CharityVillage® Research: You can stand out from the crowd by doing simple things exceptionally well

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You can stand out from the crowd by doing simple things exceptionally well
by Murray Landa
Well, what's doing simple things well got to do with charitable gift planning? Everything. Like it or not, the competition for donor dollars is intense -- and it's only getting more intense. In the 21st century, the competition will accelerate as more charities get into the arena, with increasingly sophisticated approaches to fund raising.
To prosper, charities will have to be exceptionally good at what they do. Average won't cut it with donors.
One of the best marketing techniques is superior service. That makes sense, doesn't it? After all, service is what charities are all about.
A "superior service and attention - to - detail" philosophy can make a significant difference to your fund-raising bottom line. But your organization must take the necessary steps to make it work. To succeed, you must "execute" consistently and well.
It's hard enough to raise money these days. It's even more difficult for institutions that don't handle "small details" consistently well.
Excellence (or lack of it) affects the way your organization is perceived by donors. Donor perceptions directly impact your revenues. Some examples: a donor thinks you're not using money well. When a donor calls, you don't call back quickly, or you don't call back at all. You don't keep commitments you've made.
The resulting perceptions? They think you don't care. They think you're sloppy. Therefore, they don't trust you. Therefore, they won't give to you. It's that simple.
Donor perception becomes fund - raising reality.
How committed is your organization to excellence from the ground up? Are you willing to invest time and money to give staff and volunteers the necessary tools? In the competitive world we're in, you must do all you legitimately can to tilt the playing field in your favour.
Here are three things you can do to develop the reality and the perception of excellence. Donors will be more inclined to trust you and will give to you with confidence if you do the following:

1. Install quick-response systems. Be systematic. Monitor quality.
Planned gifts are established when the donor is ready. When, after a period of years, a donor is ready enough to pick up the phone and request information, your organization must be in a position to respond quickly and decisively.
When someone calls for information, how well is the phone call handled? How quickly are calls returned? Do messages get routed at warp speed to the right person? Is your voice mail easy to use? Do you have a "live" telephone receptionist? (Remember them? A real living, breathing human being to talk to!). What happens when a donor appears in the reception area unexpectedly and wants to speak with the Executive Director right now?
Design and implement simple systems to ensure that phone calls are handled properly or returned within 24 hours by someone designated to do it. Designate an alternate as well.
Ensure everyone knows how to respond when unexpected things happen.
Create an operations manual for simple, repetitive tasks. Start with one or two pages. Build the manual from there. Put tabs in the manual. When staff or volunteers have simple questions that can easily be looked up in the manual, hand it to the individual and refer to the appropriate tab. Saves a lot of time and repeated explanation. And you're building a system.
Are you attentive to quality control? For example, does your website work properly? How quickly can you view pages on old, slow computers? Many internet surfers don't have the latest equipment or software. Does it contain useful information about your cause? If you've decided to promote gift planning on it, can donors find the information quickly?
Do you check your website regularly to ensure that it's still functioning properly?
Simple systems, little details, and effective quality control will make a difference to your bottom line. Now and in the future.

2. Be consistent. Be considerate.
Excellence flows from doing little things well, consistently.
For example, you can encourage donors to self-identify by inserting a gift planning reply card with every tax receipt. Repeat, every tax receipt. All the time. (Exception: if a donor requests you to stop doing it, stop. Right now.)
Not rocket science, is it?
Contrast a consistent organization with one that isn't as consistent, isn't as systematic, and isn't bending over backwards to be responsive. Non-systematic organizations will insert reply cards for six months or a year and then quit. Or they'll do it with some of the receipts but not all. Or they'll do it with receipts in November, December, and January but not June.
Others intend to insert reply cards but somehow it doesn't get done.
If a donor says "I'm not interested, please stop sending me this", the non-responsive, inconsistent organization will take months to comply with the donor's wishes.
You must "execute" consistently to get the results you want.
This form of "detail-oriented execution" will become even more crucial as competition for donor dollars heats up. Consistent, considerate institutions are reaping the rewards now and will in the future.

3. Facilitate superior internal training and communication.
Donors want to support good causes that accomplish good things. They don't want their money wasted and won't support organizations that appear unfocussed and disorganized.
Untrained people who are disorganized or non-responsive turn donors off -- fast. Once you've lost donors, they're not easy to get back. If anyone in your organization upsets them, they'll go away. You're only as strong as your weakest link.
Give your people a chance to attain excellence by providing them with proper training and professional development. To be consistently excellent, the necessary skills, knowledge and tools must be in place. In order to implement items 1. and 2. for maximum results, you must train your people properly. You must be fair with your volunteers and staff. Don't send them into battle unarmed.
With superior training and internal communication, everyone in the organization is on the same page and knows what to do. The organization is organized, galvanized, and focussed. Donors will sense that. They'll trust you. They'll want to give more to you because they know you'll use their donations wisely, effectively and efficiently.
There are financial blessings in store for organizations that excel daily by taking care of "the little things" exceptionally well.
How does your organization stack up? Are you excellent or indifferent? Are you systematic? Are you consistent?
If you're excellent, I'll bet your bottom line reflects that.
You can stand out from the crowd by doing simple things exceptionally well.
Murray A. Landa B.A., LL.B. is a charitable gift planning consultant in Richmond, B.C.; Tel: (604) 272 - 0422; Fax: (604) 272 - 0302; e-mail Landa@direct.ca.