Marketing Concepts That Everyone Understands
E-mail seems to be the major source of 21st century wisdom, and sometimes it offers tidbits like the following definition of marketing terms (particularly for the singles out there!)…
You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, "I'm the man of your dreams!" THAT’S DIRECT MARKETING
You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her, points to you and says, "He's the man of your dreams!" THAT’S ADVERTISING
You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm the man of your dreams!" THAT’S TELEMARKETING
You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your tie. You walk up to her and pour her a drink. You open the door for her, pick up her bag when she drops it, offer her a ride and then say, "By the way, I'm the man of your dreams." THAT’S PUBLIC RELATIONS
You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and says, “I hear you're the man of my dreams." THAT’S BRAND RECOGNITION
I have lately spent a lot of time thinking about the “Marketing Mix” and how it applies to those of us who raise funds for charitable causes. It is an interesting concept…looking at our DONORS through the eyes of a pure marketing model:
Publics – Who are our prospects? Do we know them? What do we know about their needs? Are we customizing our marketing efforts based on this information? It is vital to good marketing people that they know their prospects, or “customers,” and virtually impossible to be effective fund raisers without making this effort.
Product – What is the REAL product our donors are buying from us (oftentimes it’s NOT the work we do – instead, it’s recognition, prestige, being part of something bigger, etc.)? Accurate identification of the product and how it meets customer/donor needs is integral to effective marketing in the nonprofit context.
Price – What is the price that we are asking for the product – i.e. what will the donor have to give up to buy our product? Is the price reasonable and saleable? Particularly in a competitive marketplace, pricing is a key consideration to successful product sales; likewise in fund raising.
Promotion – How do we go about letting our donors know of our product? Are we frequent and consistent in these communications? This tends to be the part of the marketing process that many nonprofits best understand, although its effective implementation over time is a genuine challenge for most organizations.
Placement – How do potential donors access our product? Does our distribution system make it easy for them to ‘buy?’ While nonprofits often think of “access” issues as regard client and program services, it also is important to review the ease of access afforded to our potential donors.
Production – What is our ability to meet production demand – i.e. if we look at the REAL product that our donors are buying, are we able to deliver recognition, prestige, etc.? A typical marketing problem is for the sales force to oversell the organization’s ability to deliver the product/service in a timely manner, leading to disappointed customers…a scenario that must be avoided as we raise funds for our organizations.
You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, "I'm the man of your dreams!" THAT’S DIRECT MARKETING
You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her, points to you and says, "He's the man of your dreams!" THAT’S ADVERTISING
You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm the man of your dreams!" THAT’S TELEMARKETING
You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your tie. You walk up to her and pour her a drink. You open the door for her, pick up her bag when she drops it, offer her a ride and then say, "By the way, I'm the man of your dreams." THAT’S PUBLIC RELATIONS
You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and says, “I hear you're the man of my dreams." THAT’S BRAND RECOGNITION
I have lately spent a lot of time thinking about the “Marketing Mix” and how it applies to those of us who raise funds for charitable causes. It is an interesting concept…looking at our DONORS through the eyes of a pure marketing model:
Publics – Who are our prospects? Do we know them? What do we know about their needs? Are we customizing our marketing efforts based on this information? It is vital to good marketing people that they know their prospects, or “customers,” and virtually impossible to be effective fund raisers without making this effort.
Product – What is the REAL product our donors are buying from us (oftentimes it’s NOT the work we do – instead, it’s recognition, prestige, being part of something bigger, etc.)? Accurate identification of the product and how it meets customer/donor needs is integral to effective marketing in the nonprofit context.
Price – What is the price that we are asking for the product – i.e. what will the donor have to give up to buy our product? Is the price reasonable and saleable? Particularly in a competitive marketplace, pricing is a key consideration to successful product sales; likewise in fund raising.
Promotion – How do we go about letting our donors know of our product? Are we frequent and consistent in these communications? This tends to be the part of the marketing process that many nonprofits best understand, although its effective implementation over time is a genuine challenge for most organizations.
Placement – How do potential donors access our product? Does our distribution system make it easy for them to ‘buy?’ While nonprofits often think of “access” issues as regard client and program services, it also is important to review the ease of access afforded to our potential donors.
Production – What is our ability to meet production demand – i.e. if we look at the REAL product that our donors are buying, are we able to deliver recognition, prestige, etc.? A typical marketing problem is for the sales force to oversell the organization’s ability to deliver the product/service in a timely manner, leading to disappointed customers…a scenario that must be avoided as we raise funds for our organizations.
