How to market a nonprofit business.
Learning how to market a nonprofit business is no different than any other for-profit business. They both have the same goal of making money. The major difference is how that money is generated. When marketing a nonprofit business you need to consider the fact that you are not providing a tangible service, instead, you are asking for a donation of some sort. Below, are some ways to help market your nonprofit by effectively communicating the value of your organization.
How to Attract Donors
Identifying potential customers is the first step to marketing your nonprofit effectively. This step is extremely important. Generating interest in what your company offers helps the right donors to become vested in your cause. Unlike a for-profit business, the potential sponsor or donor will not be able to hold or see the value in their purchase unless you sell the value of your cause.
Selling value
Selling value is the very next step in learning how to market a nonprofit business. According to Brian Tracy, “Value selling says that customers buy your value or service because they anticipate enjoying a value that they would not have in the absence of your product or service. People don’t buy products, they buy the results the product will give them”. In reference to learning how to market a nonprofit business, it is important to note that nonprofits do not provide any tangible elements to their donors. The key is to educate potential donors and sponsors on how their contribution will help change someone’s life. Here are three things to consider when going after that donation: Identify your potential sponsor needs, why should they be apart of your organization, and what are the benefits of being apart of your organization.
Generating income
When you are running any type of business, whether it is for profit or nonprofit, generating income his how your business survives and hopefully thrives. For-profits companies make money because people seek out their product and purchase it. For nonprofits, generating income can be very difficult since they are not offering any physical product in exchange for their donors time or money. Nonprofits have to rely solely on donations. In our commercial and object-oriented society, nonprofits need to break through the challenges of that mindset to educate people about the value their donation will have on someone else’s life.
Relationship building
People are constantly bombarded with marketing messages on a daily basis. They come in the form of signs, billboards, internet ads, and T.V commercials. We have people and devices constantly telling us to buy, buy, buy. This is why relationship building is an integral part of marketing a nonprofit business. If people do not believe in your cause they will not support you. It’s as simple as that. For-profits do not place much emphasis on relationship building as nonprofits do and should. For example, when someone goes to buy something, more often than not, they have already made up their minds. They see the value in their purchased product very clearly. Nonprofits need to foster and develop meaningful relationships with their donors to establish trust and value. Relationship building increases the likelihood of future and larger donations. A good way of keeping donors informed of their contributions is to create a bi-weekly or monthly newsletter.
