With effective marketing and branding, a non-profit organization is better able to accomplish it’s Mission and achieve sustainability. In this post Leah Lamb shares insights, gained over many years, to help non-profit leaders optimally market and brand their organizations.
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Leah Lamb
While many large non-profits get marketing and branding right, I think that the vast majority of small and mid-sized non-profit organizations don’t. What separates the non-profits that do from the ones that don’t? It depends, I’ve observed over the years, on these things: Leadership, tapping into their resources, and having an entrepreneurial spirit. Again, many large non-profits do a great job with marketing and branding, in most cases because they’ve budgeted for these things. Some in fact do as good a job as large companies like Coca Cola, Frito-Lay, and other major brands in this area.
A non-profit that lacks the right spirit and leaders, however, isn’t going to be successful in their marketing and branding. Those that don’t focus on and invest in their marketing will generally not fare too well. Many smaller non-profits make this mistake.
In assessing how well a non-profit is doing in it’s marketing and branding, these two questions need to be honestly considered and answered:
- How strategic is your non-profit in getting the message out about your organization?
- Have you done the work to understand your competitors, determine your “value-added proposition”, test your messages with key stakeholders, and refine your message?
Whether that message is increasing your volunteers, increasing the dollars in your coffers, or increasing overall goodwill in the community, it’s important to get your organization’s message right.
Moreover, I believe there are key steps in being a non-profit that is effective in its marketing, namely:
- Having a clear and concise message. A murky and muddled message should be avoided.
- Consistency in the way your organization is perceived. If your print and online images are inconsistent, it is hard to be effective in this area.
Lastly, due to the competitive nature of the online marketplace, carving out one’s niche is more critical than ever, but more difficult. In an age of abundant technology, setting your non-profit apart from others can be challenging. However, it’s very important to do so if you want to brand your organization successfully.
Marketing and branding work together I feel. Those who brand well are able to reach their base of supporters – i.e. strategically carve out their niche. Those who market well are consistent -online and in print- and don’t have an unclear message. They’re strategic thinkers who invest willingly in marketing.
LEARN
Do you want your Non-profit to stand out?
- If you’re too busy, and marketing is just an afterthought, then you already know the first reason why your marketing and branding may not be too effective.
- Strategy – You have to be strategic in getting your organization’s message out. The Who, What, and Why of your non-profit need to be considered fully, not casually.
- Messaging to your audience of donors, clients, and stakeholders must be Clear, Concise, and Consistent
- Branding – Have you strategically carved out your niche?
GROW
Your Outcomes Well Team
This blog, Your Outcomes Well, was created with the intention of helping non-profits boost their organizational performance. Purpose and passion are already exhibited by nonprofits in huge proportions. It all started with our trying to help out our sister’s nonprofit; she was trying to find software to help her simplify fulfilling the organization’s reporting requirements to government agencies. Our journey didn’t stop there though. Completing surveys of over 20 different nonprofits, seeking to uncover their most vexing problems, was the next step we took.
- One of the problem areas which continually surfaced was marketing and branding. When you find yourself operating a small to medium sized nonprofit organization (or business), you find yourself having to work real hard to do one thing: Keeping the lights on. Whether a non-profit or a business startup, keeping the lights on ends up soaking up almost all of one’s time. Clearly the marketing hurdle is a key element in achieving sustainability.
Yet, regrettably, as Leah Lamb communicates, Executive Directors ignore doing marketing properly at your own peril. Steve Covey, in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, offers a helpful time-management matrix. Covey states that the hardest things to do are frequently those things that are important, but not urgent. That is where the strategic work gets done, but it’is also where it is hardest to find time to do such work.
What’s the simplest takeaway? If you don’t have the skill set, if you don’t have the technical talent, and if you don’t have the time to spare you must do this: Find a way and seek out the element(s) you’re lacking. Plan to market your organization; it’s too important not to do right.
Good marketing isn’t for large, for-profit companies only. Whether you lead a large non-profit or a small one, Leah Lamb offers timely thoughts and tips on boosting the effectiveness of your organization’s marketing. Leaders with the right resources, an entrepreneurial spirit, and messaging which is clear, concise, and consistent will do best Lamb feels.
Your Outcomes Well
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