As fundraisers, we know that we must make donating as easy as possible. The easier it is to donate, the more likely they won’t abandon the process
Omnichannel campaigns are designed to increase the targeting and personalization of each touch and expand the number of channels a donor traditionally interacts with. The result is a higher conversion rate and an increased average gift. One study showed that a consumer’s average order was 13% higher when they interacted with three or more channels.
At the same time, omnichannel campaigns boost overall engagement rates. A study from Omnisend showed businesses that used omnichannel marketing and implement three or more channels had a 19% engagement rate, which is three times higher than single-channel strategies. High engagement rates are critical — donors who interact with multiple channels are more loyal to your organization.
- Thinking your multichannel campaign is an omnichannel campaign. Multichannel campaigns push the same message and call-to-action across different channels. Omnichannel campaigns put the donor at the center of the outreach and unifies all channels to serve the donor.
Here’s an example of a multichannel campaign:
Here’s an example of an omnichannel campaign:
2. Lack of integrated toolsets. In order to effectively execute an omnichannel campaign, you need toolsets that are integrated so that all channels are unified and the donor’s record is complete. As you incorporate more channels and your omnichannel campaigns become more sophisticated, this can lead to increased expenses. However, you should have enough data from your other omnichannel campaigns to prove out the ROI on these added investments.
A campaign can switch the call-to-action (e.g., single-gift ask to sustainer ask or no donation to an engagement device), but the overall messaging and theme need to be the same.
3. Social proof. According to Nielsen’s Global Trust in Advertising survey, 82% of Americans seek recommendations from friends and family before making a purchase. Nearly 70% of consumers will trust a recommendation from someone they don’t even know. And consumers are donors. As more people contribute to charities that they are not directly connected to, they are evaluating organizations in the same way. Try adding social proof from donors — short testimonials — to your outreach. And don’t forget the power of ratings from watchdog organizations like Charity Navigator and BBB.
4. Providing sub-par donor services. To create a superior omnichannel campaign, you need to give prospects and donors multiple ways to contact you and have a quality and qualified team to answer questions or supply information.
This means prominently displaying your phone number, monitoring your DMs, responding to messaging in comments, adding a chat feature on your website. Donor services has often been a neglected department, if staffed at all. And nothing turns off a donor more than not being able to reach your organization in a quick and easy manner.
5. Last touch attribution. Last touch is the easiest way to assign attribution — and most CRMs, budgeting and reporting tools aren’t equipped to handle multi-touch attribution. However, in order to fully measure the impact of your omnichannel campaign, you need to be able to show how all the channels are contributing to the campaign’s success.
There are a lot of analytical products to help you calculate multi-touch attribution. In Google Analytics, you can look at different attribution models and see how attribution changes based on different models (you can also create your own).
Omnichannel marketing does require more work than multichannel campaigns — channels and teams need to be fully integrated and have the same KPIs. However, donors expect a more targeted and bespoke experience — whether they are shopping for shoes or donating to an organization.