Marketing, Interrupted

by Dave Sutton

  “You need to inject a level of scientific rigor into the storytelling process that infuses the perspective of your customer into your story.”

  What will happen if I engage with your story?

  What you do as a company or organization is about what you are actually doing to deliver your “Why”; how you are enabling your customers to access and achieve the power and purpose of your “Why”, and make it their “Why”.

  If you have given your customers reasons to care, listen and interact with your brand, you must also convey how that translates to their daily professional and/or personal lives. When your customers engage with you, you must paint a picture of what their life will look like with your product or service, and what would be missing if they choose not to engage with you further. Your customers need to believe in your purpose.

  They need to see how that specifically translates to their everyday world. Paraphrasing a line from the movie Jerry Maguire: “you complete them” in some way. By filling in that blank with the clarity of what it is you actually do, you can concretely and intentionally transform some aspect of your customers’ daily life.

  How do I engage with you?

  Your customer’s journey needs to highlight a clear path to engagement and pro- ductive action. What to buy, how to buy, and how to effectively implement and use your products and/or services needs to be specifically told. All of this must flow directly from the “Why” and the “What”. Your customers care about your purpose and what that means to them. They can see the impact of how you provide a specific value to them and, as a result, how their life would be different. The next question is “How” should your customers engage with you? You need to create specific messaging that instructs your customer “How”: how they can access your story, your products, and your services, and how to use all of the

  above to make a difference and impact in their daily lives.

  Correctly answering this question requires you to put yourself in the mind- set of your customer. You are literally telling them a story of how they should engage with you and then navigating them in a straight line to take a specific action (e.g. buy, renew, review, refer, recommend). If customers have to work too hard to figure this out, it means your story is not working and they will not be engaging with, buying from, or advocating for your brand.

  Can I understand your story in 6 seconds?

  There has been a fair bit of debate over the past few years about just how much advertising the typical person is exposed to each day. 500 messages?

  5,000 messages? 50,000 messages? While the exact numbers are interesting to ponder, no one debates the fact that the total number of messages has been increasing steadily due to the distribution impact of the Internet, the proliferation of “screens”, and the pervasiveness of mobile devices in our daily lives.

  “We’ve gone from being exposed to about 500 ads a day back in the 1970s to as many as 5,000 a day today.”

  – J Walker Smith, Chief Knowledge Officer, Brand and Marketing, Kantar Consulting

  The implications? Well, for one, businesses need to do something special to be noticed in this cluttered environment. And secondly, with all of the multi-tasking going on, you better be quick about it!

  Here is the simple truth of marketing and communications today: you have roughly six seconds to earn the attention of your prospective customer. A six- second window for making a connection. Six seconds to give your target audi- ence a reason to care and a reason to want to learn more. Furthermore, if that connection is lost in those first few seconds, then it is really lost and they are most likely not coming back.

  Does your story, and how your customer experiences that story, make them want to engage with you further—giving you the chance to close a sale?

  Does it pass the test of simplicity, clarity, and alignment in six seconds?

  Is your brand story so compelling that it can transform your customer into a six-second storyteller on your behalf?

  Remember, the point of marketing is not always about closing the sale. Sometimes you are just starting a conversation and inviting your audience to spread that conversation in their own authentic voice of advocacy.

  Where are you taking me?

  After your customer understands your story, they will care and want to learn more. They will want to engage with you and learn how to buy, and maybe even advocate on your behalf. When your customers embrace your six-second

  story and why it matters to them and their lives, you are in a conversation with them because they want to be in that conversation.

  Where will you take your customers over the long term? At what destination will your brand and the customer arrive together? For your customers to truly understand and activate your brand story in their lives, this is the final and most essential question for your customers to be able to answer.

  “What is the destination that I arrive at by engaging with you, buying from you, and advocating for you?”

  By embracing a transformational marketing approach, you will tell the story of why you matter to your customers today. You will show them what their jour- ney looks like in the future, and how that journey will change their experience.

  You are not the hero of the story. Your customer is the hero. You are merely the guide, the Sherpa, that leads them to a destination which they could not get to on their own. That destination is the culmination of your 6-second Story (the Why, What, and How) pointed directly at a destination to which you are uniquely able to guide them.

  Upon arriving at the destination, your customer has made your story their own. They want your help in leading them because they understand the impact of what you are offering them—that the place you will arrive at together could actually be transformative.

  “Make the customer the hero of your story.”

  — Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs

  So, that’s it. Take the time to answer these key questions and you will be on your way to bringing scientific rigor to the art of your story. Your answers to these questions will make a big difference in whether your audience views your story as just another transactional relationship or a story that emotionally connects with their professional or personal journey.

  The only story that really matters is the one where your customers want to become part of the story. And for them to do that, they need to understand it and what it means for them, through the lens of simplicity, clarity, and alignment.

  Chapter 4

  Telling a Nonprofit Brand Story

  he man in the Santa costume rings his bell outside a bustling store. As you exit with your shopping bags, tucking your credit card back in your wallet, you pause. The crowd continues moving around you, but you stop to scrounge a few spare coins from your pocket and drop them in the red collection box. The resulting clink doesn’t really make you feel good, but it does make you feel slightly less guilty

  until next December, when you’ll do it all again.

  The marketing team at German relief organization, Misereor has been “think- ing outside the collection box” when it comes to transforming their donor’s experience.

  Misereor supports people around the world through self-help initiatives. Their story is one that many nonprofits attempt to tell: in the fight against poverty and injustice, even a small donation can have a big impact. However, donations

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  have been on a steady decline for many years. That generic story just doesn’t work anymore.

  To increase people’s willingness to give, the marketing team at Misereor trans- formed the donation process by developing digital media displays with built-in credit card swiping capabilities. They then installed them in Germany’s busiest airports. One display simply reads “Feed them,” showing a video image of a loaf of bread from above. Users are asked to make a small, secure donation (only €2) to help end hunger.

  When the credit card is swiped, it acts like a knife through the loaf. You know the donation transaction is complet
e when the slice falls to the counter and a hand reaches out to take it. The message is clear: this donation feeds hungry people, and you helped do that. The effect is a cohesive story that’s powerful, personal, and actionable. Doesn’t it feel good?

  Misereor’s “Social Swipe” story engages its audience rather than incites and neatly overcomes barriers to donation in two key ways. First, the mechanism for donation is eye-catching: Cutting through bread to give a slice to a hungry person is a powerful visual representation that shows exactly how your money is helping people. The visual depiction identifies the recipients and direct benefits of aid, making the link between donation and relief much more tangible.

  Secondly, the efficiency and ease of the mechanics only add to this campaign’s merit. By asking for a credit card donation, rather than cash, the charity over- comes those sheepish looks from potential donors who lack small change. By adapting to this consumer shift, this campaign neatly sidesteps a key stumbling block for many fundraisers.

  There are many reasons why the Misereor story works better than passive, interruptive fundraising attempts like collection boxes or people in Santa suits ringing bells. The interactive element is creative and novel, enticing first-time donors and prompting sharing through social media. And the engagement doesn’t end after one swipe; participants are given the option to set up recur- ring donations to Misereor through their bank statements, allowing the charity to retarget a group of donors more likely to be engaged and stay engaged.

  At its core, this nonprofit story works because it follows the tenets of transfor- mational marketing: a simple story that inspires, a clear strategy that engages, and a smart system that is aligned to deliver a donor experience worthy of remark.

  While other nonprofits were out hiring another Santa Claus, Misereor found a way to break through the clutter and transform the donor experience. Their story, strategy and systems work together seamlessly for a delightful experience that makes us all feel good to do good.

  The Result?

  At €2 a donation (US$2.37), Misereor was able to collect 1,500 one-off donations in the first month alone at the airport. While that number could suggest that the charity might be wasting time chasing one time donors, Misereor was also able to increase their number of sustaining donors (those who donated three or more times) by 23% through the credit card program.

  Breaking Through the Clutter

  If you’ve scrolled through Facebook lately, you’ve likely seen that a lot of your good friends have become amateur philanthropists. Facebook’s new fundraising feature, a huge improvement on their “causes” product, has created a flurry of nonprofit stories entering our lives. And though the new platform still has infra- structure issues, you can’t help but feel optimistic at how Facebook has made it so easy to give. But with this ease comes proliferation. Facebook fundraising has the potential to be a powerful tool for nonprofits, but how do we sift through the noise?

  Our digital lives have become so cluttered through the explosion of “always on” culture—always on mobile devices and always on social media. These crowdfunding tools, amplified by social media’s ability to distribute informa- tion, have only made it more and more difficult for nonprofits to get noticed amidst the noise.

  On average, your brand story has to get its message across in a way that’s clear, compelling, actionable and aligned in about 6 seconds. So how do you get through the clutter to tell your story?

  Here are a few tips for creating an effective nonprofit brand story that will give people a reason to care, a reason to give and ultimately a reason to advocate on your behalf.

  Keep it Simple

  You only have 6 seconds, remember? So, you need to grab the viewer’s attention as quickly as possible with a simple and clear brand story that spells out your mis- sion. If you can convince them to stay to listen, there’s a greater chance they’ll want to learn more and join in your story. Make your story simple and easily digestible.

  Make it Personal

  People are more likely to engage with your nonprofit if you frame the interac- tion around real stories from real people. If your nonprofit is making a difference in people’s lives, capture those stories and find ways to talk about what you do within the context of their personal journeys.

  Appeal to Emotion

  Your Story needs to inspire the viewer to identify with your cause and motivate them to engage with your organization. To do that, you need to create powerful stories that engage with their emotions. The goal is not to manipulate the consumer or persuade them into thinking a certain way; it’s to make them feel something.

  Make it Memorable

  Make that connection. Make the user engage, remember you, and want to share your story. People can more readily relate to a story than fact-laden statements, so aim to make the message a memorable one. Remember that memorable doesn’t necessarily mean perfect. Find what’s unique about your organization and let that influence your brand story.

  Have a Clear, Aligned Objective

  With such a small timeframe to make an impression, your words have to work really hard. There’s no room for confusion, so clarity of language and objectives is key. What is the most important thing to convey to your potential donors? Make sure your story is aligned with this objective.

  Make it Actionable

  Six seconds. That’s all the time you have to get someone to care. And if the customer actually listens, what do they do next? It’s important to provide a call-to-action so

  the consumer doesn’t have to search in order to act. Make it something they want to do and can do as easily as possible.

  You have a 6-second window to make a connection with prospective donors, volunteers and program participants. Just 6 seconds to give people a reason to care, listen, engage and give. We know it’s difficult to achieve all of that, especially in such a small window of time, but with a simple, clear and aligned brand story, your nonprofit can break through the noise.

  Striking the Right Balance between Marketing and Fundraising Most nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have separate and distinct marketing and development functions. Historically, this division of critical activities has been done for good reason—to bring specific focus on building awareness for the mission and driving fundraising. However, there is significant opportunity in closer collaboration.

  Not only are these two functional areas aligned in service to the key audi- ences and supporters of the organization, they both are employing similar tactics to understand the needs and motivations of those audiences. At best, disjointed insights efforts are costly, and at worst, they work at cross-purposes through con- fused messaging in the marketplace.

  Collaborating on insights and market data should be the rule, but instead, it’s rare. Alignment of marketing and fundraising is critical to a nonprofit’s success in effectively engaging donors and driving growth. Creating a compelling donor expe- rience relies heavily on your NPO’s ability to align goals, audience insights, and your compelling, six-second story across marketing and development departments.

  “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”

  — Maya Angelou

  Maya Angelou may not have been referring specifically to nonprofit market- ing and development teams but her words hold true nonetheless — the two func- tions are far more alike than different, especially now that each function engages the same audience through digital and social channels.

  Development is a distinct function from marketing in many nonprofits, simi- lar to how sales and marketing teams used to be in the corporate world. Just as

  digital disruption inspired the alignment of sales and marketing in for-profits, nonprofit marketing and development teams must follow suit.

  The alignment of marketing and development operations is a significant opportunity to provide higher returns, more value to supporters, and a stronger position in the marketplace. To get started, we have identified 5 actionable steps that can make a big impact on your alignment e
fforts:

  1. Suggest identifying areas of collaboration in the next staff meeting Regardless of your title, department, or longevity in the organization, you can get this conversation started. Best case is that legacy distrust or long- held hesitations are brought forward and discussed. The worst-case sce- nario is that the idea gets shot down unilaterally, and you learn something about your organization.

  2. Understand the goals and objectives of both marketing and develop- ment teams

  Current overlap and shared purpose is a great place to start to formal- ize new levels of collaboration. By aligning your organizational goals and insights across your marketing and development teams you can craft a simple and clear brand story that will connect consistently and authenti- cally with your target audience.

  3. Start exchanging key audience survey information across departments Call on your counterparts in other departments who are also doing surveys of key audiences. Share insights, align feedback, and determine potential overlap for future efforts. If marketing serves fundraising activities, then it is also true that the development team must be willing to be served. Collaboration is key— and it starts with recognizing the mutual goals.