Mission-Based Marketing: Positioning Your Not-for-Profit in an Increasingly Competitive World

245 Pages·2010·3.295 MB·English

by  Peter C. Brinckerhoff

Mission-Based Marketing
Mission-Based Marketing
Positioning Your Not-for-Profit
in an Increasingly
Competitive World
Third Edition
PETER C. BRINCKERHOFF
JohnWiley&Sons,Inc.
Copyright©2010byPeterBrinckerhoff.Allrightsreserved.
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData:
Brinckerhoff,PeterC.,1952-
Mission-basedmarketing:positioningyournot-for-profitinanincreasingly
competitiveworld/PeterC.Brinckerhoff.—3rded.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-470-60218-8(cloth);ISBN978-0-470-88984-8(ebk);ISBN
978-0-470-88985-5(ebk);ISBN978-0-470-88986-2(ebk)
1. Nonprofitorganizations–Marketing.—I. Title.
HF5415.B6672010
658.8—dc22 2010013514
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For my wife and best friend,
Christine Hargroves Brinckerhoff.
In a life filled with blessings,
you are the one for which I am most thankful.
Contents
Acknowledgments xi
AbouttheAuthor xiii
CHAPTER1 Introduction 1
Overview 1
A Competitive and Always-Online World 3
Who This Book Is Written For 7
The Benefits of Reading This Book 8
Preview of the Book 9
Recap 13
CHAPTER2 Marketing: A Key to Better Mission 15
Overview 15
The Characteristics of a Mission-Based, Market-Driven
Organization 16
Meeting Customer Wants 18
Treating Everyone Like a Customer 22
What about Your Competition? 23
A Team Effort 27
Recap 31
Discussion Questions 32
CHAPTER3 Being Mission Based and Market Driven 33
Overview 33
Which Is Right, the Markets or the Mission? 34
Moving with the Markets and Maintaining Your Mission 37
The Never-Ending Marketing Cycle 41
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viii Contents
The Results of Becoming Market Driven 42
Motivating Board and Staff 44
Holding On to Your Core Values 49
Recap 53
Discussion Questions 54
CHAPTER4 Being Flexible and Innovating with the Market 57
Overview 57
The Need for Flexibility 58
Retaining the Capacity for Flexibility 62
Being a Change Leader 68
The Pace of Change in a Competitive Environment 70
Recap 74
Discussion Questions 75
CHAPTER5 The Marketing Cycle for a Nonprofit 77
Overview 77
The Marketing Cycle That Works 78
The Marketing Disability of Most Nonprofits 92
The Marketing Cycle and Your Competitors 94
Recap 97
Discussion Questions 98
CHAPTER6 Who Are Your Markets? 99
Overview 99
Market Identification and Quantification 100
Market Segmenting 108
Focusing on Target Markets 111
Treating All Your Markets Like Customers 112
Recap 116
Discussion Questions 116
CHAPTER7 Who Are Your Competitors? 119
Overview 119
Identifying Your Competition 120
Contents ix
Studying the Competition 129
Focusing on Your Core Competencies 137
Recap 139
Discussion Questions 139
CHAPTER8 Asking Your Markets What They Want 141
Overview 141
Surveys 142
Focus Groups 150
Informal Asking 153
Asking (and Listening) Online 155
Asking Mistakes 157
After Asking 159
Recap 160
Discussion Questions 162
CHAPTER9 Better Marketing Materials 163
Overview 163
The Problems with Most Nonprofits’ Marketing Materials 164
Solving Customers’ Problems 169
Things to Include in Your Marketing Materials 171
Things to Avoid in Your Marketing Materials 174
Developing Different Materials for Different Markets 176
Recap 177
Discussion Questions 179
CHAPTER10 Technology and Marketing 181
Overview 181
Tech Is an Accelerator of Good Marketing 182
(Your Web Site Is) Your First Chance to Make a Good
Impression 184
Asking and Listening 188
Beware the Digital Divide 191
Social Networking/Social Media 193
What’s Next? 194
x Contents
Recap 194
Discussion Questions 195
CHAPTER11 Incredible Customer Service 197
Overview 197
Three Customer Service Rules 199
The Customer Is Not Always Right, but the Customer
Is Always the Customer, so Fix the Problem 200
Customers Never Have Problems; They Always Have
Crises, so Fix the Problem Now 200
Never Settle for Good Customer Service—Seek Total
Customer Satisfaction 205
The Unhappy Customer 209
Regular Customer Contact 211
Turning Customers into Referral Sources 213
Recap 215
Discussion Questions 215
CHAPTER12 A Marketing Planning Process 217
Overview 217
Developing Your Marketing Team 218
An Asking Schedule 221
Targeting Your Marketing Effort 224
A Marketing Plan Outline 226
Marketing Planning Software 232
Recap 232
Discussion Questions 233
FinalWords 235
Index 237
Acknowledgments
Whenyousitdowntowritethethirdeditionofyourthirdbook,youget
the silly idea that you know what you are doing, and can handle the
taskathand.Ofcourse,youarewrong,oratleastIwas.Ihavemanypeople
to thank for bringing this project to completion, and the main recipients of
my gratitude are the staff and volunteers of the nonprofits whose examples
bringsomuchlifeandcredibilitytotheideasfoundinthefollowingpages.
Anygoodconsultantlearnswhileheorsheteaches,andIliketothinkthat
all of my training and writing are a way of sharing what I have learned. It
is certainly true here.
xi
About the Author
PeterBrinckerhoff is an internationally known expert at helping not-for-
profitsgetmoremissionfortheirmoney.Sinceembarkingonhisconsulting
career by forming his firm, Corporate Alternatives, Inc., in 1982, Peter has
worked with thousands of nonprofit staff and board members throughout
North America, Europe, and Australia. He is a widely published author,
with over 70 articles on not-for-profit management in such prominent jour-
nals as Nonprofit World, Advancing Philanthropy, Contributions, Strategic
Governance, and the JournalofNonprofitandVoluntarySectorMarketing.
Peter is the award-winning author of seven books related to non-
profits:Mission-BasedManagement(3rdEdition),FinancialEmpowerment,
Mission-Based Marketing (3rd Edition), Social Entrepreneurship, Faith-
BasedManagement,NonprofitStewardship,andGenerations:TheChallenge
ofaLifetimeforYourNonprofit.Peter’sbookshavewontheprestigiousTerry
McAdam Award from the Alliance for Nonprofit Management three times.
The award is given annually for “Best Nonprofit Book.” Peter is the only
author to win multiple awards, and his books are used in the graduate
andundergraduatenonprofitprogramsatover100collegesanduniversities
worldwide.
Peterbringsawidearrayofpracticalhands-onexperiencetohiswriting,
consulting, and training. He has served as a board member, staff member,
and executive director of a number of local, state, and national not-for-
profits.Heunderstandsallthreeoftheseperspectivesandtheirimportance
in the nonprofit mix.
Peter received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylva-
nia, and his Master’s of Public Health from the Tulane University School of
Public Health. He lives in Union Hall, Virginia.
Peter can be reached online through his web site, www.missionbased
.com.
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