The TED of Direct Marketing

Recent research suggests that economic and policy changes over the last five years are continuing to make things difficult for fundraisers.  Recession and slow recovery have reduced the total giving, more organizations are competing for constituent mindshare and walletshare , and there are proposals to reduce the charitable gift deduction and a rise in postal costs.

What are we to do?  I suggest that we kick back, grab a drink, and complain about the state of the industry with your comrades…wait, wait, wait… maybe I should start over.

Looking for new and fresh ideas on how to increase the frequency and intensity of engagement with your constituents?  Ready to explore mobile or social fundraising and don’t know where to start?  Or just looking for what’s new and hip in the world of direct marketing?  Check out the 2012 Washington Nonprofit Conference, hosted by the Direct Marketing Association, Nonprofit Federation this week, March 1-2.

That’s more like it!

It’s the TED of the direct marketing world. The theme this year is something near and dear to my heart: “Ideas. Analytics. Results.”   Using your data to drive results is becoming a required method in direct response fundraising and marketing.  And this year you can hear from some of the industry’s best and brightest on how they are advancing their programs and their mission through analytics and other strategies.

• What if you could reasonably predict how your segments will perform? 
• What messages are resonating with your constituents? 
• What cohorts are performing well or poorly in which channels? 
• Would you make different decisions?

Convio is presenting a fantastic session featuring Dennis McCarthy and Mike Rogers from Convio and Joanne DelGiorno Bowers from CARE entitled, “The Multi-Channel Boost: Where to Focus Next for Success.”  In this session, they will present the findings from a research study that Convio and CARE completed last year to measure the success and opportunity of a multi-channel program.  If you are looking for a pick-me-up (trust me, it’s better than the conference coffee!) this is your session.

Convio is also hosting some educational sessions about strategies to incorporate analytics into your constituent engagement strategy.  These sessions will include Mike and Dennis (and you’ll even see me there!).  If you are going to be there and want are interested, contact your account executive and let them know.  These are small groups and they are filling up quickly!

This year’s conference program features some great Convio friends presenting on various topics, including:

• Monthly Giving
• Stewardship
• Multi-Channel Marketing
• Acquisition
• Social Media
• Mobile
• Analytics

If you’ve never been to a DMANF conference, I highly recommend you go and commiserate (I mean connect) with your peers!  There are so many ground breaking ideas out there, it would be a shame to miss the opportunity.  See you there!