Special Report : Pulling It All ?Together: Smart Channel-Integration Strategies

Study after study shows that the multichannel donor has a higher long-term value than the single-channel donor. The donor who gives through and receives communications from multiple channels typically donates more frequently, has a higher average gift and stays active for a longer period of time.

The key is to bring these folks in using one channel, then use the honeymoon period (30 to 45 days post action or donation) to get them to convert through a second channel. Then you've got the makings of a ?winning integrated program!

Direct-mail donors are most likely to donate again when they've recently given, and it's no different when you're integrating your fundraising channels. That person who just joined your e-mail list? Make a case for why you need his or her financial support on the phone or through direct mail, and you've just increased the value of that donor — and thus your donor file — without having to increase your file size! You've also acquired a donor without list-rental fees, and he's more likely to stay on your file longer, give more frequently and give higher gifts.

If you're just getting started with integrating your online and offline programs, here's what you need to do to get your channels talking to each other:

1. Ask for an e-mail address on everything. And I mean everything: direct-mail packages, inbound and outbound telemarketing calls, major-donor pledge forms, and all your online forms (donation, e-mail sign-up, petition, forward-to-a-friend). And don't forget to add an e-mail join widget to your Facebook group.

2. If you aren't able to directly ask for an e-mail address, send the potential donor to your Web site, where you have an e-mail sign-up form waiting — along with a good reason to join! Add your Web site URL to your public service announcements, press releases, major-donor collateral, print newsletters, social-networking profiles, DRTV ads and anything else you send out.

3. Add new online donors and constituents to your next direct-mail acquisition mailing — it's a "warm" file with no list-rental fees!

4. The recent "Wired Wealthy" study by Convio, Sea Change Strategies and Edge Research suggests that up to 50 percent of people who ?receive your direct-mail packages check out your organization online before making gifts, even if they make those gifts through the mail. This is especially true among people considering gifts of $1,000 or more. Look at your Web site from this perspective: Does the main content echo the issues in your mail? Are your mailing address, annual report and financial statements up-to-date and easy to find? Does your Web site communicate that your donors' dollars will go toward programs that effectively and efficiently meet ?your mission?

5. Consider adding a button on your Web site that graphically reflects your current direct-mail package, and change it out to the next one during its in-home delivery.

6. Plan the communications stream your donor will get across channels, and then test, test, test!

For those of you who already have the basics down, here are some ways to take your programs to the next level of channel integration:

1. Break down your internal silos between departments. Get all of your acronyms — DM (direct mail), TM (telemarketing), DRTV (direct-response TV), OL (online), MD (major donor), PG (planned giving), COMMS (communications) — together in a room at the very beginning of your fiscal year and campaign planning, and talk! What campaigns, issues, offers and news will be going out when? Put ?together a master communications schedule that ?coordinates campaign timing and messaging throughout the year.

2. Once you've broken down all your silos and created a coordinated master plan that each channel feeds into (Whew! That was easy!), set up ongoing meetings — weekly, monthly or whatever works for you — to touch base and plan the details as you execute your master schedule. Things will change based on channel testing, world events, your organization's progress toward its mission and the political environment — and you'll need to adjust your plan accordingly. Often this is to the benefit of everyone: Imagine a new development arising on an issue discussed in a recent mail package — you can send an e-mail to those who received the package with the update and boost the response to your original mailing! Or how about asking donors to choose their favorite images for next year's member card or calendar?

3. Test different channels of follow-up to your new online donors and constituents: Do they convert better through a direct-mail acquisition piece, telemarketing call, or appeal or renewal mailing?

4. Test a customized follow-up ask based on the issue the online donor or constituent originally responded to. For instance, if a new online ?name joined your e-mail list on a "Save the Mountain Gorillas!" ask, send her a variable-print package ?or call her on this same issue to ask for a donation.

5. Get your program people involved! Multichannel campaigns demand content that shows supporters their dollars and clicks in action. Ask your field personnel to take pictures and video and provide "reports from the field," and incorporate these into your campaigns to show donors and constituents the difference their gifts are making or to ask them for additional support.

6. Understand what each channel's strengths are, and create your campaigns to utilize those strengths. Mail, DRTV, one-on-one major-donor solicitations and e-mail are still the fundraising powerhouses — use them as the core of your campaign, and integrate events, online ads, mobile marketing and social networking to get the word out, involve new audiences in your mission and generate buzz around your campaigns!

7. Just like you've added an e-mail ask to all of your communications, it's important to integrate your messaging across all channels, too. Ask not how you can integrate your recent direct-mail package, rather, what issues are most relevant now and what channels you can leverage to engage your supporters in creating change. For instance, your February direct-mail package might focus on homeless veterans and the harsh winter, and you plan a three-part e-mail campaign with price-point asks for the food, clothes and medical care you're raising money to provide. Then you update your Facebook profile and Twitter status with your goal progress, info on the shelters at which you'll be distributing food and clothes, and photos and videos taken during the event, asking people to donate an hour at a shelter and add the campaign badge to their profiles.

8. Track what issues your supporters are interested in wherever you can. Use interest codes, groups and flags to note that Bethany is interested in microfinance in the developing world, Alisdair responded to your recent dog appeal (vs. the cat version) and Zakia signed a petition supporting work programs for injured veterans. Include this interest tracking in your data transfers so you can use it to make your communications across all channels more relevant to each of your constituents.

All of this requires some significant data integration — how it should be done depends on whether you have the staff to do it manually or the funds to automate it. Many organizations have multiple databases, also known as "data silos," and don't share important information that could benefit their cross-channel marketing. Donors don't see your programs or their support in terms of silos, so that's not the way you should connect with them! In order to communicate one big, consistent picture, you need to create processes for regular data transfers across databases and channels.

Remember, the rising tide raises all ships, and integrating your fundraising and marketing channels increases your bottom line by providing more consistent and relevant messaging to your supporters. More and more, supporters expect you to communicate with them like they are unique individuals — and not just donor ID #0164892. Better integration across channels and communication streams takes a lot of work and coordination, but it pays off by producing engaged donors who give more, stick with you longer and talk to their friends about the great causes they support! FS

Mikaela King is director of online marketing at CDR Fundraising Group. Reach her at mking@cdr.com

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