[eJP note: the following article was originally published March 24, 2009.] How Charities Can Use LTV to Improve their Fundraising by Liesbeth van Uytven Lifetime Value (LTV) of a donor database is a subject that is often discussed amongst charities. SAZ’s experience shows, however, that few charities evaluate this important indicator of a long-term, healthy fundraising strategy on a regular basis. This article hopes to inform those who want to initiate a deeper evaluation of their donor database. The first part will explain the concept of Lifetime Value and its effect on fundraising strategy. Four analyses for you to consider will then be discussed. The article closes with some points for consideration. What is Lifetime Value? Lifetime Value is a valuable database marketing concept … Continue Reading
The Value of a Lifetime
How Charities Can Use LTV to Improve their Fundraising by Liesbeth van Uytven Lifetime Value (LTV) of a donor database is a subject that is often discussed amongst charities. SAZ’s experience shows, however, that few charities evaluate this important indicator of a long-term, healthy fundraising strategy on a regular basis. This article hopes to inform those who want to initiate a deeper evaluation of their donor database. The first part will explain the concept of Lifetime Value and its effect on fundraising strategy. Four analyses for you to consider will then be discussed. The article closes with some points for consideration. What is Lifetime Value? Lifetime Value is a valuable database marketing concept that allows a profound evaluation of the return on investment from donor … Continue Reading
Slices of the Same Pie
Segmentation of your database - The key to personalized fundraising When ensuring that your database is well maintained, it is worthwhile to delve more deeply into the donor data. A useful and common approach is segmentation of your database. The idea of segmenting the database can generate enormous profits for those charities that do it properly. People are all different, even though they may support the same charity. Segmentation could be defined as: “searching for groups of donors who resemble each other as much as possible within the group itself and differ as much as possible from other groups.” … Continue Reading
Do-it-Yourself? Some Thoughts About Outsourcing Your Fundraising Database
by Jeanette Eesmann-Foster In the age that everyone can host their own website, create databases, make your own blog or make your own direct mailing, the obvious question is why outsource at all anymore? The tools to do the complete database housing, maintenance and development are readily available. In the last 10 years, very efficient software has arrived on the market in Europe that can in some cases even combine financial and marketing information. After all, if the finance department is happy with any decision we make about a database, then our lives as marketers will be much easier. But is it important to have software that combines financial administration and marketing knowledge? Or isn’t it better to look for the most suited financial software and the best marketing solution? … Continue Reading
Practical Tips: Database Cooking
In an interview, Carsten Fronia, the Marketing Research Manager at the SAZ-IT subsidiary, SAZ smart.net, in Garbsen, gives practical tips for users of database management. In fine cuisine, it is the taste that counts. What counts in the practice of database management? Data quality, data quality and again data quality! This always has to remain at the same level. This is important so that a forecast based on a model may also actually become reality. Meanwhile, the recipe is always being changed to suit changing tastes. In cooking jargon, this means: on the basis of my current culinary knowledge, how can I cultivate vegetable ingredients and change recipes so I can prepare a meal next week which tastes just as good or even better than today? In the information world, managers receive so-called … Continue Reading
It’s a Matter of Taste
Or what the art of cooking and database management have in common by Frédéric Cavro Hotdog stand or fine cuisine? Lunchtime special or seafood buffet? – As in the culinary arts, database management is aimed at satisfying the tastes of the target group. There is an enormous range: depending on the customer’s requirements, simple dishes or elaborate creations are produced – with or without topping. Transferred to the world of database management, this means anything is possible. Starting from standard reporting, progressing to analysis methods, such as online analytical processing (OLAP), then on to forecasts. The information “dish” produced depends on the customer’s requirements and the capacity of the expert database chef. In addition, the quality of the information … Continue Reading
Fundraising or FUNraising in the US of Europe
by Henk Wassenaar Crossing Borders? … OK. Borderless Direct Marketing? … No way! If we look at Europe as a whole, how united are the ‘United States of Europe’ really? A great deal will still need to happen in the coming years before we can talk in terms of a united Europe. A single currency on its own does not unite a region. Cultural differences will always play a role. That is the creative challenge that demands a regional approach. But what does that mean for a geographic approach to clients? Whether it involves consumer-oriented fundraising or a B2B market approach, traditional post or e-mail, the address is always the key. And that is the main challenge in using direct marketing in an international context. The target audience needs to be defined as clearly as … Continue Reading
Modern Database Management
Today, we begin our second group of posts in our Crossing Borders in Fundraising series - Modern Database Management; posts that will appear weekly through March. Perhaps you are wondering why the image of Granny's corner store market. The answer is pretty simple, for this simple shop symbolizes what a good database should be all about - to give your client the very best service through knowledge of their constitutiency. This is the basis of every corner store, regardless of where situated. And every database built should be trying to recreate this. With every piece of information gathered, we aim to achieve better targeting and therefore request additional support. The biggest drawback of every database is the impersonal nature. Millions of names and transactions, more than any one person … Continue Reading
E-mail as Part of the Modern Marketing Mix
by Michael Bres All charitable institutions are struggling with the same problems: Declining response to direct mail Decreasing number of collectors Decreasing number of legacies Decreasing willingness to donate Therefore more creativity than ever before is required if donors are to be recruited and retained and fundraising campaigns are to remain efficient. Communication via e-mail and Internet is cheaper than via any other medium and it offers more moments of contact and the opportunity of greater bonding with donors. With links through to the website, film clips can be shown for example with concrete results which are recorded. In this way each moment of contact is not accompanied by just "a giro transfer behind the window" but synergy occurs between various media (traditional … Continue Reading
Ten Quick Tips for Making Your Website Easier to Find
by Erik Zoomers Almost every organization has its own website these days and charities are no exception. As well as investing due time and care on the design and content of this site, it is also important to invest in finding and being found on the Internet. Although there are some hundred points which can and should be given attention if the organization’s ability to be found and its conversion rate are to be improved, the following ten occur very frequently. If you are responsible for marketing and communication they are certainly appropriate. 1. Look your organization’s website up in one of the search engines. In most search engines you can find out which pages of your website are indexed. A search engine will look for results in its own database. If you are in this there is a … Continue Reading
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