How much bang are you getting for your marketing buck? Unfortunately, research indicates that most nonprofits just aren’t sure. In fact, according to the 2007 Getting Attention Marketing Survey, only 37% of nonprofits track their marketing impact. This may be why it’s so difficult for nonprofits to invest in marketing activities and so easy to trim marketing out of the budget when funding gets cut.
Trimming or eliminating marketing funds is not always the best financial decision for nonprofit organizations. Marketing has (or should have) a direct impact on community engagement, awareness, giving, volunteering, and the overall strength of the organization. However, to be good stewards (or Guardians) for the organization you have to know if your marketing investment is paying off.
Establish goals for every campaign or marketing activity. For example - this direct mail campaign will generate $5,000 in additional funds, 15 new volunteers, and add 30 subscribers to our newsletter list by July 1, 2011. All goals should be SMART - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely - so you know what you are trying to accomplish and whether or not you succeed. Without defining your goals, you have no way to determine whether or not the money you spent was worth it.
I encourage you to set goals, even if you aren’t sure of what can realistically be accomplished. Setting goals and tracking your progress will help you determine realistic goals for the future. It’s okay to start by making educated guesses. The experience you gain will help you become more accurate in setting goals in the future.
Determining the impact of marketing activities can be challenging as it relates to branding or awareness. However, there are actions (giving, volunteering, subscribing, contacts, etc.) that can be quantified and indicate marketing success. It is important to first determine how you define success and what you want to measure as success indicators.
Once you’ve determined what to measure, compile these items into a dashboard so that you can easily track the impact of your marketing efforts. A marketing dashboard, like the dashboard in a car, is used to provide a simple view of the data associated with your performance. It is a snapshot of how well you are doing. Some items you may want to include in your marketing dashboard are:
Unique Site Visitors
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Sources of Traffic (site & individual pages) |
Referral Sites
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Page Views |
Time Spent on Site
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Bounce Rate |
New Subscribers
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# or Amount of Online Donations |
| Signatures on Survey |
# New Volunteers |
Total # Volunteers
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# or Value of In-Kind Contributions |
Forms Completed
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# of Inquiries (Calls) |
Comments on Blogs
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Keyword Ranking |
Click-Throughs on Ads
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Size of Database
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Email Opt-Outs
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Open Rates |
Email Click-Throughs
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# Items Clicked in Emails |
Email Forwards
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# of Friends, Followers, Fans |
# of Tweets
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# of Retweets |
# of Mentions
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# of YouTube Subscribers |
$ Raised through Social Media
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# of Media Coverages (good and bad) |
Sponsorship Activity
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Media Coverage for Events |
| Event Attendees |
New Attendees |
# of Donors
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Average Gift Size |
# of Media Relationships
|
# of Speaking Engagements/Presentations |
# of Referrals
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$ Spent/Campaign |
# of Mailings Sent
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# of People Responding to Appeal |
This is not a comprehensive list of the things an organization could potentially track to evaluate the impact of their marketing investment. However, it would be beneficial to select some of these items and begin building a marketing dashboard. I recommend starting by tracking 5-10 items you have identified as success indicators.
Note: Much of this information can be easily accessed through Google Analytics, your accounting or donor management system, the reporting tools within many blog platforms, or by using a free program like HootSuite or TweetDeck.
Marketing is an investment, and like other investments it sometimes takes time to see the results. That’s why it’s important to track the impact of each campaign, as well as the changes in your dashboard over time. Investing in marketing over the long-term often results in increased momentum and more bang for your marketing buck. However, if you don’t update your dashboard and monitor your results, you still won’t know if your being a good steward of your marketing dollars and as a result, you could be throwing good money away.
The responsibility for monitoring these results falls to whoever in your organization is creating and implementing marketing campaigns. This is the person that needs to know what is working and what isn’t so that appropriate adjustments can be made. This dashboard should also be shared with staff leadership for budgeting and planning purposes.
Once you’ve developed your dashboard and begun monitoring your results, it’s time to act. You will begin to see what works and what doesn’t. Use this information to create marketing programs and campaigns that maximize the results for your organization. The information you’ve gathered will equip you to make good decisions, produce good results, and develop campaigns that will engage your community and further your mission.
If you’d like help developing your dashboard or improving the impact of your marketing dollars, please contact us for a free evaluation. We’d love to help.
Good luck.
 Tiffany Applegate, President of Applegate Consulting, strengthens nonprofit organizations, leaders, and staff through coaching, consulting, and training.
Tiffany
has a wealth of experience working with corporations and nonprofits.
She has provided numerous organizations guidance and expertise in
marketing, branding, strategic messaging, organizational development,
and more. Contact Tiffany at 417-894-4640 or by email to
learn how she can help you today.
Copyright
- 2011. Text may not be printed or reproduced without written
permission from Applegate Consulting. Contact Applegate Consulting for more information.
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