Non Profit Marketing

by Todd Kelly Excel in Marketing has been working with non profits for over 10 years. There are some helpful lessons we've gleaned that will help marketers succeed in the non profit world. Marketing Don'ts We recommend that you don't press your non profit partners too fast. Volunteer-based organizations move at their own pace. Serving these organizations requires patience and organization. Collect all your necessary items, recommendations and challenges. Put them into one-day meetings in which all issues are addressed at one sitting if possible. Do not barrage your client with emails on a day by day basis. Don't clump charges for your services into one invoice.  Cash flow is critical to non profits and many expenses hitting the books at once will create a hardship on the Executive Director and Treasurer. They are going to face challenges selling the marketing investment into the Board of Directors already. Don't add to their uphill battle by hitting the books all in one month. Break down your deliverables into  digestible chunks that are easier to absorb. Don't overcomplicate marketing and tactical strategies.  After working for some large, very complex marketing organizations where metrics rule and sound ROI is built into every initiative utilizing workflow tools and expensive marketing automation systems, we had to take a step back and simple down the basics of marketing. We speak and deliver in terms of research, development, differentiation, awareness building and fundraising. Marketing Do's  Help with scheduling and documenting tasks for organizational strength. Knowing whom inside the organization can contribute will help with buy-in and reinforce the relationship. So get those inside involved in sharing some of the responsibilities as well as your service team. Documenting the individual tasks, milestones and deliverables help to build unity and keep the team all flowing in the same direction. Capture results and share with the participants at every level of the organization. Some non-profits have challenges with participation and morale. Sharing your successes as a team, can help build their sense of accomplishment and inclusion with the executive leadership. Some ways of doing this are through communicating successful accomplishments in a newsletter, featuring and thanking key staff for their contribution. Another way is acknowledging key staff at fundraising events with external and internal audiences present. Accolades are critical in building a cohesive team and fanning their motivation to contribute towards the common goals. Upon completion of each element, review the quantities, costs, value and report into the leadership what their investment has accomplished. This honest review is helpful in establishing a baseline budget for marketing each year and helps fend off buyer remorse.