Each fall, we here at Analytical Ones survey the trends in fundraising and come up with testing ideas for your fall campaigns.
Last year, we recommended testing first class postage, to avoid the USPS’s SOP of delivering all nonprofit postage appeals on the same day.
This year, due to new donor acquisition becoming more expensive, we are focusing our attention on reactivation. This fall, we are recommending testing micro-sustainer offers to lapsed donors.
Years ago, when I was in my 20s trying to become a stockbroker, I attended a sales training seminar led by Zig Ziglar and Tom Hopkins. One of the techniques I recall from that seminar to overcome a prospect’s price sensitivity was “reduce to the ridiculous.”
So, rather than trying to sell something at the full cost of a product, you cut the price into more manageable chunks. Think of buying cars. Car ads no longer reveal the full price of vehicles; they sell it based upon the much lower monthly payment.
We should be leveraging this more in fundraising.
So, rather than asking for a $100 gift from a lapsed donor, ask for a month gift of $8.34 (or if you want to take it further, “just 28 cents a day!”) The annual value of each of these offers is the same. But your retention rate will be better with a monthly sustainer.
Lowering the perceived price point barrier is essential in getting your lapsed donors back in the fold.