A Strategic Approach to Your Marketing Collateral

Strategy—A plan of action, esp. for attaining a goal

Communication—The exchange of ideas, messages, or information

  • Strategic Communications means using organizational communications to create, strengthen or preserve, among key audiences, opinion favorable to the attainment of organizational goals

Reality Check

  • There are over 1.3 million nonprofits in the United States

  • Marketing strategies are dynamic and interactive.

  • They are partially planned and partially unplanned.

  • We have natural disasters, economic factors, new technological advancements, new competitors.

  • Strategic Planning looks beyond the immediate circumstances, the process clarifies where you want to be in the future.

  • But remember, we are were we are today because of the things that we did yesterday.

What should we know about Ourselves?

  • Estimated business strength

  • Market share

  • Financial strengths and weaknesses

  • Profitability

  • Quality of management

  • Technology position

  • Marketing strategy (Target market, program positioning)

What Should we know about our Donors?

  • Estimated annual donations

  • Projected annual growth rates

  • How many donors do we have

  • Demographic/Socioeconomics of donors

  • Geographic concentration or dispersion

  • Donor giving motives

  • Information they base decisions on

  • Charity practices

What should we know about our Competitors?

  • Strengths

  • Market share

  • Financial strengths and weaknesses

  • Donor Likes and Dislikes

  • Quality of management

  • Marketing strategy (Target market, program positioning, and strategy)

Types of Marketing Collateral

  • Brochures

  • Business Cards

  • Fliers

  • Slip Sheets/Buck Slips

  • Direct Mail Pieces

  • Letters

  • Catalogues

  • Annual Reports

What is the specific goal for the piece?

  • Gain revenue?

  • Educate?

  • Generate Leads?

  • Internal Communication?

Incremental Steps, Not Giant Leaps

  • Plan your communications strategy as a step-by-step process that systematically builds confidence in your service.

Who is the intended audience?

  • Internal?

  • Funding/Grants?

  • Colleagues?

  • General Public?

  • Prospects?

  • Current Donors?

  • Demographics/Psychographics?

Does the production cost fit within your budget?

  • Does the ED and CFO know about this?

  • Did you take into consideration all of the costs (copy writing, design, printing, mailing, list acquisition)?

  • Do your colleagues know about this?

  • Is the ROI communicated and realistic?

Is the timing appropriate?

  • Coordinate with all of the departments

  • Non-Profits: Camps, Annual Fund Drives, Capital Campaigns, Special Events

  • Is the timing appropriate in relation to competitors?



chart of events and mailings

Does it complement your other marketing materials?

  • Colors

  • Paper Stock

  • Size

  • Tone

  • Brand

  • Font

  • Images

How and when will you distribute collateral pieces?

  • Mailing (postage considerations)?

  • Hand outs (paper stock, how are people going to carry it to destination)?

  • Internal

  • Face-to-Face

What Should we know about our Donors? - A Nonprofit SWOT Analysis

  • Estimated annual donations

  • Projected annual growth rates

  • How many donors do we have

  • Demographic/Socioeconomics of donors

  • Geographic concentration or dispersion

  • Donor giving motives

  • Information they base decisions on

  • Charity practices

  • We should know the same things about our competitors to be competitive.

Position Accordingly

  • Segment

    • Customers/Non-customers?

    • Different donor/customer groups?

    • Lapsed versus major/repeat?

    • How are we going to segment?

      • Personalization, different letter, different offer, different paper, ink color?


See also:

What is Marketing Collateral?

Marketing Tactics Home Page

Marketing Home Page

Click Here to Print from your Uploaded PDF

Click Here to Print from your Design Created Online