Donor Story Remix: The Importance of Repetition
Why Your Best Testimonials Need to Be on Repeat
The Fear of Repetition
We love interviewing our clients’ donors to get their planned giving donor stories. We hear some pretty remarkable things—things supporters are reluctant to share with a fundraiser. Their candor makes for compelling quotes and stories that resonate with other donors.
But we often hear a common theme about testimonials. It goes like this: “Don’t use the same planned giving donor stories. We’ve used those already.”
Donor testimonials are fantastic marketing content. And like all good marketing content, they should be deployed strategically and repeatedly to maximize their impact. In fact, they NEED to be deployed repeatedly to have ANY impact. We know this because…well…science. Yet non-profits often bristle at the idea of using testimonials twice (let alone repeatedly).
- “We don’t want to ‘take advantage’.”
- “It looks like we don’t have any others to use.”
- “Donors will think we’re being lazy.”
- “We’re getting bored with that one.”
- “We think we’ll get better responses if we mix things up.”
Marketing Psychology and Planned Giving Donor Stories
I haven’t met Café Altura’s CEO Dillon Miskiewicz, but I feel like I know him. I hear from him on my daily commute. Each morning and every evening, he breaks into the news to share his pain of staffing his growing small business. He needed to find an experienced coffee roaster and everyone who applied was unqualified. But all that changed when Dillon turned to ZipRecruiter.
I hear this story every day—sometimes 2-3 times a day! Some days I barely pay attention…Other days the prospect of growing our business and expanding our team is top of mind.
Yesterday I got direct mail from ZipRecruiter. The cover featured what appeared to be a successful entrepreneur and the headline “Employer Success Story—How I Hired.”
Even before I opened the envelope, I had a pretty good idea who that was. It was my man Dillon. And sure enough, when I opened the brochure, there was Dillon again, perched atop a pallet of coffee beans sacked in burlap.
I immediately knew what this about—even without reading one word. And when I did read the copy, it wasn’t just familiar, it was identical to the ad I’d heard on the radio. Same quotes. Same copy. Same offer. IDENTICAL. I actually heard Dillon’s voice from the radio when I read Dillon in print.
Why Repetition is Smart, Not Lazy
Is ZipRecruiter taking advantage of Dillon? No, Dillon wouldn’t have agreed to the testimonial, radio spot, or photoshoot had he thought he was being used. People like being helpful.
Non-profits are businesses. Fundraising is sales. And the science-based principles of marketing that drive more revenue for market-leading brands will drive more revenue for your non-profit’s planned giving program.
Do you think ZipRecruiter repeats Dillon’s story because they don’t have any other success stories? Should they mix things up because they’re getting bored? Definitely not. They aren’t marketing for their own entertainment. They’re marketing to get more leads that drive more business.
Are they being lazy? I think they’re being smart. They found a story that resonates. When people hear the story, they call ZipRecruiter. So, ZipRecruiter keeps telling the story.
Your job as a fundraiser is to find Dillons who can represent your various constituencies. Thank them for their extraordinary support and make them your heroes. Let them share their planned giving donor stories—and then tell them over and over and over again. In person. With print. Through direct mail. By email. On your planned giving website.
The stories of your heroes’ planned gifts will begin to inspire your other planned giving donors. So that when they consider their own legacies, they’ll remember the story and get in touch with you. Give us a call and let us create a comprehensive, multi-channel marketing package for you.
Schedule a demo to see how it works.
Planned Giving Marketing Messages that Have Been Tested, Tried, and Proven to Work.
Get an all-inclusive, single-price planned giving marketing solution that sends your donors tested-and-proven messages at scheduled times throughout the year. You’ll be able to see who has engaged, so you have more confidence knowing who to call.