Tips for Improving Constituent Communications

By Abny Santicola

Cutting through the communications clutter that donors and constituents are exposed to regularly is no easy task and can require a one-to-one, customized communications strategy.

This is the topic of the white paper “One-to-One: Five Smart Ideas to Improve Communication with Members, Donors and other Customers” by Edward Wendling, director of marketing for Advanced Solutions International, which offers the following five tips for organizations looking to improve constituent communications:

1. Capture data — namely contact, demographic and transaction information — from every customer interaction. Collecting this information will help your organization create donor profiles, which will enable you to target and personalize communications. Transaction data should include all monetary and non-monetary activity with your organization.

2. Enable donor-managed profile and preference data. How do your donors want you to communicate with them? Via text e-mail, html e-mail, postal mail, telephone, etc.? And what do they want you to communicate? Information about events, news, volunteer opportunities, etc.? Give donors the ability to manage their communication preferences.

3. Consider all possible channels of communication. Don’t just think about donor communication as outbound tactics like direct mail and e-mail. Mechanisms that draw donors inbound to your organization like your Web site, special events and incoming phone calls all are communication opportunities.

4. Target communications based on all available customer information. Use e-mail and Web management tools to leverage the information you’ve collected about donors and send them targeted Web content and e-mails.

5. Track, measure and adjust your communication efforts. Analyze each individual communication to donors and measure its response in order to learn more about their interests and preferences. Track and compare response rates to different communications efforts to refine targeting.

To download a copy of the white paper, www.advsol.com/Content/NavigationMenu2/Products/RequestInformation/default.htm