A Multichannel Marketing Quiz for Fundraisers

* True or False: When adding Web-based fundraising to a traditional direct-mail fundraising media plan, the user experience should be different because digital channels are unique.

Answer: FALSE. When managing an organization’s “brand,” just the opposite is true — there is a need to create a unified user experience. While each medium has its own strengths and weaknesses, multiple channels should converge into a single voice, with an integrated look and feel from the donor’s perspective. Increasingly, marketers are designing customized landing pages online for their direct-mail messages in an effort to further engage and cultivate a prospective donor or member. Sadly, one significant barrier toward achieving this unity is internal organizational structure, rather than a lack of resources. If an organization has silos between online and offline marketing, then these really need to be broken down so donors don’t receive mixed messages.