Versus Arthritis - supporter centred digital communications
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The document outlines a transformative project for a charity focused on improving supporter journeys over the past four years. It details the challenges, strategies, and results of implementing an integrated journey that enhances engagement and fosters donor relationships, culminating in actionable insights and key learnings. The project highlights the importance of understanding supporter needs and creating tailored content to build a committed community of donors.
Versus Arthritis - supporter centred digital communications
- 1. Versus Arthritis - supporter centred digital communications
- 2. Who we are
- 3. • Four years into a project to transform our approach to supporter journeys, with support from More Onion • Organisational wide support and recognition of the importance of integrated supporter journeys • Key strategic priority for the charity over the next 5 years • Recently launched a new regular giving product with over 400 new regular gifts in the first 8 weeks Where we are in 2023
- 4. 1. Give an overview of the key milestones in the project and the strategic approach we’ve developed 2. Share some of the insight we’ve gathered along the way 3. Share how we’ve been able to use this project to drive cultural change at an organisational level Today we will
- 5. • Recently merged charity, with a new brand • New Mass Market Fundraising team, and new strategy • Big brand marketing and lead gen campaigns • No retention or engagement strategy for new leads • Low rates of second action • High rate of lapsed contacts • Poor donor conversion rates Where we started
- 6. We needed a journey We needed a way to build a relationship with supporters that would broaden and deepen support To do this we needed a supporter journey strategy that would; 1. Provide a rewarding supporter experience 2. Build understanding – both ours and our supporters’ 3. Keep our supporters actively engaged
- 7. In 2019 we approached More Onion to deliver a supporter journey workshop for all teams responsible for supporter facing comms (fundraising, campaigns, services etc.) 1. Create a shared understanding of what we mean by supporter journeys 2. Get buy-in from all teams on the importance of supporter journeys 3. Draw upon the experience and expertise of experts How it started Tip 1 External resource, training or case studies can be effective ways to get buy-in from colleagues
- 8. The start of the project In October 2019 the organisation was planning a major brand campaign, with a target of 30,000 new leads • We approached more onion with a brief to; 1. Develop a welcome journey strategy for new leads 2. Support the creation and delivery of that welcome journey Tip 2 Start with a small and discrete project with clear boundaries, and a clear end-point
- 9. Our initial aim To pilot an integrated email journey to build a relationship with supporters by focusing on engagement (taking trackable actions) to convert them to donors
- 10. What we wanted to learn Our focus was to use these journeys to better understand our supporters: who they are, what are their needs, how can we better support them, how do they want to support us, what motivates them to do this.
- 11. Our Hypothesis An audience-focused journey that includes a wide range of content and actions will improve engagement, increase activation, and convert people into donors - meeting fundraising, campaigning, and organisational objectives. Engagement Donations Audience -focused content Tip 3 Measure meaningful objectives that are linked to strategic objectives of journey. All learning is good learning
- 12. What we mean by a journey Supporters’ needs, views, behaviours and experiences Organisational objectives Supporter Journey
- 13. What we mean by a journey
- 14. results 36% of new leads made at least one trackable action in the first 6 months 2.7% of new contacts made a donation within the first 6 month 80% of donations were made as part of an engagement action
- 15. Key learnings 1. Strong link between campaigning and fundraising – people who took campaign actions were significantly more likely to donate 2. Recognition, empowerment and relevance were key drivers of support 3. Empathy is not a key driver of support for our audience 4. Surveys are a really great way to engage our audience 5. Integrated journeys are essential to maximise engagement from our audience, and to maximise our return on investment 6. Lots more to learn!
- 16. Evolution of the pilot project Welcome journey for pledge takers Ongoing journey for pledge takers Welcome journey for petition signers Integrated journey for campaigns network Ongoing journey for all supporters Tip 4 Find your allies and share insight
- 17. Ways of working “Journey Manager” More Onion • Strategy and journey design • Content development “Journey officer” Freelance support – Debby Boon • Implementation • Data management • Data analysis • Content development Fundraising, campaigns, marketing Regional teams, Media and PR, Research, Physical activity, Services
- 18. Our Narrative and Tone of Voice 1. Personal and conversational 2. Community-focused: the power and strength of coming together to support one another and push for change 3. Centring the voices and experiences of people living with arthritis 4. Focus on the community, not the organisation
- 19. Journey design principles 1. Aim for a balance of campaigning, fundraising and service sign-posting 2. Seek opportunities to co-create with supporters whenever we can 3. Be flexible and reactive 4. Segment and personalise emails in response to supporter behaviour 5. Be consistently present in supporters’ inboxes, but only with relevant content 6. Continually review and optimise based on results
- 20. Always Writing for Our Audience 1.Living with, or have a very close relationship to arthritis 2.Experience of living with arthritis is wide ranging 3.Key drivers of support: relevance, recognition, empowerment Example Think: “Versus Arthritis is my charity.” Feel: “I am part of a community.” Do: “I’m making a donation as it’s going to make a real difference to me and my community” Tip 5 Take inspiration from other charities but develop a content strategy that is tailored for your audience, based on insight
- 21. Creating a new organisational model Integrated email engagement programme Welcome journeys Product journey Product journey Welcome journeys Welcome journeys
- 22. How integrated communications paid off for us
- 23. Key results Non-financial engagements are the most effective way to drive financial actions 6% average conversion rate of daisy-chain donation pages 3x more likely to give via a daisy-chain ask than a direct email ask 4.6x Newly recruited supporters who took a non-financial action were more likely to make a cash donation (and vice versa).
- 24. Key results There is a clear correlation between campaigning and fundraising impact. Supporters who take part in campaigns are more likely to donate, and with a higher average gift.
- 25. Key results Supporters in an integrated journey are more likely to donate and fundraise, and have a higher average gift 51% More likely to make an optional donation when purchasing from the shop 32% higher average gift from community fundraising activity 31% More likely to bank income when taking part in fundraising activity
- 26. What we learned 1. An ongoing, integrated journey for all supporters is the most effective way to build an engaged community of supporters 2. We would need dedicated resource to lead on journey strategy, content and delivery. Not a service delivery team! 3. Our portfolio of income gen products wasn’t optimised for our audiences needs and expectations. We would need more relevant propositions to convert at scale.
- 27. Quick poll
- 28. Making the case for investment Results Stakeholder buy-in Combined numbers with stories Tip 6 Build your business case for investment and document everything
- 29. What we’ve now been able to do • Spot gaps in our income generation • Create products for our audience rather than attempt forced cross-selling – with direct input from our community • Introduce campaign actions to a much wider group of engaged audiences • Give more opportunities to our community to shape our work
- 30. Practical take-aways Tip 5 Take inspiration from other charities but develop a content strategy that is tailored for your audience, based on insight Tip 4 Find your allies and share insight Tip 3 Measure meaningful objectives that are linked to strategic objectives of journey. All learning is good learning Tip 2 Start with a small and discrete project with clear boundaries, and a clear end-point Tip 1 External resource, training or case studies can be effective ways to get buy-in from colleagues Write the paper! Bring the story together with the evidence/financial modelling Be resilient and persistent (despite/because of organisational change) Tip 6 Build your business case for investment and document everything