Higher education marketing conference presentation on alumni communications, alumni engagement, donor motivation research, and communications planning

1. The
Power
of
Words
h-p://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Hzgzim5m7oU

2. Data-­‐Driven
Alumni
CommunicaIons:
The
Method
to
the
Madness
Ann Oleson, Founder Converge Consulting!

3. Our
Time
Together
• The
top
findings
from
the
donor
moIvaIon
study
• A
model
for
craLing
effecIve
communicaIons
• Examples
of
relevant
communicaIons
• Discussion,
applicaIon
of
findings
to
your
alumni/donor
communicaIons

4. Outbound
MarkeIng

5. Outbound
MarkeIng
is
Broken
800-555-1234!
Annoying!
Salesperson!

6. Inbound
MarkeIng
Blog! SEO! Social Media!

7. Be
Social
Content
Strategy
Blogging
ArIcle
WriIng
Calls
to
AcIon
On-­‐Page
SEO
Landing
Pages
Keyword
Research
Site
Architecture
Measurement
Ability
to
Edit
Site
AnalyIcs
Installed

8. Alumni
CommunicaIons

9. Alumni
CommunicaIons
Plan
• Strategize
– Research
– SegmentaIon/Personas
– Plan
• Execute
– Right
message
– Right
audience
– Right
medium
– Right
Ime
• Analyze/Course
Correct
– EvaluaIng
what
works

10. Research
• NaIonal
benchmark
research
– AFP,
CASE,
Wealth
Engine
• Alumni
research
(quanItaIve/qualitaIve)
• Data
Mining/Modeling
• Social
Media
Listening/
Monitoring

11. What
MoIvates
Your
Alumni?
Who
are
your
alumni?
What
do
you
know
about
them?

12. Meet
Jennifer
• 35
years
old
• VP
of
Sales
for
Company
• Student
Government
Officer
• Honors
Student:
3.9
GPA
• Not
engaged
with
her
college
• No
home
phone
number
• Gives
10%
of
income
to
philanthropy
• Serves
on
a
number
of
boards
in
community
• Has
great
feelings
toward
her
college
but
never
been
asked
to
engage
in
a
meaningful
way

13. Meet
Jennifer
Just
because
Jennifer
is
able
to
give
does
not
mean
she
is
moIvated
to
give.
How
do
we
understand
who
Jennifer
is,
what
she
cares
about,
and
how
to
reach
her?

14. Research
ObjecIves
• Develop a motivationally-based
segmentation model !
• Uncover the motivations that drive the
different types of relationships!
• Prioritize which alumni segments provide
the best opportunities for colleges!
• Provide recommendations regarding how
these different alumni segments should be
managed to optimize their individual
likelihood of donating!
• Develop a predictive model and applied
tool to classify alumni into segments
based on a minimum number of questions!

16. A
MoIvaIonal
SegmentaIon
of
College
Alumni
SegmentaIon
Method
and
Analysis

17. Questionnaire Development
Secondary
Research
Over 250 research articles concerning college donating and charitable giving
were reviewed to identify current issues, trends, and alumni motivations.!
– The following variables were identified in the literature and provided guidance
for the questionnaire design.!
Demographics
College
Experience
College
Rela4onship
Charitable
Giving
• Age
• Type
of
college
• Personal
idenIficaIon
• Personal
values
• College
presIge
• Pride
• Gender
• Perceived
need
• Religious
values
• Professors
• Income
• Campus/faciliIes
• Benefits
from
giving
• PoliIcal
orientaIon
• Marital
status
• AcIviIes
• Uniqueness
of
college
• Tax
benefits
• Employment
• Grades
• ObligaIon
or
duty
• Networking
• EducaIon
level
• Time
to
graduaIon
• Professional
benefits
• Life
saIsfacIon
• TuiIon
• Current
involvement
• Ethnicity
• Trust
• Perceived
need
• Scholarships/grants
• Religious
affiliaIon
• Family
legacy
• PrioriIzaIon
• Academic
major
• RecogniIon
• Residence
• GraItude
• Placement
• Student
loan
balance
• Social
experience

18. • Insert
slide
from
page
3
of
white
paper
segmentaIon
measures

19. • Insert
slide
from
page
4
of
white
paper
graph

20. Persona
Development
The
naIonal
study
idenIfied
three
segments
of
alumni
respondents
that
vary
significantly
in
terms
of
their
ajtudes
and
moIvaIons
associated
with
giving
to
their
alma
maters:
• Champions
• Friends
• Acquaintances

21. !

22. Pull
image
from
page
5
of
the
white
paper

27. Summary
of
Findings
ImplicaIons
– Colleges
are
be-er
at
managing
relaIonships
with
___________
than
they
are
with
_____________.
– Colleges
ineffecIvely
manage
the
_______________
segment.
– Colleges
spend
as
much
money
contacIng
Acquaintances
as
they
do
either
Champions
or
Friends.
This
is
a
waste
of
scarce
resources
that
would
be
be>er
spent
enhancing
programs
targe4ng
other
segments.

28. Brand
Monitoring-­‐
Top
Tweeters

29. Influence,
Themes,
SenIment

30. Brand
Monitoring-­‐Benchmarking

31. Execute

33. Findings
from
the
Field:
CommunicaIon
Channel
Preferences

34. Findings
from
the
Field:
Philanthropic
Interests

35. The
More
You
Know…
I
work
for
a
non-­‐profit
organizaIon
in
Cambodia
and
fundraising
is
also
part
of
my
responsibility.
I've
found
that
knowing
a
li>le
bit
about
my
donors
and
customizing
the
message
is
important
to
be
effec4ve
due
to
the
overwhelming
amount
of
requests
people
receive.
That
would
be
difficult
with
a
donor/alumni
base
as
large
as
XXX's
but
informa4on
gleaned
from
social
media
and
online
surveys
could
be
helpful.
Good
luck!
ChrisIna

36. GREAT
EXAMPLES
OF
SEGMENTED/
TARGETED
COMMUNICATIONS

42. Strategy
DISCUSSION

43. Champions are the most
important segment for colleges
TargeIng
PrioriIes
to target and manage. !
– These alumni donate the
most frequently and make
the largest average
donations. They are the
foundation for alumni giving
programs.!
• Although we did not focus on
major gifts, financially able
Champions have the
passion to make major
donations. !
– Champions are the low
hanging fruit for fundraising
programs. Colleges who
already have proactive
alumni relations programs
are likely enjoying at least
some success with these
alumni through self-selection.!

44. Champion
Comments
SomeImes,
I
don't
hear
about
all
the
events
so
post
on
Facebook
and
email
more
oLen!
I
really
enjoyed
the
Bowl
tour,
the
flight
was
great,
loved
the
football
buses,
all
the
events
were
amazing
including
the
paddleboat,
tour
and
best
of
all
the
fabulous
tailgate
party
and
big
win
at
the
Bowl.
I
plan
on
dona4ng
more
and
being
more
ac4ve
aSer
mee4ng
all
of
you.
Thank
you
so
much!

45. Messages
to
a
Champion
• Pride!
• Loyalty!
• Tradition!
• Affinity !
!
!

46. Harvard
Business
School-­‐
Thank
you
Video
http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/giving/thankyou/thankyoudonors.html!

48. Blogs
Hopkins
Interac4ve
• h-p://www.hopkins-­‐
interacIve.com/
– Student-­‐run
– Unmediated
voice
– Excellent
use
of
photos
– Aggregates
blogs
into
one
place
– Includes
Twi-er
feed
– And
a
link
to
the
Facebook
page
48

50. !
Friends are the second most important target
for colleges. !
TargeIng
PrioriIes
– Like Champions, Friends donate
frequently. But their average donation is
much smaller.!
Friends provide outstanding opportunities for
revenue growth. !
– Friends donate much more to charities
than any other segment, but only
devote7% of their charitable giving
budget to their college . !
– Even small increases in the proportion
of Friends charitable budget being
allocated to their alma mater would
provide substantial rewards.!
Friends are already in the habit of giving to their
college and other charities. !
– Colleges need to do a better job
persuading Friends that their college
deserves more of their support relative
to other charities.!

51. Feedback
from
a
Friend
Friend
From
a
Friend:
I
am
a
Head
of
School
for
an
independent
school
in
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐,
-­‐-­‐,
and
therefore
have
quite
a
bit
of
experience
in
fundraising,
just
having
raised
$21
million
for
our
capital
campaign.
I
am
reIring
in
June
2012
and
will
be
returning
to
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐,
where
I
have
a
home
close
to.
ASer
taking
some
4me
off
I
intend
to
get
more
involved
with
the
ins4tu4ons
I
a>ended
in
the
area.
You
may
contact
me
aSer
June
2012
here
is
my
e-­‐mail
and
phone
number

52. Messaging
for
Friends
Message:
Friends
• Uncover their specific affinity !
• Major/Program!
• Greek!
• Student organization!
• Alumni association!
• Athletics!
• Tailor the message accordingly!
• Emphasize the impact of “changing the world”!
• May require collection of demographic and/or
psychographic variables!

53. Just
Launched!
Hail
It
Forward
Give
back
to
your
Michigan
community
by
sharing
one-­‐to-­‐one
career
guidance
with
U-­‐M
alumni
and
students,
including
assistance
with
mentoring,
professional
branding,
relocaIon,
and
employment
opportuniIes.
For
example,
Zachary
Rable,
'10,
is
looking
for
an
internship/shadowing
opportunity
in
the
field
of
urban
planning.
It
takes
only
a
few
minutes
through
Facebook.
To
help
grow
your
Michigan
community
and
help
Zachary,
visit
facebook.com/Michiganalumni
and
click
on
the
Hail
It
Forward
applicaIon
tab.

54. Community
Building
Stanford
University
• h-ps://www.facebook.com/
stanford
• They
host
Facebook
takeovers
with
faculty,
called
“
office
hours”
• They
post
student
pictures
and
videos
made
by
students
and
faculty
• Their
audience
is
engaged
and
acIve
• Posts
ask
quesIons
and
prompt
for
engagement

55. Mobile
Apps
Ohio
State
Mobile
App
• h-p://osu.edu/osumobile/
• Connect
with
alumni
• Update
informaIon
• Directory
• www.evertruemobile.com

56. Photo-­‐sharing
Colgate
University
• h-p://www.flickr.com/
photos/colgateuniversity/
• Pictures
tell
the
story
of
Colgate
• Quality
photographs
• Updated
regularly
• Make
the
school
accessible
and
interesIng

59. Volunteers
needed
The
University
of
Northern
Iowa
is
looking
for
a
few
volunteers
to
help
host
the
UNI
tent
at
the
Principal
Charity
Golf
Classic
at
Glen
Oaks
Country
Club
in
West
Des
Moines
on
Thursday,
May
31.
Please
email
Amy
Mohr
with
your
name
and
preference
of
morning
(9
a.m.-­‐
1
p.m.)
or
aLernoon
(1-­‐5
p.m.)
if
you
are
interested.
For
all
alumni,
wear
your
team
colors
on
Thursday,
May
31,
in
support
of
UNI
and
get
in
free
to
the
Principal
Charity
Golf
Classic
in
West
Des
Moines.
Dr.
Noel
M.
Tichy
to
speak
at
Educa4on
Lecture
Series
UNI
alumni
and
friends
are
invited
to
a-end
a
free
lecture
by
Dr.
Noel
Tichy
enItled,
“Empowering
Leaders
at
Every
Level:
Great
Leaders
Must
be
Great
Teachers,”
on
Wednesday,
April
11
at
7
p.m.
in
the
Maucker
Union
Ballroom.

60. !
!
Messaging
!
!
– Low cost ways in
which to keep updated
and a way in which to
engage!

61. Messaging
for
Acquaintances
Message:
Acquaintances
• Benefits/Value Proposition!
!
• Recognition!
!
• Whatʼs In It for Me?!
!
• Value of your Degree!
!

63. Capturing Our Dreams Alexander Dawson School 2012

64. Examples
from
Audience
How are you using information about
your alumni to segment the
communications that they receive? !

65. Analyze
Add
infographic
strategize,
implement,
analyze

66. Sources

67. ApplicaIons
and
Analysis
• Not
a
staIc
process
• SegmentaIon
and
personalizaIon
• Campaign
codes
• Run
A/B
tesIng
• Test
different
messages
• Constantly
be
tweaking
message

68. Take
it
Away…
1.)
Use
all
available
research
to
develop
strategy
(especially
research
relaIng
to
your
alumni)
2.)
One
size
fits
all
approach
to
alumni
communicaIon
doesn’t
work.
SegmentaIon
and
personalizaIon
are
keys
to
effecIve
communicaIons
3.)
EvaluaIng
and
tesIng
is
a
conInuous
process
4.)
Things
Change

69. QuesIons?

70. To
ConInue
the
Discussion
@AnnCOleson
White
Paper
Webinars
ann@convergeconsulIng.org