Positioning 1.4—The Secret Sauce

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As I was writing last week, I kept thinking that my departure into understanding the Gen Z psyche was a possible distraction from my concepts on positioning.? But as I was getting ready to discuss the next quadrant and how you might get there—I realize it was as so many things truly are—just in time.

Let’s remind ourselves what we are talking about and how we have segmented our market.? These are donor-centric concepts; so, we are focused on the donor—what they think, what they respond to, and how they decide what is for free and what is “of value”.? Non-profits must understand that today’s consumer—especially Gen Z—have grown up having the entire internet of content and information at their disposal.? In fact, even our Baby Boomers, who may not understand SEO optimization or even AI—certainly know how to look up information on the web.

We want to focus on giving value—if you think about it, that is the basis of every sustainable and? long-term relationship. ?Even in the current trend of the emotion-based ask; the donor is looking for value.

However, the value present in the High-Prestige, High Self-Interest quadrant is quite unique and coveted, and that is why we refer to it as the Emerald City of nonprofits.? Donors in this quadrant impute a lot of value from association with the nonprofit—it could be exclusivity, or brand-based—which allow fundraisers for these organizations to work one-to-many.? Fundraisers can focus on marketing tactics more than sales, although certainly the large and sustained gifts are cultivated one-to-one.? But the value concept does not change—the donor is not “giving” anything, rather exchanging money for value.? It is the same as shopping, with perks and bonus gifts.

So the real question here is ‘why do we shop?”? Well, we shop to acquire things that make our lives better.? The association with the Quadrant 2 organizations also should make our lives better.? And before you get stuck in the “we provide education and awareness” loop; please remember what I said earlier about Generation Z and everyone else—information is readily available on the internet.

What other values could your nonprofit provide?

What about purpose?? Purpose can be a misunderstood and tragically poorly-defined word in the same vein as? ethics, behaviors, power, influence, mission, goals and objectives. (more about those later, I’m sure) Purpose is defined by the Oxford dictionary as the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.? While I am sure every nonprofit has a mission, I’m not as sure that they have spent as much time defining a purpose.? If your organization’s mission is to house, cloth and feed children with disabilities; your purpose might be “to make their lives easier”? or it might be “to create equity for people of all abilities”? What makes these different is how you answer the question “How is it going/How did you fare?”? One might take into consideration the number of children both with and without services, the other might care more about the average standard of living.?

But what makes purpose so wonderful for striving nonprofits is that it is a differentiator.? It is communicable and shareable and quantifiable.? It is also not readily available on the Internet, and of all the things missing in our post-pandemic world, purpose is of greater value than connection. ??I would suggest that purpose is the greatest benefit/perk a nonprofit can sell. ???

Of course, there is a little more to it.? But my low-effort idea for the day is:? Write yourself a note about what your purpose is, and spend some time thinking about whether, where and how you are showing up to meet that raison d'être.?

I’m not done here with Quadrant 2—over the next weeks we will get into a little more about how to speak to purpose in messaging and positioning and some practical shortcuts for turning it into donations.

Question? Can we be of help? Please reach out here or at www.masstel.com. See you soon!