Small Business Blog from Atlantic Canada

I am "CA" Atreya (PMP, MBA), the author of this blog. I help businesses in Atlantic Canada achieve their BHAG successfully. You may subscribe to this blog using a feed reader (RSS).

Marketing a non-profit organization is quite a challenge in today’s competitive environment. The success of your non-profit depends on many factors: What does your program do? Where & how do you rise the funds? And how do you generate awareness about your programs? You need to bear in mind that your services are not only consumed by your customers (i.e. people who use your service), but you must also satisfy your donors’ needs.

Most non-profits do not want to spend (or admit to spending) too much time and resources on marketing. But they do not realize that branding the non-profit is essential to its success. The laws of marketing that applies to corporates and for-profits also applies to non-profits.

Do you know why your donors donate? What is the profile of your donors? Do you know how many non-profit organizations exist? And how many of those offer similar programs as you do? Before you can answer such questions, you need to identify your target customers; i.e. who are the beneficiaries or customers of your program? However, the foremost priority must be to identify what your non-profit does. You must be able to state your organization’s value proposition. You must answer the question, “Why should my customers use my service?”

You must also know your niche. You cannot be all things for all people. You cannot do everything; you need to have a niche and you need to focus. This will enable you to identify your customers’ pain points. You need to figure out the battle you are fighting. “Unboring” is what IKEA’s campaign was in 2003. It embodies the design reform as the company sought to provide quality furniture at an affordable price while improving customer taste in furniture designs. Walmart invested heavily in IT to drive its costs lower and make better decisions and the savings was passed on to the customers. Their slogan: “Everyday low prices”. Reading this message: “The world on time”, you know it is FedEx who fulfilled a need for timely courier delivery. Strong brands are built by identifying the pain points and building a message that alleviates the pains.

Your organization name must reflect this position, this focus. You cannot afford to have a generic name. Gone are those days where an organization can create a name from a vision of where it wants to be in future. Your name must reflect your present and must be easily identifiable from among the similar organizations in your area of work. You also need to select a color and logo that will be identified with your name. Cadbury Schweppes uses purple and white. A look at the golden “swoosh” symbol and your know it is Nike.

Your next task is to identify who are your closest competitors. Generally, your competition are those organizations offering very similar services. They are targeting the same source of funds as you are. As you can see, the time spent on identifying your message is justified. You can now distinguish yourself from your competition. You have a message to send to your target customers that separates you from your competition.

Getting your message across requires a medium. And your next focus must be on generating publicity. You may want to consider getting an endorsement from a celebrity. Having a well known figure who is close to your organization’s cause is crucial for a non-profit. This person must identify with the pain points in order to sell your organization’s cause to the media, donors, volunteers and other stakeholders. A mention in one of the reputable magazines usually gets the others in. Hence, it is important for you to to work towards that one breakthrough. Fund raising events, usually, get noticed by the local papers. I would suggest, you focus on one or two major events in a year rather than multiple small events. And stick to those events every year. CIBC Run for Cure is an annual single day event that raises millions of dollars toward breast cancer research. This event occurs consistently, year after year.

The combination of your name, logo, value proposition and events go a long way in defining your brand. If you live up to the message you promote, you develop a strong brand. A strong brand will enable donors to identify more closely with what your non-profit stands for. If you falter in your promise, you dilute your brand. For a non-profit, brand is the most important asset. Say you get solicited for a donation from United Way, and two other organizations you have never heard of. Chances are you will choose to donate to United Way. This is due to the strong brand equity you hold in your mind.

There is no short cuts to developing a strong brand. You need to work consistently towards building it. You need to develop a marketing and communications plan to reinforce the brand. Be consistent in all your communications: logos, colors, fonts and language. Building your brand and, in turn, your non-profit requires patience and commitment. Good luck!

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