This week in Ad Age Jason John pronounced the death of the sales funnel. He described today’s consumer purchasing process like this:
“Today’s shopper jumps in and out of channels, views alternatives to purchases, and searches for better deals — all at the tap of a screen, the click of a button, and oftentimes while standing right in front of the item she’s trying to buy. She doesn’t predictably slide through the funnel, ushered along by our linear marketing messages. Instead, she more closely resembles a ball in a pinball machine, firing off a bunch of different pegs on the way down, sometimes shooting back up to the top of the funnel before ultimately finding her way to a purchase. She continues to move toward a sale, but it’s hard to predict where the bouncing will take her.”
And the truth is, he’s right! The last time you bought an appliance for your kitchen—wasn’t your purchasing process somewhat similar?
Let’s connect that with our work reaching donors. If this is the way people are now purchasing products, it’s also the way they are making decisions about their philanthropic spending. That means we have to be prepared with a multi-channel, integrated fundraising strategy.
What does this mean for your approach?
“More options around when, where and how to buy have not only given consumers incredible control, they have also made competition among retailers increasingly brutal. In order to compete in the fragmented ecosystem, marketers need to understand the modified path to purchase and reframe their strategy to make their dollars work harder and smarter.”
Let the donor have control of how they experience your organization. Remember, one channel often inspires action in another. So make sure you’re telling a story in concert across channels.
Are you approaching donors as if getting contributions is a simple three-step process? If so, it’s time to rethink your strategy. Learn more about building a multi-channel communication and integrated fundraising strategy by downloading our latest content paper here.