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Suggest You - Direct Mail Fundraising Arithmetic: Avoid Blunders By Knowing Your Numbers
What Is A Business Plan?Individuals running small self-owned units with low revenues and lower profits are prone to ask –What is a business plan? They did not grow, simply because they didn’t have one, and never bothered to find out before. Evidently they don’t care much where their business is headed.Others wish to expand their business but have no idea how to go about it. Ask them what is their business plan and they shake their head, skeptical. S ective clients ask my firm is usually this: “What kind of response rate will your direct mail fundraising packages generate for us?” That’s a good question.
But the answer I give, if I simply quote an average response rate, will mislead. It will mislead because high response rates do not necessarily mean profitable results. And neither do low response rates necessarily mean poor results.
- I could craft a direct mail packag
Embossing Tools and Embossing MachinesEmbossing is a method to accentuate a particular part to make it visible. It is a technique that creates a raised image or text on metals and non-metals using embossing powder, tools, dies, stamps and embossing stencils. Embossing letters and designs can be felt and seen on the surface. It adds an element of class and elegance by embossing your artistic creations.Embossing tools are used for creating embossing text and symbol Your direct mail fundraising results never lie. But they mislead you if you let them.
I worked as Director of Development for a national charity that held a lavish fundraising banquet each year. The staff, from the executive director down to the receptionist, including the development staff, thought this banquet was the organization’s most successful fundraiser.
Shortly after being hired, I conducted a comprehensive development audit that measured the profitability of the organization’s fundraising methods, including this annual banquet. I added up the cost of the venue, catering, table and chair rental, lighting, sound, speaker honorarium, invitation printing, postage and every other related cost and subtracted this number from the gross income.
What a surprise we got!
What looked like a successful fundraiser was actually the organization’s least-effective fundraiser. In 1999, they spent 89? to raise one dollar. They didn’t realize that their “best fundraiser” was a financial flop, year after year. Why? Because they always published and celebrated the gross income generated by the event and never looked at the net income.
Two is better than one
You see, the problem with direct mail fundraising arithmetic is this—you need to understand and use more than just one measurement. You don’t buy a bunch of bananas based on price alone. You wouldn’t choose a lifelong mate based on looks alone (at least I hope you wouldn’t). And you shouldn’t measure your direct mail fundraising success by one ratio or formula alone.
Consider, for example, the most well-known number in direct mail fundraising—the response rate. Everyone knows that generating a high response rate is a good thing and that generating a low response rate is a bad thing. That’s why one of the first questions that prospective clients ask my firm is usually this: “What kind of response rate will your direct mail fundraising packages generate for us?”
That’s a good question.
But the answer I give, if I simply quote an average response rate, will mislead. It will mislead because high response rates do not necessarily mean profitable results. And neither do low response rates necessarily mean poor results.
- I could craft a direct mail package
Fire Branding Customers to Your BusinessThe idea of fire branding customers comes from my grand daughter, Taylor. She applied a tattoo to her shoulder and was pleased as she displayed a small peace symbol about the size of a peanut. Each time I looked at her shoulder, I was reminded of the little symbol and what it meant. It made me think about how great it would be to fire brand customers with my business name. I thought of countless ways of placing my logo around the w asured the profitability of the organization’s fundraising methods, including this annual banquet. I added up the cost of the venue, catering, table and chair rental, lighting, sound, speaker honorarium, invitation printing, postage and every other related cost and subtracted this number from the gross income.
What a surprise we got!
What looked like a successful fundraiser was actually the organization’s least-effective fundraiser. In 1999, they spent 89? to raise one dollar. They didn’t realize that their “best fundraiser” was a financial flop, year after year. Why? Because they always published and celebrated the gross income generated by the event and never looked at the net income.
Two is better than one
You see, the problem with direct mail fundraising arithmetic is this—you need to understand and use more than just one measurement. You don’t buy a bunch of bananas based on price alone. You wouldn’t choose a lifelong mate based on looks alone (at least I hope you wouldn’t). And you shouldn’t measure your direct mail fundraising success by one ratio or formula alone.
Consider, for example, the most well-known number in direct mail fundraising—the response rate. Everyone knows that generating a high response rate is a good thing and that generating a low response rate is a bad thing. That’s why one of the first questions that prospective clients ask my firm is usually this: “What kind of response rate will your direct mail fundraising packages generate for us?”
That’s a good question.
But the answer I give, if I simply quote an average response rate, will mislead. It will mislead because high response rates do not necessarily mean profitable results. And neither do low response rates necessarily mean poor results.
- I could craft a direct mail packag
Selling Truth as a DifferentiatorThe last few years have been a period of heightened scrutiny and scandal for the financial services industry. Most recently, the SEC issued a report on pension consultants regarding conflicts of interest and the objectivity of advice given to retirement plan sponsors. It’s become vital to the success of insurance and financial advisors that they differentiate themselves with their exemplary ethics, that they operate by a higher mora hey spent 89? to raise one dollar. They didn’t realize that their “best fundraiser” was a financial flop, year after year. Why? Because they always published and celebrated the gross income generated by the event and never looked at the net income.
Two is better than one
You see, the problem with direct mail fundraising arithmetic is this—you need to understand and use more than just one measurement. You don’t buy a bunch of bananas based on price alone. You wouldn’t choose a lifelong mate based on looks alone (at least I hope you wouldn’t). And you shouldn’t measure your direct mail fundraising success by one ratio or formula alone.
Consider, for example, the most well-known number in direct mail fundraising—the response rate. Everyone knows that generating a high response rate is a good thing and that generating a low response rate is a bad thing. That’s why one of the first questions that prospective clients ask my firm is usually this: “What kind of response rate will your direct mail fundraising packages generate for us?”
That’s a good question.
But the answer I give, if I simply quote an average response rate, will mislead. It will mislead because high response rates do not necessarily mean profitable results. And neither do low response rates necessarily mean poor results.
- I could craft a direct mail packag
Empowerism - Why All the Buzz?Started in 1998 by Janet Wilson, Empowerism has become one of the Internets more successful businesses. This success didn’t happen by accident. There are some guiding principles that have contributed to make this particular business plan work better than most.Do you remember the old saying that if you give a man a fish you have fed him for today, but if you teach him how to fish, you have fed him for a lifetime? Well that ce alone. You wouldn’t choose a lifelong mate based on looks alone (at least I hope you wouldn’t). And you shouldn’t measure your direct mail fundraising success by one ratio or formula alone.
Consider, for example, the most well-known number in direct mail fundraising—the response rate. Everyone knows that generating a high response rate is a good thing and that generating a low response rate is a bad thing. That’s why one of the first questions that prospective clients ask my firm is usually this: “What kind of response rate will your direct mail fundraising packages generate for us?”
That’s a good question.
But the answer I give, if I simply quote an average response rate, will mislead. It will mislead because high response rates do not necessarily mean profitable results. And neither do low response rates necessarily mean poor results.
- I could craft a direct mail packag
Outsourcing of Customer Services & American Labor Force?Outsourcing cannot be considered a new phenomenon even though the rising attention toward this subject has brought lots of important issues into the daylight. Lots of service and even manufacturing companies started creating jobs overseas to gain wider access to foreign markets. They act as consultants auditors and perform other functions where their customers are. Putting it in other words, they have found customers and came to se ective clients ask my firm is usually this: “What kind of response rate will your direct mail fundraising packages generate for us?”
That’s a good question.
But the answer I give, if I simply quote an average response rate, will mislead. It will mislead because high response rates do not necessarily mean profitable results. And neither do low response rates necessarily mean poor results.
- I could craft a direct mail package that generates a 20% response rate but an average gift of only $2. Not good. You’d lose money.
- I could craft a package that generates a response rate of only half of one percent but generates an average gift of $2,000. That’s better. Probably.
Look beyond today’s numbers
You need to look beyond each campaign, looking back to previous results and looking forward to anticipated results. After all, you could be satisfied today with a direct mail program that generates an average gift of $35 but never realize that over half of your donors give you just one gift and never give again. Your average gift doesn’t tell you the whole story any more than your response rate tells you the whole story.
You can avoid their mistake—and plenty of other mistakes—by learning the most common ways to measure your success, and then using as many of them as you require to arrive at an accurate picture of your accomplishments. The knowledge is in your numbers. All you need to do is uncover it—and use it to your advantage in carrying out your mission.
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