If you are in the non-profit sector and are tasked with the intense job of creating a successful marketing plan, then you are more than likely searching for good advice that can point you in the right direction of developing a non-profit marketing plan to beat all others…
Planning is, and will always be, important when it comes to marketing, and if you are using one for a non-profit, you probably have even less material and cash-flow to work with.
This piece will take a look at the 2 main parts of a personalized non-profit plan, to help get your mission off the ground.
What Exactly Is Non-Profit Marketing?
Non-profit marketing plans can have almost identical processes to the consumer or donator, as you are trying to get them to engage with your product or service for a specific outcome. And realistically, there can be little difference between for-profit and non-profit marketing, as you are still working to create a similar goal, it is just that the ‘profit’ is not for your company.
Non-profits put everything they earn, back into their businesses - which are usually to benefit the public - whereas for-profits, generally keep their revenue.
With that in mind, non-profit marketing can be a little bit easier, in the sense that people generally want to help those that need it, and know their money will be going to a good cause rather than lining someone else’s pockets.
Define Your Marketing Goals
The first step you need to take when producing a marketing plan for non-profit, is to define your goals. You need to understand exactly what it is that you want to achieve, before you start, as this will ultimately guide your plan.
Some examples of this could include:
- Acquiring donations
- Acquiring long term donors
- Increasing mission awareness
Picking one marketing goal and using that as a base for your campaign, will allow you to get focused and refined with your campaign, as you can look back at every step you are planning on taking and ask yourself, “Will this help me achieve my goal?”.
You also want to make sure your goal is attainable. For example, wanting to acquire donations is one thing - wanting to acquire 1000 donations in 1 hour, is setting yourself up to fail if you live in a small town and are doing door-to-door collections.
Choose Your Marketing Strategies
Choosing your marketing strategies, is a crucial part of achieving your goals. For example, if you want people to be able to make one-off donation payments easily, then you might want to learn about sms for nonprofits. SMS is a brilliant way to reach a very large audience with the click of a button, and makes it extremely easy for the recipients to donate.
Other strategies include email marketing, cold calling, leafleting, PPC, and TV appeals. However, for non-profit, you will no doubt be wanting to look for the more low-cost options, to keep your expenses down!
