As a professional fundraiser, you know how important communication is with your donors. No one likes to feel like another email on a mailing list, each one of your supporters is a part of your organization’s success and should be treated as such.
There is a reason why donor data is so important. A person’s age, behaviour and values have such a huge impact on their decision making and by matching our communication to each different group you are maximizing your fundraising potential.
Donor Data is crucial to segmentation, which is why Donor Engine works hard to make sure you are organizing your data in the best way possible. In utilizing your information you not only have the potential to strengthen your relationship with donors but also grow the size and amount of donations!
Why Should You Segment Your Donors?
If it was clear in the intro, segmentation can benefit your organization in so many ways. You are already putting in the effort to collect your donor data so use it to your advantage! Segmentation can help you customize your tone and language to appeal to many different audiences along with building trust and credibility.
By using a more strategic ask when speaking to your donors you are cutting our noise in your messaging which can help you increase ROI. Work smarter not harder! When segmenting their data marketers have found that
- They received higher open rates
- Lower unsubscribe rates
- Better deliverability and greater revenue
- 18% increase in number of transactions and,
- An increase of 15% in customer acquisition
1.Age of Donor
Your donors' age is a basic metric that can give quite a bit of information. Basic information like gender and age can help you figure out the basis of your donors' psychographics and help you determine different ways to appeal to them. Obviously, age is a very small place to start and your donor’s actions will give a more accurate picture of their giving patterns but this is a good place to begin your segmentation.
When segmenting based on age try to identify if your donors of a certain age have giving or communication preferences? How can you tell your organization's story in a way that appeals to them? What medians should you be using to connect with them?
2. Content Engagement
When sending emails to donors do you notice they are opening some content more than others? Does your organization have a blog they use to educate others on your mission or organization? When using Donor Engine you can easily track how your donors are interacting with your mailing list and add that information to their profile. This also helps to refine your email campaigns because you can see how your donors are engaging with your content.
Think about these things when segmenting based on how your donors engage with your content. You can use a digital analytics software to track what content is being viewed and use that as a way to structure your communication. By keeping track of their viewing habits you not only will find out how much content they consume but the type of content they are interested in.
You can divide segments by how often they engage or the type of content they engage with, for example newsletters, blog posts, information content or content solely based on the organization.
3. Social Media Activity
Similar to website engagement, a donor’s social media behaviour can give you some important information. By observing how they interact with your social media and others you can get insight on the information most important to them.
You should look at what posts they are liking or commenting on, the size of their digital audience and if they are reposting anything that might involve your organization. You can then divide segments on the platforms they use, interactions with your account and the size of their following.
4.Preferred Method of Communication
This is very important, Marshall McLuhan a media theorist was famous for saying "the medium is the message” and he’s not wrong. The message and words we use to communicate are obviously very important but the delivery also contributes to how the reader perceives the content you send.
See how your donors are contacting you and think about the best ways you can convey your message. Segments can be based on the messaging that has worked in the past (direct mail, phone, personal messages etc). Analyzing this information is also a great way to audit your communication channels and see if there is any that isn’t effective.
Donor engine can make the process easier by keeping track of all the communication you have with your donors as well as how they donate in the supporters tab. There is also a whole section in your donors profile where you can specify the types of communication they want to receive (like receipts or solicitations) and how they prefer to be contacted (text, phone or email).
5. Recency and Frequency of Giving
One way to take advantage of donor segments is looking into each donor's giving cycle and engage with donors right before they would normally give. You can go into your donor management software and group donors by the time of year they typically donate. If using Donor Engine go into your supporters tab and look at their timeline and sort by donations. Then you will quickly have a list of all the dates your donors have given.
Segmenting by giving patterns can also provide an opportunity to reach out to inactive donors. Make a segment for your LYBNT and SYBNT donors, and don’t be afraid to reach out to them, let them know what your organization has been up to and ask for their continued support.
Donor Segmentation Benefits Both You and Your Donors
Donor segmentation not only will help you work smarter but will be greatly appreciated by your donors. It will help only get the information they need when they need it. Emails that contain personal content like names and giving history and reflect their interests will convert with higher rates. .
By segmenting your supporters you are improving communication for more personal messaging. They become more than a number on the list when you take their age, activity, beliefs and previous giving into consideration.
Utilize your CRM by creating these groups and segments from your data. Donor Engine can help you organize this all in your information to provide you with a clear 360° view of your supporters. You can quickly query and build segmentation lists on practically anything in the database, providing you with the power you need to achieve your goals.
