3 Online-Giving Performance Indicators to Measure
High donor-attrition rates (58.5 percent a year, according to the 2012 Fundraising Effectiveness Survey Report) force nonprofits to constantly recruit new donors. Fundraising economics have made online channels (Web, social, mobile) an important way, in their own right, to acquire and retain new donors across all demographic groups. And numerous studies have shown that donors who use both online and offline channels give more and are more loyal.
So, most nonprofits are seeking ways to expand their online fundraising and successfully access the new funds that are moving online each year.
The good news is that online fundraising does not have to be complex. Just like in direct mail, there are three simple key performance indicators (KPIs) that impact your online donations: website traffic (who sees your message), donation conversion rate (response percentage) and average gift (how much they give).
You can't make improvements if you don't manage outcomes, and you can't manage what you don't measure. When managed correctly, even small, incremental improvements in each KPI can greatly impact the revenue received to support your mission. For example, the third column of the table to the right shows how a small improvement in the conversion rate (from 2 percent to 2.5 percent) increases revenue by 25 percent.
Ready to get started? Step one is to establish a baseline by reviewing your performance on each indicator using basic Web analytics. Step two is to compare your results to industry benchmarks. Don't worry when you see the results. Most organizations find themselves behind in one or more of the indicators. From here you can start measuring your improvement.
● Web traffic: This is the foundation of any online program — if no one sees your message, it doesn't matter what it is. There are a number of basic list-building strategies and a number of new channels of outreach available for increasing traffic. Often, quality online traffic can be generated through offline means.
For example, a coordinated radio or direct-response TV campaign with a call to action that drives people online can produce a new source of interested prospects. Some of the upstream sources of online traffic (e-mail campaigns, display ads, social-media posts) can be optimized to produce higher clickthrough rates that translate into more visits.
● Conversion rate: Once you have successfully attracted potential donors to your site, it's important to minimize the mental, emotional and physical friction of the giving process to maximize your results. Often, organizations try to provide too much information or ask too many questions of donors who just want to fund the mission. The key is regular A/B testing of your message and donation form, along with observing and responding to donor behavior. With the right tools, optimizing your results can be done in fewer than 10 minutes a day.
● Average gift: Two fairly simple techniques help here: 1) working to tie higher donation levels to a stronger mission message and 2) using A/B testing on your ask array (the schedule of giving amounts) to improve the average gift size. Unlike direct mail, an online campaign gives you the opportunity to continually refine each aspect of your campaign, including the messaging, ultimate value proposition presentation, ask messaging and ask array. And again, there are inexpensive tools that can help do this quickly.
Significant growth in online giving can be achieved by focusing on these three simple metrics — traffic, conversion rate and average gift.
The first step is to establish your baseline indicators. If you are highly motivated and excited about getting started, see what you can do on all three metrics this month. If you cannot do it all immediately, pick one of three key indicators to improve right now. Over the next six months you will be surprised at how one small improvement each month will add up and ultimately increase the funds available for your mission.
Dan Gillett is CEO of Kimbia. Reach him at dan@kimbia.com
