Staying the Course: Strategies for Decision, Loyalty and Advocacy
- Sebrinia Welch
- Sep 23, 2023
- 3 min read
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Have you ever been invested in a story, deeply connected with the characters, only for it to end abruptly? It's a letdown, right? This disappointment is similar to when we see potential customers or donors show interest in us, perhaps engage somehow, only to lose them along the way.
In our last article, we discussed tactics to captivate your audience’s awareness and interest. But once you have their attention, then what? Now we need to help them stay the course by guiding them through the decision stage and beyond.
Keep Being a Beacon
When you continue to address the specific needs of every stage, organizations can make the most of their limit budgets and resources, establish stronger connections, and increase conversion rates. By steering your audience through the Conversion and Loyalty stages, you not only ensure consistent messaging throughout their journey but also amplify supporter loyalty, turning satisfied customers or donors into vocal advocates, driving organic growth and both immediate and long-term success.
3. Decision or Conversion Stage:
This is the moment of truth where a potential customer becomes a real one, or a supporter donates or volunteers. The goal at this stage is to help our target audience take the desired action we wish them to take.
Example Strategies:
Strong Call-to-Actions (CTA) - Provide direct and clear CTAs, like bright buttons or easy to complete forms, and help guide visitors towards taking the desired action.
Special Promotions or Limited-Time Offers - Timely promotions can nudge potential customers or donors to take action. They can also align to specific events or dates, like Giving Tuesday or a business’s anniversary, to generate urgency.
Optimize Product or Service Pages - Adding higher quality product or service images, strengthening the descriptions, copy or any other written material about them, or making the check out process easier, can help draw a supporter or customer into these pages, helping them feel confident about what a small business or nonprofit is offering.
Live Chat Support or Solid Customer Service Policies - From addressing questions or concerns in real-time to having a place where policies and frequently asked questions are clearly displayed, a potential customer or supporter may feel more at ease with their decision process.
4. Loyalty & Advocacy Stage:
The journey doesn’t end after a decision is made. The goal is to foster a lasting relationship, hopefully encouraging them to become a repeat customer or donor, engage with the organization more in the future, and share their experience with those around them.
Example Strategies:
Loyalty or Referral Programs - Offer rewards or incentives to encourage future support, purchases, or audience expansion from word-of-mouth testimonials.
Segmented Email Marketing - Separate your audience by demographics, behaviors or interests and create relevant and personalized content for them, like special deals for longstanding customers, discounts for birthdays, or updates on projects that supporters have donated to.
Customer Feedback Surveys - Understanding customer or donor experiences can lead to improvements and provide valuable testimonials or user-generated content for future marketing.
Online Groups or Forums - Create a community or platform where customers or supporters can connect, stay updated and engaged.
Persevere in Leading
As you venture to become the perfect guide for your target audience's journey, here are a few reminders:
Guide, Don’t Push: I don’t know about you, but I tend to get turned off or feel negatively about a brand or organization if they get too pushy. Remember, you're assisting potential customers, not pushing them. It's about their journey, not your destination.
Patience is a Virtue: While it might be easier to let go of something if it doesn’t work right away, I highly recommend to keep at it. Decisions, especially significant ones, take time. Nurture the relationship - sometime you don’t remember the first time you walk on a particular path, however over time, the path becomes more permanent and easier for others to walk down it.
Monitor, Adjust, Repeat: Track the success of your strategies. If you do feel like some tactics are not working, use tools and data to understand why and adjust.
There is A LOT your nonprofit or small business can do to guide your target audience through their unique paths towards engaging with your organization. While it may be overwhelming, one thing remains constant: the importance of being there, at every stage, guiding, assisting, and making their journey memorable. With the right strategies in place, you're not just directing the experience; you're enhancing it.
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