NFCB Membership Fundamentals April 19, 2006

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NFCB Membership FundamentalsApril 19, 2006

• Becky Chinn
• Nova Hamar
• Helen Kennedy

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Why Membership?

• Source of Revenue
• Advocates
• Marketing
• Seed of ALL Development Efforts
• Consistent, Predictable Revenue
• Validation for taxpayer support, major donors,
  foundations, corporate sponsorships

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The Fundamentals

• 1, 2, 3, 4, 5..........

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Circle of Friends
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The Donor Pyramid
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Moving up the Pyramid

• Sampling Membership
• Increasing Commitment
• Partner in Long Term Survival of Station
• Ultimate Gift Survival for Future Generations

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The Mission Statement

• Core function why you exist
• Goals how you know you succeeded
• Philosophy and values
• Whats in your
• 30 Second Elevator Speech?

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The Basic Strategy of Development

• Get em
• Keep em
• Upgrade em

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Getting em

• On-air
• Acquisition Mail
• Events
• Telemarketing
• Website
• ASKING FOR THE GIFT

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Keeping em

• On-air
• Renewal mail
• Renewal telemarketing
• Reacquiring lapsed members
• E-solicitations
• ASK THEM TO GIVE AGAIN

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Upgrading

• Additional Gifts
• Mid level
• Sustaining Members
• ASK THEM TO BE MORE GENEROUS

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The Techniques

• On-Air/Pledge
• Mail
• Telemarketing
• Website

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Pledge Drive Basics

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Why Pledge?

• Solicit financial support
• Single largest source of NEW members for your
  station
• Communicate directly with listeners members
• Convey mission and goals of your station
• Build reinforce relationships
• People give because of programs

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Pledge Drives are

• 50 planning
• 50 execution
• Your role as a fundraiser and producer is key

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How many days?

• Maximize results
• Goal 20-24 days a year
• Stations who pledged less than 16 days or more
  than 25 days raised less per listener
• More short/medium length drives rather than one
  long drive

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Choosing your schedule

• Know your audience
• Know when and where they are listening
• Find opportunities to talk to everyone
• Focus on the largest audience
• Use resources wisely
• Repeats, taped breaks air checks

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Before you start

• Who are you talking to?
• Picture one person
• What are your goals in each break?
• Dollars?
• Members?
• Meet a challenge?
• Increase giving levels?
• Encourage new members?
• Know your programs

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Basic elements of a break

• Break open
• Segue, introduce hosts, give emotional hook
• Call to action
• Every 30 to 60 seconds
• How to give
• Call us now, go online, use your credit card,
  its easy etc.
• Why give
• Mission and program-related pitches

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Basic elements of a break

• Member benefits
• Tangible and intangible
• Taped roll-in material
• Tease upcoming segments/programs
• Thank yous
• Always at the end
• Break close

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Special incentives

• Premiums
• Challenge grants
• Giveaways
• Goal(s)
• Help create excitement
• Encourage people to give NOW
• Strategize presence in break carefully

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Thank you gifts/premiums

• Role
• Selection
• Positioning
• Pricing

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Selecting hosts

• Two hosts per break
• Match talent to program
• Age
• Gender
• Strengths
• Interests
• Balance emotional and rational pitchers
• Best hosts on top-performing programs

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A great host

• Is energetic and enthusiastic
• Is authentic, passionate, emotional
• Works well with other hosts
• Picks up cues, keeps momentum going
• Stays positive
• Only gives the facts
• Sticks with the plan
• Is willing to work with producer to reach goals

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Messaging basics

• Be clear
• Keep pitches simple dont ramble
• Speak to one person in the audience
• Move to new pitches/talent every 30-60 seconds
• Dont ever apologize
• Stay positive, no matter what
• Investment, not tin cup
• Have your facts straight
• Tell the truth
• You get what you asked for
• Whats in it for me?

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Train, rehearse and organize

• Dont worry, I know radio.
• Take charge of the process
• Structure each break

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Evaluating success

• Adherence to best practices
• Average gift
• Dollars per minute and dollars per show/depart
• Dollars pledged
• Dollars fulfilled
• Net dollars
• Number of gifts
• Number of new members acquired

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Direct Mail
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Types of Direct Mail

• Renewals
• Acquisitions
• Lapsed/Rejoin
• Additional Gift or Upgrade Mailings
• Sweepstakes
• Invitations/Cultivation (newsletters,
  acknowledgements, etc.)

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The Trilogy of Direct Mail

• The Creative
• The Lists
• The Offer

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Package Elements

• Outer Envelope
• Letter
• Reply Form
• Reply Envelope
• Buck slip or Lift Note
• Freemium (decal, bookmark, etc.)
• Involvement Device

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Why Direct Mail?

• Relatively inexpensive way to reach your
  constituents
• Cheaper cost of funds raised than most other
  methods of fundraising
• Recent advances in the industry make it easier to
  personalize packages
• Lifetime value of the donor is higher

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Whats Your Goal?

• Renew a gift
• Get a new gift
• Upgrade a gift
• Get another gift
• Raise awareness
• Invite to an event
• Cultivate your donors/members

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The Basic Criteria - Who Should Receive the
Mailing?

• In acquisition, do list demographics align
  closely with existing members/donors?
• For existing members/donors, rely on database
  criteria
• - Up for renewal?
• - Giving patterns signal upgrade potential?
• Does special appeal have specific focus? Or is
  appeal broad based that most should receive?
• Does mailing cultivate or deliver benefits
  (invitations, announcements, thank you gifts,
  etc.)?

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How Often to Mail?

• Renewals
• - Monthly
• - Quarterly
• - Annually
• Special Appeals
• - Quarterly
• - Bi-annually
• - As need warrants

• Lapsed
• - As a subset of renewals
• - As a subset of acquisition
• Acquisition
• - Annually
• - Around pledge drive
• Cultivation
• - As often as possible!

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Tracking Response, Adding Source Codes to Your
Mailing

• Why Code?
• So you can determine the effectiveness of your
  campaigns.
• Whats in a Source Code?
• Type of solicitation
• Method of solicitation
• Date of solicitation

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Source Codes, Continued

• Solicitation by Type
• New
• Renew
• Lapsed/rejoin
• Add gift

• Solicitation by Method
• Direct Mail
• On-air pledge
• Website
• Telemarketing
• Personal Visit

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Source Codes, Continued

• Date of solicitation is recorded as month and
  year of campaign
• Source codes also and often should include
• Effort number
• List code information when applicable
• New/Multi-year information
• Be sure that your coding structure is consistent
  and code each and every campaign

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Source Codes, Continued

• A sample renewal source code might look like
  this
• AMR0604001
• AM Membership
• R Renewal
• 06 Year
• 04 Month
• 001 First Notice

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Package Content The Basic Recipe For a Good
Letter

• Set the stage quickly incorporate a strong hook
  to immediately engage the reader.
• Identify your organization upfront.
• Develop an emotional and rational case for
  support strike a personal chord using key
  concepts that motivate donors to give (pride,
  value, nostalgia, excitement, concern).
• Build the ask in very clear terms (what will
  the money be used for preciselythe more specific
  the better).

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Package Content The Basic Recipe For a Good
Letter, Continued

• Foster credibility by touching on how previous
  gifts have been put to great use.
• Speak to your donors as insiders and always
  show appreciation for their support.
• Write with a strong sense of urgency whenever
  possible.
• If there are tangible benefits to giving, then
  offer and explain them.

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Direct Mail Rules of Thumb

• Direct Mail copy has its own style and rhythm.
  Its a sales letter not a grant proposal, press
  release or news story.
• Write your ideas in a clear, conversational style
  as though youre writing to a friend.
• Use the words you and I with liberty.

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Direct Mail Rules of Thumb, Continued

• Simple sentences feel more urgent.
• Keep paragraphs short when you can.
• Accentuate the positive (unless a real threat or
  problem exists).
• Be sure that the ask is on page 1.

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Tips, Advice and Other Issues

• For best results, mail renewals consistently
  follow a set schedule and dont let anything get
  in the way of mailing them.
• Remember that your best acquisition list is the
  one you already own your lapsed file.
• Its not enough to ask for a gift because you
  need the money, you must provide a compelling
  case for support.

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Tips, Advice and Other Issues, Continued

• Do try special rotating themes or different
  concepts in additional gift mail from local
  production funds to challenge grant campaigns
  (w/deadlines, if possible!).
• Dont send out a mailing without including a
  return envelope always provide an easy way for
  members to correspond with you.
• Be sure you know whats postal compliant before
  sending out a mailing.

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Tips, Advice and Other Issues, Continued

• Do steal ideas from others local and national
  mailers are great resources. Chances are, if an
  idea worked for them, it could work for you or if
  it bombed, it might also bomb for you.
• - How do you know if their package worked?

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Telemarketing
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Telemarketing

• Can be urgent
• More personal
• Gift can be negotiated
• Expensive if not managed well
• Volunteers or professionals?
• Know the privacy, registration, and disclosure
  regulations in your state!

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Telemarketing - Planning for Success

• What is purpose of call? Renewal, add gift?
• Who is called
• The script and ask amounts
• Support materials
• Letters, envelopes, pledge/confirmation forms
• Fact sheets for callers
• Training callers
• Reporting results

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Elements of Telemarketing Script

• Opening, confirm name
• Usually 3 asks - starting high, finishing low
• Close includes payment options credit card,
  check, installments
• Confirmation verify name, address, gift amount
• Send out appropriate mail notice
• Thank you!

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Website
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Websites for Membership

• In addition to, not instead of ...
• Contribute button on home page
• Most web revenue is associated with pledge
• Include website URL on everything
• Collect e-mail addresses
• Convenient for the member anytime, anywhere
• Convenient for you (uploading data)

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• Privacy policy available on website
• Not the same as your list exchange policy
• Secure site

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Usability

• Easy to use
• Must be written for reading, quickly
• Short, in chunks
• Most important part of message at top (the ask)
• Presented clearly black on white, sans serif,
  html if possible
• Pull down menus fit on the screen (about 60
  spaces)

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• Minimum click through, multiple navigation
  options
• Make Contact Us information easy to find
• Link back to home page
• KISS it

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Acknowledgements and Cultivation

• How to surprise
• and
• delight your donors!

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Thank promptly and accurately
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Thank promptly and accurately
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Deliver the stuff

• Premiums gifts
• Member cards

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Regular communication

• On-air
• Program guides
• Newsletters
• Emails
• Website
• Special mailings
• Events
• Thank you calls

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On-air

• With underwriting
• Support for KXYZ comes from our members thanks
  members and from the following businesses.
• After drives
• Thanks members for helping KXYZ reach our
  fundraising goal during our drive last week.
• End of year calendar and fiscal
• Happy new year to all of our members! Thanks
  for supporting us all year round.
• Special times
• Holidays, events, station-created themes

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Program guide
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Program guide
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Program guide
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Program guide
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Newsletters

• End of year reports
• Annual report
• Special behind the scenes news

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Email

• From beckyc_at_opb.org
• Subject Thanks from OPB
• Thanks again for your generous contribution
  during our fall radio drive. If you havent
  heard yet, we reached our goal of 650,000 this
  morning, receiving gifts from 7,383 members over
  the past week! All of us here at OPB are so
  thankful for your support of a very special
  service a service that makes a difference in
  our communities every day.
• You made it happen!
• With thanks,
• Becky Chinn
• Membership Director

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Special mailings
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Special mailings
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Special mailings
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Special mailings
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Special mailings
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Special mailings
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Events
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Events
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Online
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Online
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Cultivate your high-dollar donors

• Keep them engaged
• Surprise and delight
• Exclusive opportunities
• Find their passions

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Customer service

• Everyone is either a donor or a potential donor
• Respond quickly
• Respond appropriately
• Invest in training for staff volunteers
• Celebrate success!

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The Annual Calendar
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Annual Calendar
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Thank you!

• bchinn_at_opb.org
• hkennedy_at_lewiskennedy.com
• nhamar_at_lewiskennedy.com