Is there a place in today’s saturated market for direct mail acquisition? According to Sydney-based Tedirex, a data marketing agency for the not-for-profit industry, there are approximately the same number of charities engaging in direct mail acquisition today as in previous years, though most are now boxing clever in the eternal chase to acquire new supporters.
Charities who have continued to acquire cash donors through direct mail acquisition over the years are becoming smarter in their data selection due to a crowded market. Gone are the halcyon days of direct mail, where the sector enjoyed heady donor response rates of 5-8% pre-2016, as many charities are now forced to happily accept 2-4% response rates in the current climate.
Charities who once annually mailed 250,000 acquisition packs or more, are now opting to mail only to smaller audiences of highly targeted lists from co-op and swaps data, leaving cold list data alone due to drops in quality data volumes. This is something Elliott Cura from Tedirex can attest to: ‘We see the best results from clients who send high quality packs to swaps and co-op lists, combined with targeted donor profiling models and segmentation tools.’
Direct mail acquisition is still one of the best ways to grow a cash supporter-base with high quality supporters comprising an older demographic, the audience most likely to bequest with an average age of 71 years. With that said, this strategy still requires a significant investment of money, time and resources, with a long-term return on investment outlook utilising leveraging techniques to cultivate mid-value, major donor and bequest programs in place.
When effectively applied, direct mail acquisition, combined with integrated digital activities and retention mailings, can be successfully leveraged to convert single and repeat cash supporters to regular giving donors. Further, stewarding donors can be encouraged through the pipeline to major donations and bequests.
A deep knowledge and understanding of these tactics is vital to leverage direct mail acquisition in today’s market as many charities are often left scratching their heads, wondering how direct mail acquisition’s ever decreasing return on investment stacks up with a now acceptable 0.4-0.6, when the industry states that anything under 0.7 is sub-optimal for any donor acquisition program. Fortunately, creating an implementable fundraising strategy that understands the importance of strengthening the often-tentative relationship with acquisition donors streamlines this process to produce highly beneficial results for great causes.
Kerin Welford
Director, Bluestone Fundraising
