Selling the Experience: The Quest for a Constituent-Centric Nonprofit

Companies like JetBlue, Starbucks, and Apple don’t sell just a product or service; they sell an experience. So, what does this have to do with nonprofits? I would argue that some nonprofits do a pretty good job of packaging “experience” with what they do. Heifer, Save the Children, and Kiva do a pretty decent job of connecting donors directly to recipients, using online tools for donors to view pictures and stories of the people they are directly supporting. I would also argue in this communications-hyped world, your nonprofits’ actions speak louder than words.

How well is your nonprofit doing at creating a superior constituent experience? According to market research firm Forrester Research, there are three areas to look at:

1)Obsess about constituent needs. While your organization may have its own needs and wants (e.g. raising money, filling events, selling subscriptions, and serving individuals), constituent-centric organizations identify different target segments and spend time getting to know the wants and needs of those constituents well.
2)Reinforce the brand with every interaction, not just marketing. Every interaction that a constituent has with a staff person, web site, or voice response speaks volumes about your organization’s brand. Marketing messages struggle overcome a bad experiences. Review and fix processes that don’t reinforce the essence of your organization.
3)Treat customer experience as a competence everyone needs to have. Interact with any staff -- checkers, stockers, customer service – at companies like Trader Joes or Whole Foods and you will find super friendly help; it’s not just management or communications. Management at companies like Jet Blue spend as much or more time reminding staff of the desired customer experience as they do communicating that externally.

What’s the bottom line of creating great constituent experiences? Of the 112 companies and 5000 consumers that it researched, Forrester found that firms with the best experiences resulted in 15% more consumers purchasing additional products or services over those with the worst rated experiences. Furthermore, customer reluctance to switch to competitors was 18% higher for those with the best experiences compared to the worst. Translating to nonprofits, this means more people donating, attending addition events, and more services consumed, as well as fewer constituents opting to send their money and spend their time with alternative nonprofits.