Donor Journey: Here’s how it works!
- 14. February 2019
Donor Journey: From initial contact to permanent donor
Permanent donors are good. Many repeat donors are better. Would you like to find out how to turn interested parties into loyal donors or active donors and how you can manage to bind them to your organisation permanently?
Start your own Donor Journey with us!
Let us experience the following scenario together: You are waiting for the train to arrive. Someone speaks to you and asks you for change. What do you do? You would probably help out if you had any spare change. But in the meantime, catch yourself wondering what the money is being spent on? Is it really the last cents that this person is missing for the subway ticket or is it really going to pay for the next meal?
Now let us continue this scenario. Suppose someone asked you to help them out with change every morning. How would that make you feel? Probably upset at first. After all, someone’s asking you for your hard-earned money. On the other hand, you know your privileges and you see the need. And you want to help. But does your money really help that person? Probably it would be easier for you if you knew this person and the safer you are the more you know what the money is used for.
Welcome to the Donor Journey!
A Donor Journey is the “journey” of the donor. It describes the measures from the first contact through the time he or she becomes a loyal donor. Measures for the stages ‘endangered’ and ‘lost’ are also described.
First contact. The Donor Journey can cover up to five different lifecycle stages. To start the journey, potential donors and active donors need to know the organisation! Brand awareness must therefore be increased and a good image built up. The measures depend on the target group. If the target group is young, for example, targeted advertisements on social networks are suitable, which call for action. The first contact with the organisation will at best interests the lead. The addressees then want to learn more about the organisation and the projects before they move on to the next stage.
The interest is peaked. Now one speaks of capable of development. The potential new donors and activists have found a topic within the organisation that interests them. They are convinced that the money will get to where it is needed. Now those who are capable of development must receive suitable content. This can be ensured by means of marketing automation.
Those who are interested become donors. If the content and the image are convincing, a long-term commitment to the organisation is usually made, e.g. in the form of a permanent donation or membership. At this stage one speaks of tied. Identification with the organisation takes place and the will to support it is there. The next step is to maintain this stage. Otherwise the endangerment follows and with it the renewed persuasion to commit oneself permanently to the organisation.
To keep donors. Donors can be at risk for various reasons. Possibly it was due to inappropriate content and/or the communication did not take place through the correct communication channel. A change in life circumstances can also put the donor at risk.
Reactivate donors. Depending on the motivation to discontinue the donation, it is important to take appropriate measures before losing the donor. Recovering the donor afterwards is laborious and sometimes only possible with investments that only pay off in the medium term.
Do you know your target groups?
Targeted communication is the be-all and end-all within the Donor Journey. No matter at what stage, the target group-specific content must be played out at the appropriate time through the optimal communication channel. To ensure this, it is important that you know your target group. Supporters who make their permanent donation in analogue form via remittance slip must be addressed differently than young digital natives.
We would be happy to help you to create a Donor Journey.
You can map the different donor journeys in use cases. This allows you to tackle the most important ones first, with the greatest effect and simplest implementation. We would be happy to help you create a Donor Journey. Contact us.
