Marketing Strategies and Tactics
Recently I was speaking with a prospect and I mentioned the importance of nonprofit marketing. “Well, sure,” he said. “I know that ads and PR are important.”
That was not exactly what I meant! I soon realized we had verydifferent definitions of marketing.
What is Nonprofit Marketing?
“Marketing is so basic that it cannot be a separate function. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of its final results, that is, from the stakeholder’s point of view.” Marketing Guru Peter Drucker
I see nonprofit marketing as – the strategies and tactics used to identify, create and maintain satisfying relationships with your donors, members, volunteers, clients and other stakeholders that result in value for both your organization and your stakeholders.
Below are 12 principles for guiding your nonprofit through a marketing lense:
- Always market your mission, not your current services. The ability to adjust its services to suit client need is key to ensuring the organization’s survival and its financial support.
- Carefully define whom your mission serves. You need to meet the needs of our corps stakeholders.
- Measure your constituents’ needs. Research, research, research to ensure your programs & services resonate with your target audiences.
- Design programs that meet needs.
- Evaluate the success of programs & their relationship to your mission.
- Communicate regularly & consistently.
- Craft your messages to reflect how our mission affects your different audiences.
- Communicate in terms of your ROI even when it is not in monetary terms; quantify your economic impact.
- Celebrate your successes. Show how your ‘market diversification’ creates the funding to provide your services.
- Know your organizational elevator speech so you can articulate your vision & Competitive Advantage Statement.
- Keep a “face” on your marketing initiatives
- Evaluate often & be prepared to refocus your efforts.
Want a template for creating a nonprofit marketing plan? Please let me hear from you at deborah@creative-si.com
