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For many non profits, marketing gets no respect, let alone time
dedicated to build a brand. So if you're entering the New Year fed up
with the way your organization is portrayed or perceived by the public,
or you've inherited an internal culture that implies your mission will
sell itself, this process is perfect for you! First, you must pay
attention to the disclaimer: this process works best for friends working
hard in the small development shop.
You see, in order for this process to work, the buck must stop with you. Eliminate decisions made by committee; if you don't, beware - you'll get bogged down with egos, copy quibbling, and distractions a'la mode. Your seven-day focus is to efficiently create a Brand Positioning Statement that is effective, timely, fluid and precisely anchors what you can do for others.
A brand is an accumulation of assumptions about your organization disseminated to the public which now defines your organization for better or worse. These assumptions are formed by everything you've communicated, acted on, and/or interacted with. For example, when an interested party asks a chance question about your organization, the knee-jerk response from bystanders may be primarily based on a feeling rather than fact. What we will do today is put you in control of your organizations image and its authenticity in a manner that is sustainable.
PREPARATION: This article isn't meant for you to read and then immediately launch into Day One. You need to prepare. And you have two to three weeks for this phase. Here is your "to do" list:
Before guiding you through the brainstorming process, let's talk about what your image shouldn't be. It is not your logo, tagline or color scheme. It shouldn't be about you. It mustn't reflect what you think you need to tell people; it must be what people NEED or EXPECT from you. Here's an example:
You're a K-8 Spanish immersion charter school. You believe kids should learn Spanish at an early age. But what about distinguishing your school as a place dedicated to helping children become informed and interconnected global citizens? Your institution preparing our children to live and work globally also resonates with international companies with offices in Latin America; global companies with foundations who give hundreds of millions away each year. They will invest in a school dedicated to bringing up their future workforce. OK, let's get this brainstorming bash started. Here's a zippy framework for your day (and you need zippy):
Goal: We engage a sense of community not only externally, but inside our organization as well
Goal: We motivates groups of strangers to come together because they feel a shared experience or passion
Goal: It is our lighthouse - guiding and driving all messages, strategies and identifiers back home
Goal: It is clear and simple
Goal: It is focused and will endure
4. Display ideas by category on white sheets of paper around the room - place slash marks next to similar ideas. Take the two most popular ideas for each category and as a group agree on one idea per category.
5. Take the top idea per category. You may feel that you fit many of these profiles, but choose the one(s) you want to come through the strongest. Your brainstorming session is now adjourned.
6. You and perhaps one board member take those top ideas and define your Positioning Statement. If you feel you need a bit more guidance on using your top ideas, brandeo could be helpful. They offer a template below:
Template for a Positioning Statement: For (target audience), (name) is the (frame of reference) that delivers (benefit/point of difference) because only (name) is (reason to believe).
An example positioning statement for a Spanish immersion charter school: "For parents who want their children to have the added benefit of bilingualism, Spanish Immersion Academy is the Spanish education cultural gateway that delivers an added advantage for young minds as they enter middle school and beyond because only Spanish Immersion Academy is firmly positioned to groom our future decision-makers to live and work in an interconnected world and economy."
Now that you've defined your Positioning Statement, what do you want to accomplish with it and how will you measure those accomplishments? According to brandeo the criteria for evaluation follows (Simons, 2010):
Is it memorable, motivating and focused to the core prospect? Does it provide a clear, distinctive and meaningful picture of how it differentiates from the competition? Is it credible and believable? Does it enable growth? Does it serve as a filter for image decision making?
DAY TWO- BUILD YOUR BRIDGE! Now that you've defined your organization's image, you must build your bridge connecting it to public emotion. First give it a face. That face is your organization logo and tag line. And while the logo, tag and colors you choose are not your image - they do bring the experience full circle and serve as expressions which communicate its message to your core prospect.
It's possible your current logo and tag line remain relevant. When possible, build on the brand equity you've already developed. Consider updating your look while still retaining recognizable hints. Creating or renewing your logo doesn't have to be daunting. In fact, the single most important element of a logo is oftentimes your organization's name or acronym of your name, combined with a color scheme that fits. Your volunteer designer was a participant in the brainstorming session and has a handle on an appropriate font, color(s), and design elements which augment your organizations new emotional appeal.
The tagline is your mission sound bite. A good tagline doesn't just tell people what you do in a few short words - it instantly evokes a consistent feeling for the organization. These elements must resonate, poised for recall. In everything you do on Day One and Day Two, remember that your brand is your bridge to the public's head, heart and ultimately hands, either by their gifts of time, items, funds, or all three.
DAY THREE - GET ON THE SAME PAGE: Part I, Organizational Training. During the Preparation Phase, schedule a mandatory 1 - 2 hour staff meeting for Day Three. If your entire staff didn't participate in the brainstorming session or some board members couldn't make it, this time will be blocked off on their schedule for you to announce your new brand and the detailed process (including those involved in the process). It's important to illustrate the brainstorming process you used because organizational buy-in is essential.
Next, ensure that every person working or volunteering for your organization has this information, or that it's accessible to them. Think about investing in a supply of 2GB flash drives to save all your new materials on and distribute to staff and board for use. It's often helpful to create key messages and talking points for the organization. Include those on the flash drive and strongly emphasize the importance of using the materials consistently across departments.
Many organizations feel the need to create a dense and rarely read style guide. Many professionals no longer believe in them as they feel an image is no longer static. Today they're fluid, flexible and nonlinear (Greenberg, 2008). In order to stay on track you need to revisit this process annually to ensure your message remains relevant - if not, adjust. This doesn't mean you change your logo, you subtly adjust your messaging.
This is a fast paced society - an on-line environment is in a constant state of "real time" change. It could be prompted by a current event, negative publicity, or economy shift. You must position yourself to evolve as our world evolves. Change is hard; one can make it an easier transition if staff & volunteers are prepared to remain fluid, flexible and open to the likelihood of change whenever needed.
Next, review all organizational materials to ensure swift application, bringing your positioning statement to life and use as soon as possible. Review your letterhead, business cards, website, newsletter, brochures, flyers, signage and more. Then assign a watch dog to ensure that the integrity of your materials and messaging is maintained. Depending on the size of the organization, this task is best placed with the person in charge of fundraising and marketing. If you are the Executive Director, the Development & Marketing Department and the Accountant - it becomes your added responsibility.
DAY FOUR-TRAIN YOUR AMBASSADORS TO BECOME STORY TELLERS: Part Two, Organizational Training: Everyone associated with your organization has a life outside of it. Train your internal family to use all opportunities available to them in their daily lives to become ambassadors of the organization. What you do or what you're involved in comes up as a topic of conversation. Whether you are at your child's soccer game, your book club, at dinner with friends, or in a grocery line, prepare your ambassadors to acknowledge these opportunities and then use them to tell your organization's story, giving your new image legs.
This is where talking points become useful. Storytelling remains your single most powerful communication tool in verbally reinforcing your organizations identity because it innately creates an emotional connection between you and the person you are speaking with which can then be reinforced using social media.
Your story must be concise, clear and compelling. Begin by writing out the story you tell donors, from your perspective. What motivated you to get involved, what motivates you to stay, the good that you have witnessed and how it made you feel. Keep it short and share with your fellow storytellers. If the story is confusing and poorly conveyed, the intended audience will dismiss it in a matter of seconds. However, if it's engaging and touches the heart, he or she will likely become entranced and moved to use their hands - either by volunteering, giving stuff, money or all three. Prepare your internal family to become enticing storytellers as they move through their day. Here is an example of the key message and talking points to provide your ambassadors to use in creating their personal story and emotional appeal:
Key Message: This is a description of how you are delivering on your promise. "Spanish Immersion Academy offers parents of elementary-age children the opportunity to give them a bilingual education which prepares their children to live and work in our increasingly interconnected world."
Talking Points: Describe the unique benefits of your organization, or a unique way the organization provided an advantage to you or a member of your family:
Believe it or not, there are people out there actively seeking a nonprofit organization that matches their personal value system. Furthermore, they are actively seeking a nonprofit because they are ready to dig in and help. This typically happens in the New Year, as people solidify their New Year's resolutions or goals.
Your organization must have an online presence, if you are not online, you don't exist. You certainly aren't fully respected by your peers, nor will they believe you can deliver on your promise to fulfill your mission. Let's imprint the importance of creating your online home in a manner that you will retain beyond this reading. Remember what you read earlier? You must be poised to evolve as the world around you evolves. And today an individual's first interaction with a you is commonly first witnessed through digital technology. If you ignore the place of social marketing in today's world, you will remain invisible.
Chris Garrett recommends that if you want to build your online brand, you have to know how all your activities work together. You need consistency and congruency. Each part of the social media puzzle builds into a picture people have of you; how they imagine you to be relates to how you really are to the degree you get this stuff right (Garrett, 2008). Chris also suggests that the best way to approach social media is to choose your venues and connect them in some way to your blog. Yours should be too. All your best stuff originates and is archived in this place. When people search you, you want them to land on your blog or your website which clearly links to your blog.
DAY SIX- COLLABORATE FOR SUSTAINABILITY! If all is done well, your most dynamic donors are inspired to collaborate or form a solid partnership with your organization because they are now more invested in its success and sustainability. You have successfully attracted newcomers, increased interest in current donors and perhaps recovered lapsed donors into more active participants, all because you now express who you are in a way that builds your close-knit community of donors, volunteers and community partners. Now that you are out there standing tall, proud and true to who you really are - you've attracted new attention, gained renewed respect - it's important to acknowledge your hard work and sustain your newly found presence by sharing blog-posts, event announcements, and newsworthy articles on a monthly basis.
On day six ensure you are fully prepared to retain and grow the new and renewed interest you have now created within your organization. Here are the six steps to follow in order to build an on-board strategy:
Additionally, freeware programs for website analytics are easy to understand and will show you how many people found your site, the total number of visits, bounces (people who leave the site without going past the first page) and so much more. Analytics will let you know where your website traffic is coming from (Arkansas, Amsterdam, Uganda), who it is (male/female), and their IP address.
In closing, developing a strong brand is hard work; it takes a lot of energy and a commitment, but it doesn't have to take a lot of time. Dedicate one week to giving your organization a recognizable image in the community. Because it is that important to every single aspect of your activities, from bringing in clients, to fundraising, to collaborating with partners, to getting great board members and volunteers on your side. The hard work is well worth the effort in building brand equity and increasing the amount of money a donor will give because your brand is strong and credible.
Marcie L. Wagner, fundraising consultant, is the founder and
principal of ML Wagner Fundraising Group. We are a boutique, fundraising
consulting firm. With two decades of experience in professional
fundraising, grant research, grant writing, and communications, Marcie
is an expert in raising money with little expense attached; as it should
be.You see, in order for this process to work, the buck must stop with you. Eliminate decisions made by committee; if you don't, beware - you'll get bogged down with egos, copy quibbling, and distractions a'la mode. Your seven-day focus is to efficiently create a Brand Positioning Statement that is effective, timely, fluid and precisely anchors what you can do for others.
A brand is an accumulation of assumptions about your organization disseminated to the public which now defines your organization for better or worse. These assumptions are formed by everything you've communicated, acted on, and/or interacted with. For example, when an interested party asks a chance question about your organization, the knee-jerk response from bystanders may be primarily based on a feeling rather than fact. What we will do today is put you in control of your organizations image and its authenticity in a manner that is sustainable.
PREPARATION: This article isn't meant for you to read and then immediately launch into Day One. You need to prepare. And you have two to three weeks for this phase. Here is your "to do" list:
- Block off your schedule for the seven day crusade; select a day, time, location and invite a minimum of 6 attendees for a full day strategy meeting (described below in Day One).
- Research your competitors. It's like this: before you can stand out in a crowd, you must know what crowd you're standing in. In order for you to be effective, you need to articulate your organization in a way that is unique and easily explains how you differ from others or focuses on an area where you clearly respond to the cause in a better manner. As a part of your fact-finding, get a handle on what you think they're doing right, and what you feel they're doing wrong or could do better. This will arm you with the "idea starters" you need during your Day One brainstorming session.
- Create and email a perception survey to your stakeholders, family and friends, because you also want feedback from those who know of your organization but are not directly involved. Ask specific questions like: When you think of your organization, what comes to mind first? Describe what your organization does. Are there other organizations that come to mind when thinking about your mission? How do you feel we are different from other similar organizations? You can find online resources to help you to create and submit your perception survey to constituents.; then use the responses as your "idea starters" on Day One.
- Retain a volunteer professional designer; you will need them on Day One and Two. If there isn't a clear choice for a professional volunteer designer (who is brilliantly creative) search for well-trained designers by contacting your local design school and community college. You should also look into online volunteer banks.
Before guiding you through the brainstorming process, let's talk about what your image shouldn't be. It is not your logo, tagline or color scheme. It shouldn't be about you. It mustn't reflect what you think you need to tell people; it must be what people NEED or EXPECT from you. Here's an example:
You're a K-8 Spanish immersion charter school. You believe kids should learn Spanish at an early age. But what about distinguishing your school as a place dedicated to helping children become informed and interconnected global citizens? Your institution preparing our children to live and work globally also resonates with international companies with offices in Latin America; global companies with foundations who give hundreds of millions away each year. They will invest in a school dedicated to bringing up their future workforce. OK, let's get this brainstorming bash started. Here's a zippy framework for your day (and you need zippy):
- Write your objective. Distribute it to attendees, and post it grandly for all to see during the session. Your objective is: Create and define a brand that elicits a specific emotion within people so powerful they remember and act on it.
- Set a time limit, up to 4 hours.
- Capture all ideas as they flow from the group and specifically follow this process:
- Hand out a stack of note cards
- Bring up one Idea Starter (see below) and ask each participant to write down four (4) ideas per starter on one note card, then hand the card in and so on. Idea Starters are the outcome of your research. Use present tense when presenting the category or goal for discussion, for example:
- We are warm and nurturing
- We are nonjudgmental
- We are Aggressive and Energetic
- We are Mature
- We are Youthful
- We are Activists
- We are a Service Organization
- li>We appeal to East African Immigrants
- We appeal to parents of children with a life-threatening illness
Goal: We engage a sense of community not only externally, but inside our organization as well
Goal: We motivates groups of strangers to come together because they feel a shared experience or passion
Goal: It is our lighthouse - guiding and driving all messages, strategies and identifiers back home
Goal: It is clear and simple
Goal: It is focused and will endure
4. Display ideas by category on white sheets of paper around the room - place slash marks next to similar ideas. Take the two most popular ideas for each category and as a group agree on one idea per category.
5. Take the top idea per category. You may feel that you fit many of these profiles, but choose the one(s) you want to come through the strongest. Your brainstorming session is now adjourned.
6. You and perhaps one board member take those top ideas and define your Positioning Statement. If you feel you need a bit more guidance on using your top ideas, brandeo could be helpful. They offer a template below:
Template for a Positioning Statement: For (target audience), (name) is the (frame of reference) that delivers (benefit/point of difference) because only (name) is (reason to believe).
An example positioning statement for a Spanish immersion charter school: "For parents who want their children to have the added benefit of bilingualism, Spanish Immersion Academy is the Spanish education cultural gateway that delivers an added advantage for young minds as they enter middle school and beyond because only Spanish Immersion Academy is firmly positioned to groom our future decision-makers to live and work in an interconnected world and economy."
Now that you've defined your Positioning Statement, what do you want to accomplish with it and how will you measure those accomplishments? According to brandeo the criteria for evaluation follows (Simons, 2010):
Is it memorable, motivating and focused to the core prospect? Does it provide a clear, distinctive and meaningful picture of how it differentiates from the competition? Is it credible and believable? Does it enable growth? Does it serve as a filter for image decision making?
DAY TWO- BUILD YOUR BRIDGE! Now that you've defined your organization's image, you must build your bridge connecting it to public emotion. First give it a face. That face is your organization logo and tag line. And while the logo, tag and colors you choose are not your image - they do bring the experience full circle and serve as expressions which communicate its message to your core prospect.
It's possible your current logo and tag line remain relevant. When possible, build on the brand equity you've already developed. Consider updating your look while still retaining recognizable hints. Creating or renewing your logo doesn't have to be daunting. In fact, the single most important element of a logo is oftentimes your organization's name or acronym of your name, combined with a color scheme that fits. Your volunteer designer was a participant in the brainstorming session and has a handle on an appropriate font, color(s), and design elements which augment your organizations new emotional appeal.
The tagline is your mission sound bite. A good tagline doesn't just tell people what you do in a few short words - it instantly evokes a consistent feeling for the organization. These elements must resonate, poised for recall. In everything you do on Day One and Day Two, remember that your brand is your bridge to the public's head, heart and ultimately hands, either by their gifts of time, items, funds, or all three.
DAY THREE - GET ON THE SAME PAGE: Part I, Organizational Training. During the Preparation Phase, schedule a mandatory 1 - 2 hour staff meeting for Day Three. If your entire staff didn't participate in the brainstorming session or some board members couldn't make it, this time will be blocked off on their schedule for you to announce your new brand and the detailed process (including those involved in the process). It's important to illustrate the brainstorming process you used because organizational buy-in is essential.
Next, ensure that every person working or volunteering for your organization has this information, or that it's accessible to them. Think about investing in a supply of 2GB flash drives to save all your new materials on and distribute to staff and board for use. It's often helpful to create key messages and talking points for the organization. Include those on the flash drive and strongly emphasize the importance of using the materials consistently across departments.
Many organizations feel the need to create a dense and rarely read style guide. Many professionals no longer believe in them as they feel an image is no longer static. Today they're fluid, flexible and nonlinear (Greenberg, 2008). In order to stay on track you need to revisit this process annually to ensure your message remains relevant - if not, adjust. This doesn't mean you change your logo, you subtly adjust your messaging.
This is a fast paced society - an on-line environment is in a constant state of "real time" change. It could be prompted by a current event, negative publicity, or economy shift. You must position yourself to evolve as our world evolves. Change is hard; one can make it an easier transition if staff & volunteers are prepared to remain fluid, flexible and open to the likelihood of change whenever needed.
Next, review all organizational materials to ensure swift application, bringing your positioning statement to life and use as soon as possible. Review your letterhead, business cards, website, newsletter, brochures, flyers, signage and more. Then assign a watch dog to ensure that the integrity of your materials and messaging is maintained. Depending on the size of the organization, this task is best placed with the person in charge of fundraising and marketing. If you are the Executive Director, the Development & Marketing Department and the Accountant - it becomes your added responsibility.
DAY FOUR-TRAIN YOUR AMBASSADORS TO BECOME STORY TELLERS: Part Two, Organizational Training: Everyone associated with your organization has a life outside of it. Train your internal family to use all opportunities available to them in their daily lives to become ambassadors of the organization. What you do or what you're involved in comes up as a topic of conversation. Whether you are at your child's soccer game, your book club, at dinner with friends, or in a grocery line, prepare your ambassadors to acknowledge these opportunities and then use them to tell your organization's story, giving your new image legs.
This is where talking points become useful. Storytelling remains your single most powerful communication tool in verbally reinforcing your organizations identity because it innately creates an emotional connection between you and the person you are speaking with which can then be reinforced using social media.
Your story must be concise, clear and compelling. Begin by writing out the story you tell donors, from your perspective. What motivated you to get involved, what motivates you to stay, the good that you have witnessed and how it made you feel. Keep it short and share with your fellow storytellers. If the story is confusing and poorly conveyed, the intended audience will dismiss it in a matter of seconds. However, if it's engaging and touches the heart, he or she will likely become entranced and moved to use their hands - either by volunteering, giving stuff, money or all three. Prepare your internal family to become enticing storytellers as they move through their day. Here is an example of the key message and talking points to provide your ambassadors to use in creating their personal story and emotional appeal:
Key Message: This is a description of how you are delivering on your promise. "Spanish Immersion Academy offers parents of elementary-age children the opportunity to give them a bilingual education which prepares their children to live and work in our increasingly interconnected world."
Talking Points: Describe the unique benefits of your organization, or a unique way the organization provided an advantage to you or a member of your family:
- Full Spanish Immersion (from the moment dropped off, to the moment picked up, students speak Spanish)
- A maximum of 18 children per classroom
- Offers advanced classes and classes for learning disabilities, along with extracurriculars like band, art, gym, and music
- A close-knit community
- Every teacher not only knows my child's name, they know my name
- While at work with me, my 5th grader overheard a gentleman ask for directions to the elevator in Spanish. My child answered the question and had a fluent conversation with him. Lyndon was beaming with pride afterwards. It was the first time he fully understood what his Spanish education will mean for his future.
Believe it or not, there are people out there actively seeking a nonprofit organization that matches their personal value system. Furthermore, they are actively seeking a nonprofit because they are ready to dig in and help. This typically happens in the New Year, as people solidify their New Year's resolutions or goals.
Your organization must have an online presence, if you are not online, you don't exist. You certainly aren't fully respected by your peers, nor will they believe you can deliver on your promise to fulfill your mission. Let's imprint the importance of creating your online home in a manner that you will retain beyond this reading. Remember what you read earlier? You must be poised to evolve as the world around you evolves. And today an individual's first interaction with a you is commonly first witnessed through digital technology. If you ignore the place of social marketing in today's world, you will remain invisible.
Chris Garrett recommends that if you want to build your online brand, you have to know how all your activities work together. You need consistency and congruency. Each part of the social media puzzle builds into a picture people have of you; how they imagine you to be relates to how you really are to the degree you get this stuff right (Garrett, 2008). Chris also suggests that the best way to approach social media is to choose your venues and connect them in some way to your blog. Yours should be too. All your best stuff originates and is archived in this place. When people search you, you want them to land on your blog or your website which clearly links to your blog.
DAY SIX- COLLABORATE FOR SUSTAINABILITY! If all is done well, your most dynamic donors are inspired to collaborate or form a solid partnership with your organization because they are now more invested in its success and sustainability. You have successfully attracted newcomers, increased interest in current donors and perhaps recovered lapsed donors into more active participants, all because you now express who you are in a way that builds your close-knit community of donors, volunteers and community partners. Now that you are out there standing tall, proud and true to who you really are - you've attracted new attention, gained renewed respect - it's important to acknowledge your hard work and sustain your newly found presence by sharing blog-posts, event announcements, and newsworthy articles on a monthly basis.
On day six ensure you are fully prepared to retain and grow the new and renewed interest you have now created within your organization. Here are the six steps to follow in order to build an on-board strategy:
- Email quarterly newsletters
- Send out regular press releases and press clippings
- Add your website, social media pages and current blog topic to your email signature
- Host an open house
- Solicit letters of endorsement from donors, city officials, celebrities, etc. and place them on your website and social media sites
- Meet with new donors or renewed donors in person, not to ask for a gift, but to solicit feedback on their perception of your organization
Additionally, freeware programs for website analytics are easy to understand and will show you how many people found your site, the total number of visits, bounces (people who leave the site without going past the first page) and so much more. Analytics will let you know where your website traffic is coming from (Arkansas, Amsterdam, Uganda), who it is (male/female), and their IP address.
In closing, developing a strong brand is hard work; it takes a lot of energy and a commitment, but it doesn't have to take a lot of time. Dedicate one week to giving your organization a recognizable image in the community. Because it is that important to every single aspect of your activities, from bringing in clients, to fundraising, to collaborating with partners, to getting great board members and volunteers on your side. The hard work is well worth the effort in building brand equity and increasing the amount of money a donor will give because your brand is strong and credible.
Her favorite success stories are those attached to working with smaller organizations. Groups with passionate leadership, a unique mission, poised for greatness - all they need is a gentle push in the right direction. Ms. Wagner is considered by many to be an expert in the area of annual giving, online fundraising, grant research and writing, and branded communications; particularly with organizations who are just beginning to form strategic development and communication efforts. Her no-nonsense approach in branding an organization to enhance its development efforts gave many organizations the tools to launch successful grant and major giving campaigns.
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