One of the first things you should do with your donor research data is to segment your donors into different groups based on their characteristics, behavior, and needs. Segmentation allows you to target your communication and engagement strategies more effectively and efficiently, as you can tailor your content, tone, channel, frequency, and call to action to each segment. For example, you can segment your donors by their giving level, frequency, recency, loyalty, interest, location, or demographic. You can also use more advanced methods such as donor personas, donor journeys, or predictive modeling to segment your donors based on their psychographic profiles, motivations, and potential.
Once you have segmented your donors, you can use your donor research insights to personalize your messages and make them more relevant, compelling, and engaging for each donor. Personalization goes beyond using the donor's name or acknowledging their previous donations. It means using the information you have about your donor's interests, preferences, values, goals, challenges, and feedback to craft messages that resonate with them, show that you understand them, and offer them solutions or opportunities that align with their needs and aspirations. For example, you can personalize your messages by highlighting the impact of your work on the specific cause or issue that your donor cares about, sharing stories or testimonials that relate to their personal or professional background, or suggesting ways to get involved or support your organization that match their giving capacity and preferences.
Personalization should also include handwritten notes. When possible, I enlist our board members to share why they support our organization and to encourage others to do the same. Above all, these personalized notes need to filled with gratitude. You can never thank donors enough for their gifts, regardless of size.
Don't forget that personalized communication and engagement should use multiple channels. In addition to written communications, this can include phone calls, video, Zoom sessions, etc. The tools you deploy and how you go about delivering depends upon the size of your organization, how you are resourced, and the amount a donor contributes, among a variety of other factors.
Another way to use your donor research insights to tailor your communication and engagement strategies is to optimize your interactions with your donors. This means choosing the right channel, timing, frequency, and format for your communication and engagement activities, based on what works best for each donor segment or individual. For example, you can optimize your interactions by using the channel that your donor prefers or responds to best, whether it is email, phone, mail, social media, or face-to-face. You can also optimize your interactions by timing them according to your donor's availability, readiness, or urgency, such as sending a thank-you note within 24 hours of a donation, inviting them to an event that is relevant to their interests or schedule, or following up with them after a significant milestone or news. You can also optimize your interactions by adjusting the frequency and format of your communication and engagement activities, based on your donor's expectations, preferences, and feedback. For example, you can send more or less frequent updates, newsletters, surveys, or appeals, depending on your donor's level of interest and engagement. You can also use different formats, such as text, images, videos, podcasts, or webinars, to deliver your messages and engage your donors in different ways.
By tailoring your communication and engagement strategies based on your donor research insights, you can improve your fundraising results and build stronger relationships with your donors. You can also increase your donor satisfaction, loyalty, retention, and advocacy, as you show them that you value and respect them as individuals and partners in your mission.
To successfully leverage your research, you need to build systems that can gather, record, and implement on your program. This requires 360 degree thinking as you build out your operation and sufficient resourcing of the infrastructure you'll require.