Spotlight on: Supporter Experience
In today’s fundraising climate, it is critical that every supporter has an experience that makes them feel connected to the cause.
In our latest ‘Spotlight’ event, we explore why supporter experience matters and how to apply learnings practically to maximise supporter experience.
The event was hosted by Olivia Honigsbaum, Senior Planner at GOOD, and moderated by Pete Esuola-Grant. GOOD was also joined by Stephen Brown, Senior Performance and Innovation Manager at Dogs Trust.
With 9 in 10 donors taking only a single action for charity*, Olivia shares three strategic shifts charities can implement to improve supporter experience.
From charity-first, to audience-first
This is arguably the most important shift, from focusing on information and content to being truly audience focused. This means organisations need to focus on the values, needs and motivations of each individual supporter to deepen the connection. If charities want to reverse the statistic that 9 in 10 donors only take a single action with a charity*, it is imperative that the initial donor touchpoint forms a memorable connection. This isn’t always simple and requires adjustment from all internal teams and stakeholders to action and implement effectively.
From organisational, to human
Unlike many commercial brands, charities have emotive stories to tell. These are an organisation’s most powerful asset. The challenge can be in how you tell the stories so that they don’t appear as mass marketing. Often smaller charities excel at this, due to the personal one-to-one relationship they have with their supporters. However, this can also be achieved on a much larger scale – an inspiring example is from Crisis. We worked together to produce a co-created appeal featuring artwork by people supported by the charity; Art from Crisis. The humanity and warmth in this campaign creates a personal relationship with donors, which goes a long way.
From one team to everyone
Supporter experience is holistic and can’t just involve one team. It has so many touchpoints. It is a cross-organisational effort which requires acknowledgement that the whole organisation needs to be informed and supportive. You need to understand how prepared your charity is, then plan and set KPI’s from the start. With clear KPIs and tracking, teams are forced to outline how KPI’s will link to the experience strategy. In doing so stakeholders are informed across the organisation and can therefore support the strategy.
To access the recording and contact GOOD about any support experience opportunities, please email hello@goodagency.co.uk
*Wood for Trees, State of the Sector Report 2023
Posted by Katie Daley
