If you’ve been reading the Veritus blog for a while, you likely know that we talk about creating a strategic communication plan for your relationally managed donors. Our standard is a Touch Point for each donor each month. And yes, this is on top of the organization’s communication plan.
The initial reaction is often: That’s too much!
But how do you really know? Did the donor tell you? Or is it your personal feeling? Our counsel is to stay the course unless the donor tells you differently. As our mantra goes, “don’t make decisions for your donors.”
So, what is a Touch Point and why send them? Very simply, the Touch Point is any communication from you to your donor. They are often tied directly to a donor’s interest in specific programs and services of your organization that they care about. But it can also be to introduce something new.
We think of them in five overarching categories: Problem or Gap Communication, Ask, Thanks, You Made a Difference (YMAD), and Personal Connections.
In the YMAD category, you can send Impact or Project Reports, Transformation Stories, Insider Updates or Information, Subject Matter Expert or External Validation information, or Anecdotal information.
And the how? Mail, email, text, phone, Zoom, event, tour, in-person meeting—all of these work as ways to make the connection for your Touch Point.
Why use them? Because this is what is happening over time:
Identity: The donor is getting used to your name and you become recognizable. And when that happens, you’ve cut through the clutter in their inbox. Likewise, on the phone, your voice becomes familiar through the message. Or in the mailbox, your handwritten envelope stands out.
Trust: Because you are doing what you said you’d do. When you bring things the donor cares about, you build trust with you as a connection and with the organization overall. The result is your communication is more likely to be received and processed.
Interest: The response to the messages and content you send reveal what a donor cares about, helping you to further develop your communication.
Action: All of this cumulatively results in action. Some of it is causal—a direct gift to a direct ask; some of it is correlation—giving increases as the donor is more engaged.
Over the next several posts, our Client Experience Leader team will unpack the “softer” side of Touch Points: objective/intention; tone, personalization/customization, digital uses, and being authentic.
I hope you’ll stay tuned. It will be like getting a peek at a 1:1 relationship fundraiser coaching call. And you’ll have tools and ideas for connecting with the donors you work with.
I know firsthand the difference this makes. I get a lot of email and mail from one organization I support, but I don’t pay attention to most of it. But if Chuck writes or calls, I do. Why? I know Chuck knows what I care about.
This is the first of a six-part series on Touch Points.