If your organization uses a legacy donor database, “digging deep” might conjure up an image of sifting through unused zombie fields in various silos of data from different channels. Or maybe it spurs thoughts of spending hours trying to combine your lists of event attendees and campaign donors in a way that is meaningful to you.
You're not alone if the effort to sift through the data takes all the time you'd planned to gain insights from your data. Many nonprofit organizations keep their data in a variety of locations — from Excel spreadsheets and handwritten notes to databases that are only accessible through a single user or computer. This makes it challenging for your organization to understand its supporters and all the ways they connect with your nonprofit. And while you are trying to review donor interests and interactions, and recognize actionable patterns, your donors may be growing frustrated with your sporadic communications, inconsistent messaging or even at times inappropriate asks.
"Digging deep" can mean something else entirely to those with a next-generation donor database — a constituent relationship management (CRM) solution. It’s about seeing the multiple ways your organization has engaged with all its contacts and understanding your relationships with them, as well as their relationships with each other. With a holistic view of constituents’ activities, you can easily examine valuable data to learn more about what your donors want to accomplish by partnering with you. This can translate into regular, meaningful communications that are consistent with your brand and messaging, and that speak to the impact your donors can make jointly with you.
Here’s a snapshot of what you can expect from a CRM solution when you dig deep to make the most of your data. A CRM:
1. Makes every workday easier. Gone are the days when you had to open multiple applications to get a big-picture view of your supporter’s touchpoints. By consolidating your donor data into a single solution, your efficiency skyrockets. You can assign tasks to individual staff members, board members and volunteers; track their progress; and create step-by-step action plans that experienced and new staff can follow.
For example, when your organization receives a major donation, you can receive an e-mail notification as soon as the gift has been captured. Next, your CRM can prompt your development director to print and sign an acknowledgment letter your staff has customized for this expected gift. Finally, your president can get an e-mail with a phone script and a link to the donor’s phone number.
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