Title

(or Event Objectives)

I led a marketing workshop recently for Knoxville Leadership Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports other area nonprofits through education, partnership development, organizational assessment and other resources.

After the workshop I conducted a group exercise for Executive Directors of current KLF partners in the Center for Communities program.  The EDs gathered into groups of about 4 people and were given the following scenario and questions…

You are the executive director of a nonprofit organization that provides literacy services in Knoxville.  Your event committee chair is new to the organization but eager to help.  She has asked you to attend the first committee meeting to set things off on the right foot.

1. How do you determine the objectives for the annual event?  Collectively with your breakout team, identify the primary, secondary (and optional tertiary) objectives for this hypothetical event.  This is for discussion purposes only; there is no wrong answer.
2. Based on those event objectives, determine the target audiences (identify primary, secondary and optional tertiary) for this hypothetical event?
3. How would you go about crafting a message or messages to motivate the target audiences?  Together, with your breakout team, develop a core message/call to action for the event.
4. Are there any sensitivities, terminology or other circumstances that you need to be mindful of when crafting this message?
5. Now that you understand your event objectives, your audience and your message, provide a brief outline of the marketing elements/initiatives you would use to promote the event and the specific call to action for each audience.  (Think before, during and after the event.)

Although the workshop that came before this breakout session was described by one witness as “a firehose of information” (based on time limitations) that left attendees a little stunned, it was in the breakout session where the application really sunk in.  I am a firm believer that every nonprofit event should have a specific objective (if multiple objectives, they should be prioritized) and a specific target audience (likewise with prioritization).

When these talented Executive Directors stepped out of their own shoes and into a fictional pair (an organization with a different mission and target audience) they began to see how important it is to determine the objectives and target audiences of the event.  The resulting event plans were very impressive.  More importantly, these professionals learned something tangible. If the only sip they got from the fire hose was the need to determine an audience and objective for an event, my time with them was well spent.

When you consider your organization’s next event, the first step should be to determine the objective of the event (Is it fundraising?  Awareness?  Recruiting volunteers?).  While you can accomplish all of these objectives (if you’re really good!), prioritizing them will make decision-making and messaging much easier.  I serve on a pretty high-profile event committee in Knoxville. Recently we were presented with a fantastic idea that would have made for a very entertaining evening.  But when we stepped back to evaluate if this new event format would accomplish our objectives, the answer was an overwhelming NO.  It was a good idea, but it would not have given us the results we wanted or needed.  Because we had the objectives already determined, we were able to turn a subjective decision into an objective one (and I’m glad we did).  The clearer the target, the easier it is to hit it.

Once you determine the objective of the event, then think about how you are trying to reach to accomplish that objective.  Mentally surround the issue with every profile of person who is connected to it.  For literacy (a cause I selected because currently no KLF partners have that as their primary mission), they came up with educators, school administrators, county officials, retirees (grandparents), etc.  That was just the top layer; when encouraged to go deeper, these leaders added more and more to the invitation list for their fictional event.

Once the objectives and the target audience are identified, it’s all about the messaging.  If you know WHAT you are trying to communicate (the objective) and WHO you are trying to communicate it to, crafting a message that motivates and calls people to action is within reach. Now that is strategic planning!
Carol Reeve, Girl on the Roof

It’s been a long time since I made my last blog post, which was allegedly the first in a series. Some of you have asked for the rest of the info. My apologies. I maintain another blog for a client, and that one has taken priority (the old plumber’s pipes, I guess).  I am serving on a panel tomorrow and will be discussing this topic, so I have outlined the basic points for the SCRAPE approach to long-term success. Below are the basics.  If you have any questions on any of these topics, please let me know and I will be happy to elaborate more.

Strategic Planning

• Open discussion of who your organization is (and isn’t), who you serve (and who you don’t) and what services you provide (and those you don’t).
• SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats).
• Mission (why you exist), Vision (what success looks like), Core Values.
• Identify what is required for your organization to be successful. Categorize into Critical Success Factors.
• Strategic Planning should involve your entire board as well as other representative shareholders when possible (a lead volunteer, maybe an individual who has graduated from your program). Ideally a professional facilitator should lead the discussion so everyone can participate equally (you can’t facilitate and participate at the same time).

Critical Success Factors

• Four to five areas you must NAIL in order to successfully accomplish your mission.
• CSFs typically include finances, programming, communications and one or two others (partnerships, board development, expansion…).
• Each CSF needs a non-staff champion (e.g., board member) and committee members to assist with plan development and execution.
• A detailed Action Plan should be developed for each Critical Success Factor, spanning at least 18 months. Include post-mortem reviews to determine what worked and what didn’t (e.g. after a fundraising event) and what improvements could be made the next time.
• Updates on these Action Plans form, in part, the agenda for board meetings. This ensures they remain living, breathing documents.

Research

• First step in any Critical Success Factor and subsequent Action Plan.
• Investigate Best Practices. Who else does what you do (or similar), and where are they successful (and where are they not)?
• How can you work together with other organizations to avoid reinventing the wheel?
• What is the general awareness and perception of your organization and what you do?
• What causes do your prospective donors currently support and why?

Audience

• Identify your primary (e.g. who you serve), secondary (e.g. donors) and possibly tertiary (e.g. volunteers and/or other nonprofit organizations) audiences.
• Identify what your audience’s biggest challenges are. How can you help them with solutions (not add to their problems)?
• Identify what motivates each audience.
• Identify where and how these audiences get their information (don’t make assumptions). A new story may not reach the audience you are seeking.
• Identify how each audience makes decisions (what criteria do they weigh, how much time to they take, what do they value most?).
• Identify the target audience for each initiative (events, press releases, newsletters…). Don’t try to reach all audiences with the same initiative. Prioritize and customize for the most impact.

Positioning

• Write a positioning statement that captures the essence and personality of your organization. Are you formal, casual, serious or grace-filled? Your positioning statement should say what you do, who you serve and what makes you unique. It should motivate your target.
• Stick to your messaging. Every initiative you develop should be viewed through the lens of your positioning statement. Is this consistent with who you are and what you’re about? If not, reconsider.
• Keep the same visual identity across all of your initiatives (web, newsletter, direct mail, brochures…). Same colors, same logo, same messaging. You may get tired of it, but step back and consider how many messages you are bombarded with every day. Keep at it, or you will never cut through the clutter.

Execution

• Be purposeful and deliberate. Develop a plan and stick with the plan. You can modify the plan if you need to and have good reason to, but it needs to be a strategic decision not just a convenient one.
• A strong web site is a high priority; it is the first place people go to learn more about you. Keep it current (a home page promoting an event that took place three months ago reflects poorly on everyone associated with your organization). List specific needs on your home page (a desk, a laptop, $500 to repair a vehicle…).
• Consider the bang for the buck. Don’t waste your resources on initiatives that don’t reach your target audience. Just because you are presented with an opportunity to promote your organization doesn’t mean you should take it. Consider the amount of time (yours, staff, volunteer, board) and money required to do it and weigh whether or not you will be seen by who you are targeting in a way that matters to them.
• Do it with excellence or don’t do it.
• Again, be consistent with your messaging and identity so you can increase the effectiveness of each initiative ­– past, present and future.

I was recently asked to give a presentation on Marketing to a group of nonprofit leaders. It’s a tough economy for just about everyone, but few have experienced the scarcity more than nonprofits and government agencies (recent news of inflated salaries did not include the Knoxville area).

I knew that most of these leaders had experienced cutbacks and were likely now wearing the hats of two or three staff members. Many of them were trying to find jobs for developmentally disabled individuals in an economy where fully capable folks are struggling to find jobs. There was likely little I could say to these folks that would come as news to them; still, a refresher course in some marketing basics could recalibrate their thinking a little bit. My goal was to keep it simple so they could remember it easily. I quickly came up with the acronym SCRAPE. Here’s how it plays out.

SCRAPE

Strategic Planning
Critical Success Factors
Audience
Positioning
Execution

It’s important to note the order here. Audience remains a constant in all of these steps, but the true fleshing out and defining of that audience should be the center of the process. Aside from that, the order here is critical for any organization wanting to maximize its resources (and who doesn’t want to do that?). The next few blog posts will touch on each of these topics, laying out a few basics. Again, most of us know this stuff; but a little reminder is helpful.

More to come from Girl on the Roof.

Yesterday I received a phone call from someone selling placement and banner ads on Google. After asking to speak to the person making the marketing decisions for Girl on the Roof, he launched into a breathless pitch about how he could provide me with a good deal on banner ads and Google placement for Knoxville roofers.

What was that? Did you say “Knoxville roofers”?

I started laughing hysterically, but he didn’t notice because he was talking so quickly, trying to convince me that I could grow my roofing business through Google. I began talking over him, through my laughter. I said, “My company is not a roofing business, and if you had done a quick Google search yourself, you would have discovered that immediately.” I literally had to say this twice because he had not stopped talking, even for a beat, to hear me.

Finally there was a slight pause, followed by a defensive toned, “But the name of the business is Girl on the Roof.”

I desperately wanted to respond with bitter sarcasm, but I sort of felt sorry for the guy. He had broken the first and very obvious rule of marketing: Know Your Audience. He had done no research at all before placing a call to me. Then he broke the second rule by not listening to what I was saying.

He stammered briefly then resumed the chatter, just as quickly but with less confidence. Finding no pause in which I could respond politely (though, admittedly, I was amused by the entire conversation), I finally just spoke over him. I am quite sure he did not hear my response, but I was not going to hang around long enough to wait for another pause. Still, for posterity, and since the phone call may have been recorded (“for training purposes”), I said the following before hanging up: “Dude, thanks for the laugh today, but I am not interested in working with you. Next time you should do your homework before making a call.”

And my thanks were sincere. I laughed about it the rest of the day.

Yours truly,
Girl on the Roof

In my career, I have had the opportunity to market a wide range of products including soap, insurance, thermal spray-coated space shuttle parts, toilet paper, fertility services, OTC drugs and positive character qualities. The list goes on and on. Through this broad range of experience over the last 15 years, I have reached the conclusion that the rules of marketing are about 92% the same, no matter what you’re selling. Read the rest of this entry »

Every organization has what I call “screaming children” – those issues which demand attention. It is, of course, human nature, to want to tend to the child who is screaming the loudest. However, practically speaking, addressing that issue may not be the most strategic move for the organization. That issue (the screaming child) may, in effect, go away (fall asleep) if simply left alone. Or, you may discover that one child is merely screaming because another child is not playing fair, and your efforts are best directed at the other child. Read the rest of this entry »

As we approach February 14th, it is inevitable that you will hear your local cynic claim that Valentine’s Day is a scam created by Hallmark. Long amazed that a corporation could accomplish this feat simply through marketing, I decided to do some digging.
Read the rest of this entry »

A good facilitator can get to the heart of a matter – or the core of a business – simply by asking the right questions. Of course, asking the right questions requires that you’ve done some research on the organization and their competition in advance.  But again, don’t go in with assumptions; that research should only serve to lead you to the right questions (the answers should come from the group, not from you).

I have a series of questions that I tailor to clients.  Some aren’t appropriate for certain organizations, and sometimes there are obvious questions that need to be asked that are outside of the norm.  A planning session for me almost always includes a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis as well as discussions about services offerings and target audience (who are they, what are they looking for, what motivates them, how they make decisions).   There should also be a discussion about the competition (not just immediate competitors; think about other sources and solutions to the problems of the audience). Why should someone choose your solution over the competition?  This is a critical question to ask but can often be the most difficult to answer, so save it for the right time. (Don’t lead with a question that challenging.)
Read the rest of this entry »

We are interrupting our regularly scheduled blog series to bring you this story.

In its holiday series this year, my church, Crossings (www.crossingsknoxville.com), encouraged us to “Give more. Spend less.” It wasn’t about getting the best deals on the “it” gift for the holidays. It was about giving presence instead of just presents. And it was about giving things that matter.

Through this series, I was introduced to Living Water International, which helps build wells in under-developed countries so the people there can have clean water (water-borne illnesses are a leading cause of death in these countries, so this relatively simple device saves thousands of lives). I was so impressed after researching the organization that I made some monetary gifts in honor of some of my family members for the holidays. (I try to do this every year, and I think it’s starting to mean something to some of them). After Christmas morning, I didn’t give much thought to it.
Read the rest of this entry »