The Fundraising Factory - Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category

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Are donors PO’d at your QR Codes?

Tuesday, June 12th, 2012

Joanne Fritz asks the question in her blog post today.  Are QR codes reaching their tipping point?  She sites Joe Waters statistics that 14 mil. mobile users are scanning.  This piqued my curiosity because at the BlogWorld Conference in NYC this past weekend Scott Stratten actually spoke about QR Codes in his session on the 7 Deadly Sins of Social Media.  Oh you missed a good one!  NO worries though I found this short You Tube clip of Scott titled The Problem with QR Codes.  It’ so worth the 2 minute watch especially if you need a good laugh right now.  He’s a hilarious teacher.  The Comedy Channel needs to pick him up.  Ok, enough of my obsession with Scott Stratten.

Image is from http://www.blueglass.com/blog/qr-codes-bridging-online-and-offline-marketing/

Prior to Blogworld, I have been experimenting with QR Codes, putting them on the fundraising LULU Cubes.  People can find additional information about the Non Profit just by scanning.  It also serves as  another avenue/vehicle to give.  It can’t hurt provided the link is working.

What about using QR’s  for a merchandising fundraising campaign by applying a QR Code to whatever it is your selling.  As an example, I provide an informational/functional promotional card for my fundraising pins.   On the inside is a blank area for an org to adhere a sticker with whatever additional message they want to include in the card.  It is the perfect space for a QR Code and message.
I want to take advantage of all the tools out there and non profits can too!  Take Stratten’s advice, think and you use them correctly.

Are you are you using QR Codes?  I’d love to know if they are proving results and I bet other readers would as well.

Thanks for sharing and have a Scan Good Day!

Lucinda

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Posted in donations, Fundraising Tips, Marketing, social media | 3 Comments »

Kiss and Tell the Story

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

In a previous post I said I would write a couple of tips on good storytelling.  Here’s the second of three.

We all know the KISS rule.  Keep It Simple Silly. That means for me – stick to the story.

Every story has a beginning, middle and an end.

Start with the OMG, listen to this.  Grab the listener’s attention at the beginning with your dramatic headline.  I call it the hook – they can’t wait to hear more.

Draw them into your story by picking and choosing your words like you were selecting one flower at a time to create a magnificent bouquet.  The use of choice words create a picture in a listeners mind.  By doing that, the story teller taps into our imagination and transports us to a scene outside ourselves.

A good storyteller creates the end with an exact closing moment.  They know when  to return us to our own thoughts and experiences and leave us saying wow!

Go  for it and create your own magical mystery tour.

 

 

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Posted in Ask Letters, Marketing, Speaking Engagements, Stories | No Comments »

Storytelling – The Heart and Art of the Matter

Monday, May 21st, 2012

 

In my last post I said I would write a couple of tips on good storytelling.  Here’s the first of three.

Words can Wow – vocabulary selection can make or break a good story.  As an artist, words are like paint colors to me.   Depending on when and where they are used each word holds hue, and value. They paint a picture or scene.   Be authentic when choosing words that express and reflect the emotional component of the story that you are sharing.  Feel the words you choose and your audience will feel them too.   Emotions, after all, are contagious!

 

 

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Posted in Ask Letters, Marketing, Speaking Engagements, Stories | No Comments »

The Huffington Post Tells a Good Story if You Can

Monday, May 7th, 2012

You’ve heard of the largest online newspaper in the world right?  The Huffington Post on Friday featured me in an article in the  small business section.  Need I say that I spent a good part of my weekend and all day today responding to the crazy activity that the good PR created for my business.  Weather you are a business or a NonProfit  PR is something we all want and need.  So how do you get it is the question and the answer is real simple.  Tell your compelling story.  Every person, business, and nonprofit has one but many people don’t know how to tell a story well enough to get the attention they deserve.  Check mine out.  Let me know how I did telling the story.  In an upcoming post I will share some tips on how to tell a captivating story.  Maybe it will help you to get the Huffington in your back pocket!

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Posted in Marketing, Personal, social media, Stories, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Branding and Emotional Fundraising

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

How important is building a strong brand and increasing your name recognition? 
Successful companies invest a significant amount of resources in branding.   Look at Nike and Apple.  When people see the “Swoosh” or the “Apple” an immediate impression of the exceptional comes to mind.  The Nike brand sells motivation and Apple sells innovation. 

It is possible for Non Profits to enjoy the same success and name recognition that big companies have too. 
Investing in branding and arousing the recognition of your cause and its importance is done not only in messaging but with images.  They play a vital role in stimulating a connective state of emotional branding with consumers/donors. 

Using your logo on products is one of the fastest way to gain exposure to new audiences.
Becoming visible to hundreds and even thousands of new donors is accomplished by pushing the use of your logo or image to it’s fullest potential along with powerful messaging.   Apple and Nike sell quality products and every one of them have the visible marker of their logo. But, your brand is more than your logo.  Brands live in the minds of your donors.  It’s the personality so to speak of your organization.  Your brand achieves the social, emotional and a purposeful need. 

Consumers talk. 
They share through word of mouth and now through social networks information about their choices.  They are posting pictures and spreading the word and their opinions about companies, non profits, products and brands that they like and dislike.

Your Non Profit can be part of the conversation and social sharing when you have a unique brand and product representing you!  Would love to hear how you have you used your brand visually and emotionally to stay in the minds of your donors?

Lucinda

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Posted in Fundraising, Marketing, social media | No Comments »

Can You Get Your Donors to Ride a Harley?

Monday, May 23rd, 2011

I love having breakfast with inspiring people.  It starts the day off on the right foot.  Ken Schmidt former director of communications at Harley Davidson, national best selling author and public speaker shared his thoughts on the American and European consumer while I ate my cheerios.   He described us (consumers) that would be you too, as faceless, nameless, and invisible.  We have all had the experience with the automated phone system when what we really want is a person on the other end.  We shop online without a second thought as to giving our money and financial information over to a machine without a bit of human contact and think nothing of it.  We click and consume with no interaction to become only a transaction.

He suggested that we are numb to marketing messages.  They are all the same and have been for years so we know what to expect and ignore them.  We also know we can buy what we want; when we want it and have a certain price in mind about what we expect to pay.  What it all seemed to boil down to is we buy from companies we like. 

When we make it a point to humanize the individual we create an instant millisecond of trust.  If we trust, we like, and as said before we buy from people we like.  He turned Harley Davidson around with the simple observation that human behavior is the key to business.  So have you asked yourself, do your donors trust and like you?

Here is a great read if your interested in finding out how Ken helped kick start the  Harley Davidson come back.

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Posted in Donor, Fundraising Tips, Marketing, Personal | No Comments »

Fundraising Products That Tell a Story

Friday, March 25th, 2011

If you are involved in fundraising and have sold a product as a fundraiser then you know there is an endless supply of products to choose from.  Of course, the internet is a fabulous place to search for the perfect product to utilize to raise funds for your organization.  Well, curiosity took over and we wanted not only to see what products are available but what products provide a lasting impression and tell a story.  One that has a message, a reminder, and a meaningful take away each time the donor sees it.  So we began the search.  Granted we did not search every query that would generate results for meaningful fundraising products but let us share our findings. 

Okay, the first try included ‘fundraising with powerful products.’  The results included a powerful pasta fundraiser, gourmet cookie dough, scratch cards, magazines and of course the good ole standbys candy, popcorn and candle fundraisers.  But the most interesting was the powerful liquid vitamin supplement fundraiser.  Okay, perhaps the query wasn’t the best….

 So we tried again. This time we Googled ‘fundraising with cause related products.’  The results were closer to what we were hoping to find.  Yes, the cookies and popcorn made it into the top results but here are a few others that we found.  The Green Light Project.    Their mission is to raise awareness and funds for organizations that help child victims of terror, war, natural disaster or illness.  The GLP’s unique promotional items help to achieve their goals, as the products themselves help to increase awareness of how various funds address the needs of child victims.  One of their featured products is a “How Are You Feeling” poster.  This is pretty creative and fun stuff.

Our search also unveiled Products for the Cure.  They develop custom packaging and awareness campaigns for local and national organizations.  A bit boring but at least you know what it’s all about and it does have staying “reminder” power.

On the third try a heavy hitter surfaced.  The Gap.  You may know of their affiliation with the RED Campaign.   Cool shirts worn by cool actors to support HIV/AIDS prevention leaving a cool lasting impression and stories to be told.  

As mentioned, the queries did not uncover every meaningful fundraising product.  One that you would think would appear is Soles4Soles.  Even Designs By Lucinda, a company that has been involved in cause related fundraising for over 20 years, leaves a lasting impression and has a story to tell didn’t make the show either.  This leads us to believe that there are impressionable fundraising products out there but they aren’t always easy to find. 

We’re curious what has your search turned up?
Lucinda

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Posted in Fundraising Products, Marketing | No Comments »

Find the Secrets to Lucinda Pin Fundraising Success

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

Reflecting on Lucinda Pin Performance for 2010
Asking the 5 W’s  reveals  insight to what worked and what didn’t.  Understanding the answers will help you plan for 2011.

1.  Who were your customers in 2010?  Break it down…Top customers…repeat customers… new customers.

2.  What pins did they buy in 2010?  How many did they buy?   What was the average number purchased over the number of customers?   Did you offer any specials that influenced buying habits such as $16 each or 2 for $30?  Was a particular pin style more popular than others?  Do you know why?  

3.  When did they buy?  Did they buy for a special occasion, or around a holiday or the end of school year? 

4.  Where did they shop with you?  Were the pin purchases made at a speaking event, a craft show, through a retail outlet, directly through your headquarters or on your website?

5.  Why did they buy?  Were pins purchased as gifts or for personal use?  Did they simply buy because they wanted to help your cause?  Did they buy because of the influence of the person selling them?  Was their purchase a response to a marketing campaign?  Engaging your customers as they buy provides you with tremendous information about them and is a fantastic opportunity to begin building a relationship.  We all know it’s all about relationships.

If you have the answers to these 5 questions you’ll be able to better determine if your pin program is meeting your expectations.  You will also be able to make the correct adjustments for the up coming year when you have a good understanding of the past.  Do more of what is working and less of what is not.

Even If you don’t know all the answers to the 5 W’s, remember it’s never too late to get things in order.
So start off on the right foot for 2011.  Pay attention to your customer and the marketplace.

As always Happy Fundraising!
Lucinda

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Posted in Fundraising, Fundraising Tips, Marketing | No Comments »

Donor Customer Profiling

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

How important is it?  If you don’t know your customer how can you give them what they want? 

Here are 6 questions to ask when profiling your donor/customer.

1.  When was the first time they donated?  Was it at an event, through a direct mail, or text appeal?  In other words, how did they find out about you.  The answers provide marketing insight.  Use the same strategy to connect with them again.
2.  When do they contribute?  Is there a time pattern to their giving?  Does their donation come in around a holiday, special event, or end of year?
3.  How often are they contributing?  Are they giving once a year or more?  Consider asking for less, more often, to increase sales/donations.
4.  How much are they giving?  Has the amount  increased or declined?  If so, do you know why?
5.  How do they communicate with you?  Are they engaged besides for monetary donations?  Do they attend special events, volunteer, contribute in- kind donations or social network for you via FB or Twitter? 
6.  Who are they connected to in the organization?  Another way to put it, who has the account and what are they doing with this profile to build a deeper relationship?

Stay connected and Happy Fundraising!
Lucinda

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Posted in donations, Donor, Fundraising Tips, Giving, Marketing | No Comments »

What was Susan Komen thinking?

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

I can’t help but pipe in on the recent Susan G Komen marketing campaign.   Komen partnered with KFC.

I saw the campaign advertised on a billboard while driving past a KFC before it ever hit the headlines.  I actually did a double take.  Could that be right?  Buy a bucket chicken and a donation goes to the Komen Foundation. It didn’t make any sense which is what all the media hoopla is about now.  The idea of greasy KFC helping to find the cure for Breast Cancer raises eyebrows.  Who was the marketing genious behind that idea?  Worse yet, who in Komen approved it? 

Komen certainly plays the leading role in social branding in the relationship.  Did big dollar signs cloud Komen’s judgement?  We may never know because they are in the recovery spin zone right now.

This cause related marketing scheme would seem a very hip hookup for KFC who stands to gain the most.  However, at this point, the heat is on in the kitchen at KFC too.   Let’s face it, now we are talking about the link between the Colonel’s Secret Recipe which we all know is fat, and it’s link to cancer.  PR NIGHTMARE!!!

What I’d like to know is, what were the real intentions behind both parties?  Outcomes are directly linked to intentions.  If you don’t like the outcome change your intentions.  The lesson here is don’t compromise principles for sales.

Komen needs to come clean to regain respect.  As for KFC, the whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Lucinda

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Posted in Komen, Marketing, Rants | 1 Comment »

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