Multichannel: It’s About Using the Right Means of Transport for Donors

Direct mail as an acquisition tool clearly still works, but you should understand that the original donation value (which is an indicator of eventual lifetime value) is much lower than online-acquired donors. However, if you can convert your online-acquired donors to direct mail — which you are most likely to do in the first year of their relationship with you — you are likely to experience much better retention, which outweighs the slight reduction in second- and subsequent-year gift values. And don’t listen to the naysayers who tell you that direct mail is dead: It still represents the majority of new donor acquisitions (76 percent).