What to do when people are cheap: show value
- Wed, September 09 2009
- Filed under: Fundraising essentials
My colleague shared this amusing video from the Compelling Marketing blog. As nonprofits, we need our vendors to do a lot for us on a shoestring - so we naturally question the cost of everything. As we should. But it really annoys vendors.
The lesson here is well expressed by blog host Tracy, who tells vendors:
It underscores how important it is to effectively communicate the value of what you do so you can avoid these types of situations!
Exactly. And there is a lesson here for us in nonprofit marketing and fundraising. When we get pushback from funders and others about the costs to support our work and deliver our programs, we have two options. One is to complain about the situation and the fact people seem to want too much, on the cheap. The other is to realize we need to do a better job showing WHY our work is worth the price. We need to communicate the VALUE of what we do.
This has never been more important, because money is tight for everyone. Now is the time to show how you have tightened your belt, the extent to which you stretch your dollars, and why you need those dollars to deliver your incredible value and impact. Everyone feels cheap these days, so you need to look like a bargain (or a windfall) when it comes to donor ROI.