No sooner had charities weathered the impact of the peak-pandemic years, they now find themselves facing another huge challenge. The cost-of-living crisis is hitting us all hard. But could focusing on improving the customer experience that donors receive be the answer?
A donor is a customer like any other – they are paying out money. Because of this, they have the same expectations of the ‘buying’ experience as when they purchase a product. CX has been a major source of differentiation in the private sector for years. Consumers’ demands are increasing: they want convenience and they want personalisation.
This article will showcase some good practices of how a well-planned donation process drives consumer loyalty.
Making donating smooth and easy
So how do you create the kind of experience that compels someone and leads to their retention?
Different factors can contribute to the success of an action. Sometimes, sending the donor a message on WhatsApp will make them more likely to agree to a regular donation. Some other techniques rely on the community and connection by bringing donors closer to each other. Many organisations set up social media groups. But what approaches work the best?
In terms of personalisation, it’s worth noting that many charities already do this to an extent. For instance, when you sponsor a child with ActionAid you will receive messages, photos, and even drawings from those children. But charities should be able to apply this to the donor journey too.
As it is coined in the private sector; the point of sale gives the donor immediate feedback using whichever channel or channels they have selected. Research by Community Boost found that donors are 400% more likely to give again if thanked within 48 hours of giving. That could be via social media, video messaging, direct confirmation email or even at an in-person event.
Right now, retaining their donors is more important to charities now than it has ever been before. So they must act to create a donor experience that is easy and gratifying. The donor experience should be so much a part of that person’s life, that cancelling that direct debit is the furthest thing from their mind. You want to maintain their loyalty with a fantastic, consistent experience.
Applying CX principles to the volunteering experience
With funding on the decline and demand for services increasing, offering a compelling employee experience could also help to bring in more volunteers to charities. But since the pandemic, there’s been a decrease in the number of volunteers nationally. Pro Bono Economics, which helps charities and social enterprises understand their costs and improve their impact, reports that “hours given have petered downwards”. Along with that, as soon as we moved out of one tragedy, iwe landed almost immediately in another with the cost-of-living crisis.
Factors to consider that are already being prioritised by forward-thinking businesses can include:
- making sure that your people are being listened to and that their wellbeing is a priority
- taking any feedback and acting on it
- being sure that leaders are properly trained
- having the right technology in place and making best use of it
- fostering strong collaboration between colleagues
What are the next steps and what can we learn from this?
Volunteers are precious to charities, and luckily, there will always be people who want to help. But no matter how good their intentions, we are all under enormous pressure right now. The strain may cut our capacity to give up our time.
By improving the volunteer experience, charities can give themselves a better chance of keeping their people happy. And this will in turn keep their organisation flowing.
Find out what Capita are doing to help charities and better their volunteer experience.