The document discusses various techniques for effective fundraising through direct mail, including: - Choosing the right media and lists is essential, as direct mail allows more space to communicate and reaches all, unlike email or SMS. - Storytelling, connecting multiple mailers, and offering token gifts can help boost response rates. - Testing creative content and targeting the right demographics and profiles are important, moving beyond only targeting HNIs. - Having a long-term plan, using analytics to segment audiences, and optimizing response mechanisms like SMS collection are ways to change direct mail strategy for today's world.

1. Fundraising through Direct Mail –
tools & techniques for getting results
Yogesh Aggarwal
November 28 – 30, 2012
India International Centre, New Delhi

2. Direct Mail
Failure Stories & Nightmares

3. Stories & Excuses ?
• Story :
– Did 1,00,000 mailers and got 10 donors
– Spent 10 Lakh and got donations of 1 Lakh
– Thousands of mails came return
• Explanations
– Useless List : Of List Owner
– Bad Creative – By previous Guy
– Not the correct profile of people
– Not the correct time

4. Are you Serious ?
• Where is your Plan ?
• Where is your Testing Strategy ?
• Where is your Scale Up Strategy?
• Where is your List Owner ?
• Where is your mailing Agent?
• Where is your Creative Guy ?
• Where are you ?

5. New Marketing World

6. Choosing Media
Advantages Disdvantages
Email
Faster and cheaper for
tests Primarily reaches to value seekers
Doesn’t covers most of wealthy
Has limited shelf life
Reach is limied to individual to whom it is
sent
Telecall More persuasive Negative Image
Slow reach
Doesn’t reach welthy
DND
SMS Fast & cheaper Negligible shelf life
Not enough space to communicate
Doesn’t reach welthy
DND

7. Choosing Media
Advantages Disdvantages
Email
Faster and cheaper for
tests Primarily reaches to value seekers
Doesn’t cover most of wealthy
Has limited shelf life
Reach is limied to individual to whom it is
sent
Telecall More persuasive Negative Image
Slow reach
Doesn’t reach welthy
DND
SMS Fast & cheaper Negligible shelf life
Not enough space to communicate
Doesn’t reach welthy
DND

8. Advantages Disdvantages
Direct
Mail High initial cost Reaches ALL
Lot of space to communicate
Cuts clutter
No DND issues
Helps build brand
Read by multiple people at home
Better Retention of Donors
Choosing Media

9. Direct Mail Status Report
• Only 2 % people in India receive mailings
at least once a week and 95 % less than
once a month. On average, 20 % of
respondents in Asia receive them once a
week and more.
• Those lucky enough to receive mailings in
India also read them: 96 % of recipients
have an affinity for them..

10. Changing your direct mail strategy in
today’s world
• Planning
– Have a 3 Year Plan instead of looking into 1
year
– Use Advance Analytics
• Analyse be City
• Analyse of Time Axis
• Analyse of Occasion Axis
• Analyse on Location Axis

11. Changing your direct mail strategy in
today’s world
• Lists – Come out of HNI syndrome
• Analyze your donors / respondents to the
extent of
– Localities
– Age
– Cause for Donation

12. HNI Syndrome
• 100 % database queries are for HNI
• 100% companies want to target HNI
• Define HNI ?
• How Do you connect to HNI?
• Is HNI your Target segment?
• Is being HNI so important ?
• What is your expectations ?
• Purchase Behaviour- It’s not the money that responds
but the profile and lifestyle of a person which does.
• Target the group by Profile, Educational balance…..
Largely a Psychographic study of the TA

13. Changing your direct mail in today’s
world - Creative
• Connected Mailers, Launch Series of Mails
– Repeat every 2 weeks to same set of customer
– e.g
• Series 1: What you need in Life ? Lot of Cash
• Series 2 : What do you need in Life ? Lot of Time
• Series 3 : What do you need in Life ?To Live
• 3 D Mails : Token Gifts / Handouts
• Something Different
– Experience that cannot be given in E-marketing

14. Response Mechanism
• Post is no good any more.
• Have collection alternatives
– SMS for collection
– Call Back
– Cheque pickups
– Drop Boxes
– Online
– Follow with calling

15. DM Flow

16. Fundraising through Direct Mail –
tools & techniques for getting results
November 28 – 30, 2012
India International Centre, New Delhi

17. Why Direct Mail ?
• Prospect for new Donors
• Establish and maintain
relationships
• Generate donor/customer loyalty
• Solicit potential donors
• Communicate information

18. The 21st
Century Donor
• Less committed
• More access to information
• More of a ‘consumer’ – less loyal
• More demanding – asking questions
that are difficult to answer
• More negative

19. Definition of “Good Mail”
• Tangible, personal communication
• Connect with the recipient in striking
way
• Compelling fill, look, line of copy etc.
that makes the recipient feel
important

20. People like to get Direct Mail
• What is the first thing you do when you
come home ?
• Most people short mail into 2 piles:
– Relevant
• It’s personal
• They know something about me
A good offer sent to the right person
– Junk
• Stuff that’s not for me
• Goes right into the dustbin
A good offer sent to the wrong person

21. The Beginning………
Direct Mail Components
•Creative/Design
•Lists/Database
•Data processing
•Personalisation
•Offer/Donation
•Production

23. Mailers-The concept behind them
To Create Awareness
• Mailer should contain facts which are authentic
and transparent.
• A reference on the statistics of above facts i.g. 90
million people are Senior Citizens
• Supported by visual aides i.e. Pictures etc.
• Availability of tax exemption on donation.

24. • Telling a story so that it touches the
heart of the prospective donor.
• A message to relate the above story
with the ground situation.
• Designing a mailer with pictures and
gadgets.
To Build Sympathy

25. Making the appeal a success
• Targeting the right people
• Timing
• The message and its authenticity
• Cost effectiveness
• Authentic and good database

26. MAILING PHILOSOPHY
• Contents of the Mailer.
• Types of Mailers.
• Mailing Methodology (Direct/Tie-up/
Electronic /Door to Door).
• Factors for Success/Failure Of Mailers.

27. Types of Mailers
• General Purpose Mailers
– Sent through out the year
– Contains information about the organisation, its
goals, an appeal and a reply coupon.
• Festival Mailers
– Sent during a particular festival
• Specific Purpose Mailers
– Sent for a specific purpose like earthquake,
cyclone, epidemic out-break and special events
etc.
• Chain Mailers
– Could be specific or general mailer with a
provision for the receiver to suggest names and
addresses of other persons who would be
interested in our cause.

28. WHY PEOPLE RESPOND TO
FUNDRAISING APPEALS
People send money because :
• You ask them to.
• They have money available to give away.
• They are in the habit of sending money by mail.
• They support organisations like yours.
• Their gifts will make a difference.

29. WHY PEOPLE RESPOND TO
FUNDRAISING APPEALS
• You recognize them for their gifts.
• You give them tax concession.
• You enable them to “do something” about a
critical problem.
• You help them learn about a complex and
interesting problem or issue.

30. WHY PEOPLE RESPOND TO
FUNDRAISING APPEALS
• They feel it is their duty.
• They believe it is a blessing to do so.

33. Address Labels
visible from back
of envelope

38. Direct Mail Pack
• OME (Outer Mailing Envelope)
• An appeal letter
• Donation Coupon
• BRE (Business Reply Envelope)
• Leaflet
• Lift Letter
• Premiums

39. Other Direct Mail Aspects
• Cold Mail v/s Warm Mail
• Thank you Mail
• Response Rates
• Profitability-RoI

40. Direct Mail
•Lift Letter
•Warm Mail
•BRE
•Banks’ high net worth client lists
•Gold card / Diner card lists
•Good Magazine subscription lists
•Newsletter / Annual Report
•Tax-mail
•Stories

41. Direct Mail
• Reckless Cold Mail
• Improper gap
• CA/Doctor/Lawyer lists
• Pictures of distress
• Couriers ?

42. Lists/Database
Remember that the List/database
accounts for as much as
40% to 60%
of the success of a mailing

43. What is Marketing Database ?
A marketing database is the collection of
information which helps you to spend your
marketing budgets more efficiently.

44. The Wrong List/Database
• Great Offer
• Beautiful Copy
• Good Design
• Strong ‘Call to Action’
The Wrong
List/Database

45. The Key to Lists Selection
Find out as much as possible
about the present
customers/donors…. then get as
many more prospects as you can
who are just like them !

46. Know your data
• How much people give ?
• How often they give ?
• How recently they gave ?
• Why they give ?
• Where they live ?
• How long they stay ?

47. Things to Consider
• Where the donor located ?
– 3 miles radius, city, state, nationwide, etc.
• Do they have certain demographics ?
– Families, Homes, Income, Education, etc.
• Do they have buying preferences (psychographics) ?
– Cars, Holidays, etc.
• Are they a specific type of business ?
– Restaurants, retail, schools, etc.
• Do they already own a certain product ?
– Computers, TV, Washing machines, etc.
• Age

49. Thank You