Customer-Centered Experience for your Non-Profit by Natalie De Laurell

This post is written by NiM Sales Associate Natalie De Laurell. Natalie and Joni Bryan represented NiM at Texas Dreamin’

Last week I swung down to Austin for Texas Dreamin’, a Salesforce Community event. As it tends to go, the highlights of the event were getting to connect with colleagues and clients, and snag the swag that vendors offer in exchange for your contact information! Now IT Matters employees all work remotely, so it was a treat to encounter Joni Bryan in the flesh and represent the NiM team.

An unexpected highlight of the event was getting to hear Simon Mulcahey talk through the ways that business is changing as a customer-centered approach becomes increasingly possible. I often have the sense that these keynotes are part marketing, part business school regurgitation. This one was packaged with a British accent and an attractive slide deck! But I heard some things that caused me to mull over the ways that we support the Nonprofits we serve in centering their approach around their constituents.

More and more, clients/customers/constituents are expecting a customer-centered experience. And why shouldn’t they! As Simon pointed out, the most recent technological revolution has made it possible. Companies which explicitly place customer service at the top of their priority list are doing quite well. Hello, Amazon and hello, every single deliver-it-now app-based service out there. It’s easy to work towards this focus when you’re a for-profit business that views customer service as a means to an end - the bottom line! The script changes when you’re a purposeful Nonprofit for whom that bottom line is a means to an end - your missional impact.

Consider what this might look like at your Nonprofit.

• Do your donors have ready access to their giving records? Can your donors update or change a recurring donation amount on your website, without needing to call in and wade through a telephone menu?

• Can prospective volunteers apply online, check the status of their application, and connect with other volunteers to hear their experiences?

• Can your patients book their appointments and pay bills through an online portal?

• Can constituents easily opt-in and opt-out of your monthly newsletter?

• Can your community easily see events that might be of interest to them? Can they register with a few clicks, and invite friends?

These are some of the ways that Nonprofits are creating a constituent-centered experience. If you’d like to explore these or other ways that your Nonprofit can focus its efforts around those you’re endeavoring to serve, drop us a line!