One thing came up repeatedly at the CIoF Convention we attended last month, and we hear it all the time from the charities we already work with: supporter journey is the top of everybody’s priority list. However, the calling part of this exercise (or outreach) is such a fluid task, it’s often moved around or bumped. From here, it simply doesn’t get done.
All of the charities we spoke with at the CIoF Convention described spare resource as a challenge. And that headcount is often being cut. Unfortunately, calls to supporters as a part of the journey is often one of the casualties of reduced capacity.
Proactive outreach is very much the right thing to do to cement your supporters into the ‘family’. But it’s not only the right thing to do, it’s absolutely essential. However, it does also need some tangible KPI’s and measurable results to sell the concept to the trustees of the charity (these KPI’s will vary from charity to charity, i.e. increased retention, decreased churn, increased give, more attendees at events, and so forth).
Every good supporter journey needs a call to action (CTA) and a goal attached to it. The warm, feel-good calls matter, but they are most valuable when they sit inside a system and process. What is the 12-week check-in plan? When does the stewardship call happen and what does it aim to achieve? How are you tracking whether supporters who received a welcome call stayed engaged longer than those who did not?
Without this structure, it is just a pleasant phone call with no evidence behind it. With it professionally organised, you have a retention tool that can be measured, refined and scaled.
The 72-Hour Window
We believe the welcome call should happen within 72 hours of a supporter signing up. Ideally sooner.
The sooner you reach out, the more the emotion of the original decision is still fresh. You are not reminding them of something they vaguely remember doing two weeks ago. You are following up on a choice they have just made, reinforcing it, and giving them confidence that they made the right one.
We also recommend telling supporters in advance that the call is coming. Not as pressure, but as preparation. Let them know during the sign-up conversation that someone will be in touch shortly, just to say thank you. Ask what time of day works best for them. That one small step changes the entire dynamic. It goes from a cold call to an expected conversation.
Retention vs. Acquisition
The public are increasingly resistant to being asked for money. The pressure of cost of living has made people more cautious, and many supporters have simply switched off when they feel a charity is only interested in extracting more from them.
That means acquisition is getting harder and more expensive for everyone.
The pressures of acquisition for new supporters or customers in any industry is an ongoing challenge, especially in the current climate. So, what commercial business and charitable organisations all have in common is keeping and growing their customer/supporter base.
Retaining an existing supporter costs a fraction of what it takes to acquire a new one. A charity that understands why their supporters give will be more empowered of how, when, and how often they should be speaking or communicating with their supporters to give a better chance of truly welcoming them into the ‘family’ longer term.
From Lead Generation to the Supporter Journey
VST started in lead generation back in 2007. Over time, what our clients asked of us increased. Booking meetings for commercial businesses and fundraising venues is still a core part of what we do. But increasingly, charities and fundraising agencies are asking us to do something more: help them look after the supporters they already have.
For this reason: we are human. On Purpose.
At the CIoF exhibition, people asked about the reference to ‘AI’ on our stand (link to other article). The honest answer is that we use digital tools and AI for the back-end: data processing, analysis, research and efficiency. But when it comes to actually speaking with your donors and supporters, we only do real phone calls.
We have a phrase in the business, digital and AI create efficiency; but real humans build relationships.
Our team are fantastic story tellers. More importantly, they know how to listen for the right answers. They are accent-neutral, professionally trained and genuinely good at building the kind of conversations that make supporters feel like they are part of the ‘family’, not just a line on a direct debit list.
That is what we bring. And from what I heard at the CIoF Convention, it’s exactly what the fundraising sector needs more of.
Ready to Build a Better Supporter Journey?
If you are looking at how to improve supporter retention, put solid structure behind your welcome and stewardship calls, or simply want to understand what a real supporter journey programme looks like in practice, we would love to have that conversation.
Get in touch with the team at VST Group today, we’re always open to new conversations with real humans.
