Direct response is my very favourite fundraising topic. For a session at the Association of Fundraising Professionals 2013 Congress in Toronto, I presented 20 things you need to know (well really 21).  And now over the next few issues of Hilborn Charity eNEWS, I have the pleasure of sharing these “21 things” with you.

First things first. When I talk about direct response from a fundraising perspective, I mean, “a marketing or fundraising vehicle used by organizations to generate a measurable action or response from individuals or other organizations in direct response to that vehicle.” More specifically, I’m talking about direct mail, telemarketing, television infomercials, door-to-door or peer-to-peer engagement, and email communications. Even more precisely, I’m talking about direct mail – still the undisputed champion of individual giving. 

I am certain that online appeals, social media campaigns and mobile device strategies will eventually claim the title, but for the vast majority of charitable organizations and their donors, that day is a little way down the road. In the meantime, direct mail (DM) is still the primary way most individuals support their favourite cause or charity. Sure, DM costs are rising and in some cases returns are declining, but not many organizations are in a position to give it up.  That’s even more reason to know what you are doing the next time you put pen to paper and cultivate that donor relationship with new information, a story and an urgent ask for support.

I want to leave you with the first three important things you should know before planning your next campaign.

1. All roads lead to a planned gift

Now I know that not every donor who chooses to support your organization will make a gift through a bequest in his or her will. However, just imagine the respect and commitment you will foster if you treat every donor as someone who has the capacity to make that final gift.

In other words, proper stewardship, a donor-centred approach and a dedication to relationship building, rather than adopting a “donor as an ATM” attitude, will lead to a mutually beneficial connection that will satisfy the organization’s need for support and the donor’s philanthropic aspirations.

2. Data is king

The old adage “garbage in, garbage out” has never been truer than when it comes to direct response. If you do not have a well-organized, well-structured database, anything else you do to develop an attractive and compelling direct mail appeal, telemarketing script, or email message will be a wasted effort. 

If you don’t know the basics of who your donors are, when they last gave, how much they gave, why they gave, and what their giving preferences are, don’t go any further.  Instead, concentrate on your database. Install a reliable donor management software program and adopt a set of consistent donor and donation entry protocols. Today’s technology offers many opportunities to organize your data across many segments. Regular data entry training and supervision is equally important to ensuring that your data is correct and dependable.

For those new to this process or wanting to fine-tune their database, here are the very basic elements and fields you will need for each donor.

3. Know your segments

Once you have a well-organized, accurate database, you can slice and dice your donors into many segments according to giving patterns, donation types, contribution levels and activity history. The permutations and combinations are endless.

However, before embarking on your segmentation expedition, remember the two primary purposes of segmentation. Segmenting your donors allows you to customize your appeal through variable copy and inserts. For instance, the donor who made a contribution of $250 six months ago should receive a different message than the donor who gave three contributions over the last 12 months, or the donor who made a contribution of $25 three years ago. The second reason for segmentation is to measure and evaluate how specific segments perform or respond to specific appeals or requests.

Looked at in this way, segmentation helps to determine which donors are more likely to respond to a request for a monthly gift, or which donors are no longer worth mailing to, or which prospects are more likely to make a first gift.  With these two purposes in mind, consider beginning the segmentation process according to the table below.        

Look for the second installment of Twenty things to know before your next direct response campaign next month, when I will cover measuring success, targets to shoot for and campaign expenses. Cheers!