Most nonprofits we speak with indicate their top communication goals for 2019 remain engaging community, managing brand and reputation, raising issue awareness and generating funds. As we focus on these key initiatives, we also thought it would be important to discuss some of the broader communication trends we are following as they will be sure to impact our efforts in the next year.
- Privacy– With the increasing media attention on issues companies have had protecting consumer’s privacy, every company today is working to ensure its security is thorough and up-to-date, and consumers are starting to take notice. With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) taking effect in Europe this past year many companies revisited their privacy governance policies and practices. Starting to operate today to reflect these new regulations will only set organizations up for more success in the future. While historically a behind-the-scene task, communications teams today need to be transparent on what steps they have taken to secure consumers privacy, data and financial details. In 2019 we believe teams need to talk about their security efforts with donors to reassure them about hacks, leaks and thefts as they will favour organizations that demonstrate ongoing diligence and care.
- Personalization– Today’s donors and stakeholders expect you will work hard to communicate key initiatives and engage them in meaningful ways. This will mean a greater focus on personalization and experiences in 2019. Teams are leveraging newer technology to segment their databases, allowing them to constantly adapt communications to customer preferences and behaviours (in an ethical manner to earn their trust). Investing in having older silo’d systems connect to enable that coveted “single view” of the customer (donation patterns, program usage, social media engagement, etc.) will allow teams to serve customers quickly and effectively. So while organizations are becoming more intent on building the internal infrastructure that enables them to move at the same pace as their customers, teams are also working to understand the broader external trends such as generational differences as giving patterns and communication preferences shift. We predict in 2019 more of our partners will focus on building a seamless flow of connected customer data – behavioural, transactional, financial, operational, and social – to get a true view of their customers that enable more personalized touchpoints (e.g. personalized emails, giving pages with messaging about projects donors care about, etc.)
- Omni Channel – Customers are more sophisticated than ever and find their information via many channels. So organizations are also leveraging new technology to shift from multi-channel marketing (all channels are available to customers but not integrated) to omnichannel marketing (all channels are available and inter-connected). This enables teams to provide a better experience to even prospective customers as it provides a seamless and consistent communication process across every channel. It makes information easier to find, digest and keeps your key messaging consistent. Due to the investments required, many nonprofits report they are lagging behind for-profit companies in many regards, but as part of their 2019 priorities are focusing on (1) ensuring they have responsive / mobile-optimized websites, (2) integrated all their channels to make it easier for a consumer to find and navigate across platforms and (3) outlined a content strategy that ensures they have simplified and re-purposed content to create a more consistent experience.
- Inclusive Marketing– As teams optimized their omnichannel marketing, we’ve then seen their marketing become more diverse, more inclusive (e.g more gender and body-positive, more culturally sensitive, more accessible, etc.) and more focused around their cause / advocacy communication efforts. Deloitte reported that nearly one-half (49 percent) of organizations invested in diversity and inclusion efforts within the last five years, demonstrating its growing importance. Inclusive marketing is all about understanding your audience segmentation and while focusing your efforts to include as many people as possible, ensuring you are also very aware of those you potentially exclude. The majority of our clients draw from real experiences and ensure the voices that need to be heard and represented are part of the communication process. While it can be a challenge to collaborate with so many, it often provides a clear opportunity to speak for all and improve the collective impact. Canadian’s are more racially, ethnically and economically diverse than in the past and Stats Canada projects we will be even more diverse in the coming decades. Understanding generational differences have also highlighted that many millennials for example view activism differently than previous generations, often making it part of their lifestyle. Regardless of where your customers / donors grew up, their global view is informed by much more today than what they’ve experienced in their local neighbourhood. Companies today are paying attention to these shifts and are increasingly engaging in socially-orientated marketing efforts (consider Nike featuring Colin Kaepernick in last year’s Just Do It campaign, Heineken’s Worlds Apart campaign, Bell Let’s Talk campaign or even the City of Toronto’s Toronto for All). And more are talking about their efforts to change openly (e.g. MEC’s CEO discussed in 2018 it’s lack of diversity in advertising and their plans moving forward). There are a number of predictions on how diversity and social inclusion trends will continue to significantly impact the ways we communicate in 2019.
- Adopting new technology– There is no doubt technology is changing the way we communicate. The 2018 buzzwords you were likely reading about included augmented and virtual reality, personalization, voice, live video, mobile and artificial intelligence. With limited budgets, it’s always a challenge to prioritize what emerging trends and technologies are worthy of your attention and what to test and learn from. In 2017 Facebook removed charitable fundraising fees making it easy to expand existing social efforts, but the growth of video and mobile usage are driving up costs while nonprofits struggle with measuring their indirect impact. Emerging technology also means we need to invest in updating our team’s skills. Nonprofits need experienced creators that can tell a story while creating meaningful conversations with stakeholders. This means we need to adopt new expertise in UX design (user experience) to guide users through our websites in a delightful way. As our sites shift to mobile-first we are revisiting how buttons, menu labels, error messages and other copy turns a design into a meaningful customer experience and motivates users to complete actions. As the use of chabot’s grow, teams are experimenting with how they can improve customer service or optimize the CRM platforms to enhance personalization. Teams are now on a continuous test and learn model, investing in technology to create opportunities to improve and assess mission impact, as well as cost per outcome.
Over the past year, we have worked with more than 10 registered charities and many more nonprofits whose senior leadership teams are committed to increasing their organizations’ social impact. We have yet to find the one “best way” to maximize their communications efforts, and we wouldn’t expect to. Each nonprofit faces unique challenges and opportunities, and the decisions its leadership team makes reflects those realities. So we will continue to share best practices and insights from across the sector.
See also: