Marketing a nonprofit is not significantly different than marketing a for-profit firm. In fact, in most cases, you can use a standard business marketing plan template with relatively little variation. The basic elements: defining goals and ojectives; conducting a marketing analysis; determining the strategy, marketing mix and media plan; producing and testing the creative; and implementing and assessing the plan, are the same for all organizations.
Goals and Objectives
The objectives of the nonprofit are generally laid out in its strategic plan and can include, among others, raising awareness of a cause, fundraising, or providing services to the public. The marketer must first identify and prioritize those marketing goals, such as building brand awareness, that will help the nonprofit achieve its objectives. In many cases, there are considerable similarities between for-profit and nonprofit objectives, such as fundraising and sales.
Marketing Analysis and Strategy
The marketer must then analyze the environment, specifically all those factors that may have an impact on the nonprofit's ability to achieve its objectives. These can include competing nonprofits, the behavior of those the nonprofit serves, legal regulations, and even the nonprofit's own strengths and weaknesses. From this analysis, the marketer can determine the best possible strategies to achieve the marketing objectives.
Marketing Mix and Media Plan
Depending on the strategy selected, the marketer must select the best tactics to implement the strategy. This includes determining the marketing mix, or which types of media would be most effective to convey the message of the nonprofit. For example, Internet advertising might be more effective in marketing a nonprofit that serves teenagers than radio advertising. Next, you must determine the media plan, or the specific websites, magazines, newspapers, and other vehicles the nonprofit will use to implement its strategy.
Creative and Testing
The marketer will then work to produce creative (ads and collateral material) that effectively convey the messages key to the achievement of the marketing strategy. Before releasing the creative to the public however, the marketer should lay out a plan for testing its effectiveness. One of the most common ways is to show drafts of the creative to a focus group, and refine according to their comments.
Implementation and Assessment
The marketer, in the written marketing plan, will then lay out the time frame over which the strategy will be executed, the projected costs and projected return, and the budget. The marketer should also explain how the strategy's success will be assessed both during the implementation and after the strategy has been implemented.
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