Your Donor Segments Don’t Exist in a Vacuum

As market researchers working in the non-profit sector, we often have clients concerned primarily with a particular donor segment, whether mass-market, mid-level, or major donors. They want to see how they can influence a particular segment so that donors in it will donate more and donate more frequently. To do this, they need to make sure they know donors’ interests and motivations for donating and take the correct steps to keep these donors satisfied.

Market research is useful in cases like these because it can answer these questions. It can tell you your donors’ interests and motivations with statistical accuracy and tell you just how satisfied they are with your organization. It can give you the insights needed to affect these donors’ behaviour so that you can generate higher revenue from these segments.

But, the most useful research often happens when the study is expanded beyond the target donor segment, either by surveying the general population or donors outside that particular segment. The main point of this is to provide a point of comparison. By comparing the target group to others, we can see what makes them similar or different.

For instance, the donors that are most likely to upgrade to becoming major donors are the ones currently giving just below that level. Surveying both of those groups will help uncover the similarities and differences between the two groups. In addition, it will help provide insights as to what it would take to move some of the donors up to the middle-donor level.

Understanding that your donor segments don’t exist in a vacuum is important. Even though, for example, you primarily may be focused on improving growth or retention in a particular segment, you need to also look at bigger picture trends so that you can get a broader picture. Research like this usually adds only minimal cost, and it will ensure that you maximize the value you are getting out of your research.