If I had to make one criticism of marketing in the nonprofit sector, I’d have to choose the overreliance on gimmicks.

I know that “gimmick” is a harsh term, and one you probably don’t feel applies to your organization. It describes something cheap and inauthentic, a superficial ploy. I’m sure that you don’t see your own marketing that way, but stick with me. 

Gimmicks are more widespread in the nonprofit world than you may realize. After all, more often than not, every marketing gambit by an organization stands on its own. You host a campaign or a dinner; you throw together a video; you hop on a trend or come up with a bright idea.
And what do you do with it? You milk it for all it’s worth, and then you move onto the next big thing.

This isn’t an approach that relies on thoughtfulness or strategy. It doesn’t require you to understand your strengths and weaknesses as an organization, or to make a plan to address them. It doesn’t ask you to monitor your results to see what’s working and what can be improved.

Instead, it’s one and done, quick and easy.

The downsides

This isn’t to say that a gimmick can’t deliver a nice profit. You can see a perfectly good response from any one of the suggestions I listed above.

But even when that’s the case, there are still a few significant problems with this approach.

For one thing, when you haven’t done any research or planning, the results are unpredictable. Each event or campaign is a source of uncertainty and stress.

For another, a gimmick-based approach doesn’t give you the chance to develop a real relationship with your supporters. Instead, you reach out with an ask, and then you disappear until the next time you need something. This can leave donors feeling used and can gradually erode your support.

Finally, when you operate in this way, you have no infrastructure in place. You don’t maintain a regular audience; getting the word out means building your audience from scratch every time. If you want to reach a fundraising goal, it takes a lot of active effort to set up and run the process from beginning to end.

What’s the alternative?

In the marketing world, the opposite of a gimmick is a funnel. A marketing funnel is a big-picture plan that focuses on developing relationships over time, continually bringing donors deeper into the fold and getting them more interested and more invested.

When you have a funnel, your fundraising events stand on a solid foundation and reap the benefits of this long-term investment. The donations you receive come out of a sense of good will and personal connection. Not only that, but with the right follow-up, these feelings can and should continue to grow even after the event is over. I know it sounds backwards, but by making them a part of a bigger system, your donors end up feeling more appreciated, not less.

On top of that, when you operate on a funnel system, it will still take work to earn a donation, but you’ll find that it’s more about optimizing than having to reinvent the wheel every time. You’ll have ideas, plans, and materials to draw on for all different kinds of situations – for example, bringing in a new donor or increasing a gift – so you won’t need to spend your time figuring out a solution to each individual issue that arises.

Once you have a setup in place, running the system on a day-to-day basis will take fewer resources, people, time, and money. You’ll also be able to track and improve your performance over time because you’ll have set goals and measurable results for every action that you take.
All of this will open up more emotional space and other resources to focus on the core mission of your organization, the whole reason you got into this field in the first place.

Now what?

How do you get started implementing a funnel? If you really want the whole story, I go into it in depth in my book, but here are the key points:

• Pick one goal at a time. I know the funnel has multiple stages, but if you spread yourself too thin, all you’re doing is creating stress in a new way. Take it slow but steady, and you’ll get there in the end.

• Market research. This means getting the data on how your message is resonating and with whom. Even if you’ve done it before, do it again. Things change, and you need to make sure you’re changing with them. Not only that, but your understanding of reality may have matured, and you will likely have all kinds of new insights to bring to the results.

• Make a plan. Based on the data, outline what tools you need to build and why. Choose the most urgent priority, and think about what challenges you might face and what you can do to head them off. Decide what you can handle in-house and where you’ll need to look for outside help.

• Message first. Whatever collateral you plan to put out, having the right message in place is the most important part of it. It’s possible that you’ll have to launch before you’ve perfected every image or line of code; but if the messaging is off, nothing else will matter, so make sure it’s solid.

• Start building. At every stage, and at least weekly, review the steps you’ve taken against the plan. If the two begin to diverge, think hard about whether you’re improving on the strategy or whether you’re losing your way. Make any corrections required to ensure you stay focused and on-track.

Want some hands-on assistance putting any of these ideas into practice? You can check out my fundraising strategy service here and my recruitment strategy service here. 

Have you started working toward sustainable marketing? I want to hear about it! Share in the comment section below.