch, could he have it, agreeing he could get it once a week and how we would look at the menu together to decide which day he could have it, he said to me, with a huge sigh of relief: 'Oh good! I'm so glad. Now I will feel all connected to the school!' As if that was the *one* last thing that would make his 'school experience' complete."

At its most basic level, isn't that the type of satisfied engagement you want everyone involved with your brand to feel? Whether nonprofit or for-profit, the people whom you reach are critical to your success. How do you give them that feeling of being connected and satisfied with their experience with you? Not an easy task as we all know, but if a 6-year-old can acknowledge and find meaning in that sense of "wholeness" with an organization, well, then …