The different stages of the donor relationship

The different stages of the donor relationship

by | Aug 6, 2020 | Customer Journey, donor-centric, Donor-centricity, Sustainable Fundraising

Like any relationship in your life, professional or personal, there are different phases to a donor’s relationship with your organisation. There’s the flirtation phase, the honeymoon period, the ‘comfort zone’, the seven-year itch, the renewed passion, and so on. 

As a relationship progresses through each different stage, a subtle shift occurs in the way in which each party communicates, interacts and behaves with the other. The language we use, our tone of voice, the actions we take – or don’t take, the degree of trust we have in each other, the reliance we place on each other, the compromises we’re willing to make, the expectations we have. All of these evolve over the course of a relationship. 

As you and your organisation follow the steps required to become more donor-centric, you first need to identify and understand what stage your donor relationship is at so you can work towards connecting more meaningfully, collaborating more effectively and genuinely caring for your donors in a way that makes sense for that particular stage of your relationship. In doing so, you will create ongoing value exchange, build trust and increase loyalty with your donors.

Stage 1: Catch Me

This is the stage of courtship. You are marketing yourself amongst a sea of competition, trying to attract and woo a donor by appealing to your similar interests and beliefs.

Stage 2: Welcome Me

This is the honeymoon stage. It’s where you learn how best to communicate with each other, how to support each other, and how to value each other.

Stage 3: Teach Me

This is the engagement stage. Things are starting to get a little more serious. Curiosity is peaked. Questions are asked. Information is sought. You want to learn more about each other so you can connect on a deeper level.

Stage 4: Grow Me

This is the enrichment stage. It’s a time of excitement and opportunities. It’s time to demonstrate the value each of you brings to the relationship and highlight the impact you can have on the world if you work together.

Stage 5: Keep Me

This is something of a warning stage. It’s a reminder to never get complacent. For the relationship to work, it’s important to show respect, care and attention. Remember, trust and loyalty must always be earned so never stop striving for them.

Stage 6: Endear Me

This is the rekindling stage. Focus on reminding each other why the relationship exists, what attracted you to each other in the first place and why you still belong together. It’s an opportunity to reflect on all you have accomplished so far and ignite the passion to continue on your journey together.

Stage 7: Renew Me

This is a re-establishment stage. It’s an opportunity to breathe fresh life into the relationship in a bid to make it stronger. It may even be time to start afresh; to revisit expectations and work on understanding each other.

Stage 8: Win Me Back

This is an acknowledgement stage. It’s time to listen intently; to face up to the issues and accept the role you played in creating them. You might even need to apologise. Above all, it’s about understanding whether you’re meant to be together and then putting in the effort to make that happen.

As you embark on this journey on the journey to donor-centricity, ask yourself what stage of the donor relationship at you at with your donors? Remember, each stage comes with its own challenges and opportunities. Knowing a little bit more about each phase can help you navigate the journey. So, our next blog series will be dedicated to each stage of the donor relationship journey – stay tuned!

You might also be interested in joining LemonTree’s free Donor-Centricity Collective (DCC)? Every event we do a deep dive into one of the stages so you can learn from your peers, share your experiences, ask questions and keep up-to-date with the latest strategies to help you through that stage to become more donor-centric…AND be part of a movement to help grow sustainable giving in Australia! Simply click here to sign up for free.

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Previous posts in this series:

LemonTree Q&A with Dr. Adrian Sergeant

LemonTree Q&A with Dr. Adrian Sergeant

by | Feb 14, 2019 | Customer Journey, Sustainable Fundraising

Adrian Sargeant is Chief Executive of The Philanthropy Centre. He is passionate about achieving massive growth in philanthropy. All his work is focused on achieving that by developing the value that donors get from their giving. He specialises in the new science of philanthropic psychology, a science that is routinely doubling the income for those charities that apply it… [Source: FIA Conference].

The LemonTree team compiled a handful of burning fundraising questions for renowned Author and Fundraising Professor Dr. Adrian Sargeant, featured speaking at the upcoming FIA Conference in Melbourne, here is what he had to say:

Q – With acquisition of donors via traditional channels becoming more challenging, how should charities adapt practices to grow their donor numbers?

Couple of thoughts on this. First – recruit the right donors. Don’t be tempted to recruit poor quality donors just to push up the figures for the initial ROI. In the US in particular, fundraisers have honed their skills in recruiting low value donors who will never come back and make a second gift. And their Boards applaud. Second thought – get a proper welcome cycle in place to maximize subsequent retention and loyalty

Q – What are the biggest dangers for charities that you consider are over communicating to their donors? Do you see resting donors a viable option?

I’m not sure what ‘over-communication’ looks like. If I like you and I care about you – and I enjoy what I receive – how can you over-communicate? What you’re really saying here is that we are over-communicating with rubbish that doesn’t in any way reflect donor interests, needs or aspirations. If you’re squarely donor centric and concerned with how you make people feel, resting individuals shouldn’t be necessary.

Q – Have you seen personalising communications based on motivational scores make a difference? Or is it a progressive learning program over many years to get right?

Hmm – well I take issue with motivation, its very limiting. The next big thing in fundraising will be identity. So its not ‘why do people give’ – its what are people saying about themselves when they give. And when you orient a fundraising program around adding value for the types of people that donors are – magical things happen. People give more and they feel better about themselves when they do.

Q – What are your top 3 tips to building more sustainable long term fundraising programs?

I’ve touched on this already. Forget behavioural economics and all that 20th century rubbish. Focus on enhancing the wellbeing of supporters and construct communication that genuinely adds to that. AND think through what activities you can have folks engage with that will genuinely add to that sense of wellbeing – even if those activities raise no money. In short – stop thinking about your needs and focus on theirs. If people feel good, the money will follow.

SHOUT OUT TO: David Craig from Precision Fundraising for connecting us with Dr. Adrian Sergeant.

We are now living in a Trust Economy

We are now living in a Trust Economy

by | Jan 24, 2019 | Sustainable Fundraising, Trust Economy

By Joel Nicholson – LemonTree Founder

We are now living in a Trust Economy. Thanks to today’s technology, digital and social media, we can quickly and easily connect with – and do business with – more and more people from all over the world. Forget Bitcoin. Trust has become the currency ‘du jour’.

But how ‘real’ are these connections?

How much do we really know – and trust – our 4.9 star-rated Uber driver?

Or the owners of the Airbnb house we’ve just booked?

Or the latest person to follow us on Instagram?

What do they really know about us?

With the growing number of connections, has come growing statistics on depression, disengagement and authenticity, along with a continuing decline in the World Trust Index, suggesting that we are suffering from a false sense of connection and belonging.

Winning and losing in the Trust Economy

As humans, we are social, communal beings at heart. We want to meaningfully connect with our communities. We want to belong to a tribe. We want more meaning, more fulfillment, more happiness.

In the Not-For-Profit industry specifically – where a common question from donors is: “Where does my money go?” – it is becoming increasingly important to focus on growing lasting, sustainable relationships vs. amassing unsubstantiated connections.

Fundraisers and charities that focus on relationships over transactional connections will be the winners in this new era.

Keeping our donors is more important than ever.

Those that don’t invest in getting to know and understand their donors and provide them with real value, will fall away in this trust economy and lose the chance to make a real difference to their cause.

Donor-Centric Life in the Trust Economy

In the trust economy, every donor is deeply understood and deeply valued.

We move from transactions (RFM) to motivations and preferences.

You are genuinely connected with your donors.

You collaborate with others to further your knowledge and understanding of your donors so you can truly care for and work in their best interests!

Those natural human chemicals of Oxytocin and Sertonin are flowing.

What do we need to thrive in the Trust Economy?

What if you knew your localised motivated donor?

What if you knew the exact time of year your donor prefers to support your cause?

What if you knew which donors shared the plight of YOUR cause and which donors are simply do-gooders?

How would you communicate with them?

How would you engage with them?

How would you attract and retain them?

The reality of the Trust Economy reality is now.

In 2018, 54 LemonTree members, leant in and embraced the Trust Economy.

They are now matching messages to motivation segments; testing multi channels across Direct Mail, eDM, SMS and phone; and tracking LTV vs. immediate response rates.

How are you adapting to the Trust Economy? (Share your comments below)