We have started a few projects where our clients are concerned (sometimes rightfully so) that it will be difficult to get donors to interview, to draw insights from. There’s a difference between thinking this, and it actually being true, but when your donors don’t believe they’re the right person to provide feedback on your interactions with them, this is an insight in and of itself. It shows your donor base isn’t connected to you, and connection is the biggest driver of ongoing giving. So if this is the case, you’re likely in a worrisome state with your donor base, but you can most certainly fix that.
It’s so important whether you work with Real Path, another experience design firm, or on your own, that you reach out to your donors to talk to them, understand them and draw them into your world. Starting with ten donors might be enough to get you some key insights to start developing a broader understanding of your donors, the types of donors you want to attract and how to keep them engaged.
It’s so easy for us to think we understand our donor’s journey because of how much work we do speaking to them on our channels. What we miss by not speaking to them, is understanding how they want us to speak with them, and on what channels. Your team might be spending days of effort pulling together newsletters that aren’t read by the majority of your donor base. If we can really learn what our donors want, we can make sure the effort we put in to steward them is effort well spent.
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