Aligning Your Multi-Channel Strategy to the Donor Journey

Fundraisers realize multi-channel fundraising provides more revenue and better donor retention than any single channel program. Nonprofits also know the solicitation and transaction process is rarely done in a single channel anymore – often, the case for giving is made in one channel and the payment of the gift in another. That’s why it’s so important to identify how different channels work together along the donor journey.

Instead of the single-channel donor journey of the past, giving is starting to look more like this: 

An organization sends its best donors a well-proven direct mail package that makes a solid case for making a gift today. The donor opens it, takes 3-4 uninterrupted minutes to read the tangible letter held in their hand. They connect emotionally and want to give, but their checkbook is never at hand and dinner is calling, so they decide to do it later.

Over the next week, the donor gets two or three emails, and they open one as the others dissolve into their too-full inbox. They remember again that they want to give to your nonprofit, but are on the move in that moment and don’t make their gift right then.

A few more days pass, and the donor gets a short, personalized text with a link. They see it immediately. They click on the link, which takes them to a tailored landing page that matches the look and feel of the direct mail and email pieces the donor received earlier since all are part of the same campaign.

The first thing the donor sees is a personalized “just the right amount” ask string on their pre-filled donation form, which means it then takes only seconds for them to complete their gift. The donor has their thank-you email within 30 seconds, their mailed acknowledgement letter is set up to be produced and mailed the next day, and the donors who give more than $250 get a text thanking them again.

What does today’s nonprofit need in order to run an impactful multi-channel program that aligns to a sophisticated donor journey like the one above? A platform that can:

•    Unify and integrate donor data to personalize the ask,
•    See all channel data to track the effectiveness of the channel mix,
•    Run and integrate multi-channel programs,
•    Identify and segment audiences, and
•    Create automated flows for gift acknowledgments and other messaging.