An EPIC Solution for Economic Hardships in NPOs Part 6 (Connective)
April 1, 2010
The key to surviving is to focus on time and brand. Get people to know, like, and trust you. But how? EPIC-ally!
People become supporters of non-profits when the organization approaches them EPIC-ally.
Experiential
Participatory
Image-Rich
Connective
People need connectivity. If this is doubted, then look at Facebook, MySpace, Google’s introduction of Buzz, the explosion of dating sites, Plaxo, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Every major brand has communities surrounding its products and storefronts. Project management systems now integrate social components. Blogs themselves connect speakers and their audiences. Most modern churches use numerous aspects of technology and the web to connect the members of their congregations locally and as they travel on missions trips. There is Kiva.org which allows micro lenders to travel into the field to meet with other like-minded lenders whom have helped fund the same project. Even education’s transition to the online environment for courses as well as simply collaborating and sharing with other students that are on the other side of the globe; proves that people need connectivity.
People want to feel as though they are a part of what the organization is doing, and they want to see the results thereof. Connectivity transitions a person from merely liking the organization and its cause, to actually trusting it. With this new found trust through connectivity comes the inherent results of effective marketing, which have not yet been mentioned. After someone gets to know, like, and trust you; they will contact, repeat buy/support, and refer others. By providing avenues by which people may connect, on all levels and in all possible ways, with the organization; knowledge is gained, favor is given, loyalty is birthed out of trust, and the resource engine will begin to sustain itself as well as gather new fuel. It will even replace broken or missing parts through people who contact, repeat support, and now refer their friends and contacts to support your organization’s cause.
Read: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Get the Full Article
References
Jantsch, John (2008). Duct tape marketing: The world’s most practical small business marketing guide. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
Sweet, L. (2007). The Gospel according to Starbucks: Living with a grande passion. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBook Press.
The EPIC acrostic is adapted from Leonard Sweet’s “The Gospel According to Starbucks: Living with a Grande Passion”, 2007.
An EPIC Solution for Economic Hardship in NPOs Part 2 (Brand)
February 6, 2010
When focusing on brand, a company is trying to build its image within the community (area of influence) it serves, and from whence its supporters reside (figuratively, not necessarily literally/physically). In a for-profit business this is commonly recognized as the target market and its corresponding segment. Realizing then that branding has a lot to do with how the organization is perceived, or its image, one might conclude that an NPO must focus on marketing. However, a requirement of traditional marketing is to spend large sums of money on numerous vehicles such as expensive advertising campaigns. To view image building as marketing then would be counterintuitive for a not-for-profit company as it is struggling to acquire money for operational expenses, let alone an extensive marketing campaign.
What is required, then, is to view marketing in an entirely different light. Effective marketing is not sales. When a business tries to promote a product directly, it often fails to get the individual (or a collection of individuals, and therefore other organizations) to know, like, and trust the company. The business fails to educate the customer as to why the customer has a need for their product or service, what the benefits are, and why they can be trusted.
Therefore, and especially in the non-profit arena, marketing must be viewed through lenses that do not consider marketing sales, but rather as the educating of stakeholders (constituents, clients, customers, supporters, anyone who has a relationship with the organization) as to why the entity should be supported and why its services, products, or outreach is needed. Effective marketing is getting people to know, like, and trust you (Jantsch, 2008).
The most effective way for an NPO to survive economic turmoil is to have been proactive in these areas, thereby having a reserve to tap into. It’s also a tremendous boon to have a die-hard fan base that will support the company, even to the supporter’s detriment. This of course is the best-case scenario, and provides a goal for non-profits to work towards. Most often, though, small, young, or newly-started non-profits don’t have these sustainability reserves as a resource, and are back to facing the plight of how to survive this time of hardship.
The key to surviving is to focus on time and brand. Get people to know, like, and trust you. But how? EPIC-ally!
Read: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Get the Full Article
References
Jantsch, John (2008). Duct tape marketing: The world’s most practical small business marketing guide. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
An EPIC Solution for Economic Hardship in NPOs Part 1 (Intro & Time)
January 30, 2010
These certainly are hard economic times. Not only is it difficult for people to meet their personal obligations, but it is even more difficult – and most of the time impossible – for them to give to the extent that they would normally give.
What about business? Because people are spending less, are out of work in some cases, and are over-extended in most instances; businesses are generating less revenue. This in turn causes them to make cutbacks, which of course adds to the plight of unemployment, which then exacerbates and perpetuates the lack of a positive revenue stream.
Acknowledging that Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) are in fact businesses, one can see that a non-profit’s revenue stream is severely damaged by this trickle-down effect as well.
A not-for-profit organization may in fact provide services or sell goods, thus receiving money, but this receipt of money is not the same as that of the profit-vacuum that engulfs For-Profit entities. It is a generally accepted and enforced philosophy that For-Profit businesses exist to “make a profit and return wealth to its shareholders” (Craddock, 2008). However, this is not the same for Not-For-Profit companies as NPO’s do not deal with a profit-per-X revenue engine; they deal with a revenue-per-X resource engine. This resource engine is broken into three parts by Jim Collins (2005, p. 17) as time (both the volunteer of it by people and the lapse thereof trough the passing of it), money (revenue-per-X), and brand (image, heritage, and mission/vision).
Since it has already been identified that money is an issue during economic times, it makes sense for non-profit companies to focus on time and brand during such hardships. In the time scenario, constituents are more likely to give of themselves (in physical presence) than of their money. Still, in economic hardships supporters can be asked, and are also more inclined to help through small(er) donations. One simple example of this may be that a supporter is willing to pay for one hour’s worth of an employee’s wage. Or they might help reward a volunteer by taking them to dinner; than through large amounts of money during economic hardship.
Read: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Get the Full Article
References
Collins, J. (2005). Good to great and the social sectors: A monograph to accompany Good to Great. New York: HarperCollins.
Craddock, J. (2008). The Purpose of Business. Presentation, Walden University.