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MY NICHOLS’ WORTH by Judith Nichols
ENGAGEMENT USED TO ALLOCATE MARKETING BUDGETS

If you're not tuned into customer engagement now, you soon will be, writes Robert Passikoff, Ph.D., president of marketing firm Brand Keys in Chief Marketer, February 13, 2006 (http://chiefmarketer.com/rules_engagement_02132006/). "Defined as the outcome of advertising and marketing activities that substantively increases a brand's strength in the eyes of the consumers (and if measured properly can actually predict sales and profitability), engagement is being used more and more to allocate marketing budgets," Passikoff writes.

Engagement also relates to a fact that many marketers overlook: People make decisions--in particular buying decisions--based less on what they think and more on what they feel. Engaging customers with your brand is definitely an emotional act.

Even though 59% of respondents claim "high loyalty" to the cause or charity they support, the survey reveals that 60% - 70% of all donors are NOT on the loyalty path you expect them to be. Among other key findings from Donor Loyalty: The Holy Grail of Fundraising, a white paper released February 16, 2006 by CMS and available free of charge at http://www.cravermathewssmith.com/:

ÿ Fewer than 3 out of 10 donors report limiting their giving to issues they follow closely; and fewer than 4 in 10 consider themselves "pretty familiar" with the groups doing the most effective work on the issues they care most about.

ÿ Only 12% of donors report that the reason they stop giving to organizations is because they’re not getting enough information to keep them sufficiently informed. Yet 30% - 40% cite disappointment in performance as the non-renewal reason. This may indicate that organizations are not effectively communicating their work, progress and accomplishments.

ÿ Public confidence in charitable and advocacy organizations is shakier than ever.

ÿ Although we live in a culture where personality is King, organizations today have become "faceless." Not since the glory days of Ralph Nader, Jacques Cousteau and Jerry Falwell have there been non-profit leaders who personified their causes and organizations.

NOTE: You can also download two other white papers, The Status of Online Giving in America and the Executive Summary on Generational Giving today, BOOMERS! Navigating the Generational Divide in Fundraising and Advocacy, from the Craver, Mathis Smith website at http://www.cravermathewssmith.com/:.