Guest Blog Post by Ligia Peña.
I have been loving Volkswagen cars since I was young. Simply put, they are good, stylish cars that are a pleasure to drive. But this blog post is not about cars. It’s about loyalty: Volkswagen style.
After many years of living without a car in downtown Montreal, I decided in June of 2010 to buy a car. There was no doubt in my mind that it would be another Volkswagen. After all, my last car (15 years ago) had been a Jetta and I had some great adventures with it! As a new client, I automatically became a Volkswagen “Plus Member.” Admittedly, I had no clue what that meant. Little did I know that I was embarking on a journey.
Within a couple of weeks, I received a welcome package – I mean fancy, Apple-style packaging and all – with a letter addressed to me, a catalog of VW accessories and a shammy to clean my new (gee, thanks VW, throw in the guy who’ll clean the car and now we’re talkin’!). At Christmas, I received a greetings card. On my birthday, a friendly birthday card from the dealership.
I have subsequently received free movie passes, invitations to special events and just today, I was invited to the “ultimate freedriving tour.” As VW put it: “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to discover Autobahn-ready performance in conditions you’ll never get on the road.” Wow! Being adventurous as I am, how can I say no to that?
After I registered to the event, I realized VW has been thanking me for being a customer and making sure I remain loyal to their brand. By using these events, reminders,and other perks, VW was treating me to a complete customer experience that put my needs and interests at the forefront.
The birthday and Christmas cards, the free movie tickets, the Autobahn-like driving experience are all part of the VW loyalty program they carefully designed to ensure that customers like me feel special, valued, cared for and respected. Intrinsically this ensures customer loyalty and, naturally, return business.
As it has become apparent, what I have talking about is the company’s approach to long-term relationship building. Much like you and I do every day with our donors. In the past, I dismissed their cards and letters as just another marketing piece. It took the “ultimate freedriving tour” to hook me and make me realize that I am loyal to the brand because I like and believe in the product.
Nonprofits can learn a lot from Volkswagen about loyalty and stewardship. So whether you are creating a new stewardship program or freshening your current one, ask yourself these questions:
- What do I do or what can I do to make my donors feel special, valued and respected?
- What am I doing to ensure my donor’s loyalty to my organization?
- How am I creating a unique experience for my donors?
- What journey do I want to take my donors on?
Take the time to think how you would want to be treated as a donor and the answers will come to you. We all want to be part of something bigger than we are – as fundraisers it is our job to facilitate that process for our donors.
Good luck and enjoy the ride!
Ligia Peña, M.Sc., CFRE, is a Fundraising Coach and Diversa Consultants (www.diversa.ca) located in Montreal, Quebec. Ligia Peña has 10 years of experience in fundraising and communications in the community, humanitarian, and governmental sectors. Since 2006, Ligia has been consulting small to medium-sized charities on fundraising, campaigns, communications, strategic planning and governance. Ligia is a board member of the Quebec chapter of the AFP and she volunteers for Equitas – a human rights education organization. Follow Ligia on Twitter.
Tags: #fundchat, donors, fundraising, loyalty, nonprofits, stewardship
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