2013 Christmas fundraising campaigns… 4. Accurate data still key to driving positive responses

This sounds basic, I know.  But to the two charities concerned so far this ‘season’, I am Mr Baughen not Mrs Baughen (we’ve told you often enough).  It doesn’t endear me to you if you don’t pay attention.  And exactly how many girls called Kevin do you know?

Accurate data usage goes beyond personal addresses and salutations.  Many campaigns have a regional trigger embedded in them based on the geography of the recipients to help make the campaigns’ message more relevant and elicit a personal connection.

I understand the logic of this tactic and indeed employed it successfully for years whilst working for a number of organisations myself.  But you have to get the assumptions right for the campaign to resonate with the recipients.

A few days ago we mentioned a direct mail pack received from Macmillan and I want to return to it to highlight the fact that the ask was wrapped around tangible evidence of benefits my donation would bring for people living with cancer in London.

I don’t live in London.  I live in semi-rural Surrey, outside of the M25.  I don’t know if the regionalisation is generic or targeted (I suspect it’s the latter) but why not talk to me about what can be achieved more locally to me?

Why not take advantage of the popularity of the localism movement and bring tangible outcomes to a more local level?  It doesn’t have to cost any more to develop the messages and yes, the data briefs for campaigns might be a little more complicated but in return for the increased likelihood of a positive response.

Regional hospice charities often get this right, linking what they do to the lives of local supporters and communities.  This example is from St Catherine’s Hospice, an end of life charity working in Surrey and West Sussex.

 

These are all familiar techniques but the emphasis is on the ‘local’ aspects and things that supporters can do locally to make a difference.  I think we could all make our services more relevant to supporters locally IF we get the data right when running large campaigns.