The choice of marketing strategies can make or break any organization. Put simply, clever marketing is your gateway to revenue.Your organization needs a tailored strategy or your organization will starve financially. Investing in a good marketing strategy will help your organization to attract new sponsors, satisfy and maintain current donors, spread your message and mission to a wide range of people, and create relationships with other organizations and government agencies, among others. The list is long! In this article, we take a look at some of the best marketing strategies for small nonprofits.
Know Your Target Audience/Market
Before pulling all your marketing strings, your primary assignment is to identify the target market. You have to narrow it down to the right audience because you cannot be meaningful to just everyone. The audience that appeals to your business is the right target audience. Parameters like gender, age, income level, interests, and behavior would be of great help in sampling the correct market. Make sure you are clear regarding how you want them to help your organization. State whether you want them to be donors, volunteers, messengers, etc. Perhaps you want them to be part of your organization.
You can research or spare some small budget and hire professional market researchers who specialize in assistingnonprofit organizations. Use the outcome to fine-tune your marketing strategies to fit your potential donors, sponsors, members, or stakeholders.
Seek Help from a Consultant
If you are unsure how to get started and what marketing strategies fit you, don’t hesitate to seek help. A reputable Nonprofit Consultant will boost immense knowledge and experience in crafting growth strategies, including marketing. Explain to them about your organization, situation, and circumstances surrounding it. In return, you will get expert advice on suitable strategy for your organization.
Prepare Marketing Materials
Communicating to potential sponsors, donors, or stakeholders is not entirely complete through verbal means. You ought to have suitable marketing material to give your target audience whenever you meet them. Whether you plan to meet them at an event, in the office, or a hotel, carry your marketing material with you. Marketing materials look more legit and trustworthy than words. Good marketing material should be informative and well-branded. It should communicate the mission and vision of the organization, services, achievements, values, and information regarding how to subscribe to it. Good marketing material can be a brochure or a postcard. If your organization doesn’t have a graphic designer, you can hire a professional or opt for cheaper freelancer options. The design should be up to scratch to avoid sending the wrong picture about your organization.
Create a Social Media Strategy
Social media is becoming a haven for digital marketing. The immense mobility and unlimited coverage of information make it a primary marketing target for every organization. Since there are several social media platforms for business, it is easy to get tempted and use nearly every platform. While this can boost your coverage, focusing on specific social media platforms is more effective. Identify at least two or three social media platforms where your target audience is easily found, then focus on them. Send quality content consistently. You are bound to harvest more leads.
Showcase Your Accomplishments
While you are trying to get new sponsors and stakeholders on board, make sure you don’t lose current donors. New and existing market are equally important in keeping your nonprofit institution ticking. It is therefore essential that you impress them to feel like their contribution goes to waste. Show them the success or the tangible achievements you have made with your project. Success stories fortify their support and motivate them to subscribe to your project. Also, showcase these results via trustworthy media.
For example, you can showcase your results via the website, local or national events, press releases, emails, or news outlets. Pinpoint the people and organizations you have positively impacted, completed, and ongoing projects, and your plans as well.
Create – or Update – Your Website
Your presence on the web is critical. Donors and other stakeholders use such indicators to gauge the legibility of your project. Be aware of what constitutes a good or bad website to create a professional website. Make sure your website is regularly updated and nourished with proper information. If you have a web-savvy staff amongst your team, you can ask them to create one. If it proves difficult, you can purchase a template and edit it to fit your needs. Feed your website with updates like breaking news, achievements, a guide on how to join the community and donate funds, and upcoming events to mention but a few. The good thing with updates is that they paint a picture to the donors and stakeholders that you are active. Also, fine-tune website features like mobile application optimization and responsiveness, photography and video, and landing pages.You can also move your donations to be done online if possible.
Set Measurable Goals
In every business, one vital characteristic of goals is measurability. If your goals are measurable, it is easier to trackand rate your achievements. This way, you know whether you are on track or off the mark in your business journey. Simply put, you get to evaluate the things that work and those that call for change. Some of the common goals for a nonprofit organization include donations, sponsor retention, new members or donors, and the target number of people you seek to help among others. Once you have outlined these measurable goals, get down with your team and brainstorm how you will measure the progress of these goals.
Create Partnerships
Partnership marketing can be a good marketing strategy when leveraged correctly. This is like collective marketing, where you can reach a broader range of people. Your partnerships should not be competitive. Strive to create mutual partnerships by working with organizations that share your mission and are willing to help spread the message. It could be other nonprofit organizations, volunteer groups, or government agencies.
Wrapping It All Up
Although small nonprofit companies tend to face serious financial challenges, it is not the end of the road. With innovative marketing strategies, they can seamlessly spring back to life and expand like never before. Fortunately, this article has expounded on some of the best marketing strategies for small nonprofits. Leverage these strategies to grow your donors, sponsors, members, and stakeholders.
