It occurred to me recently that most nonprofits have really missed the boat in terms of customer (donor) service.

Many retailers and service organizations believe the “customer is always right“ but very few companies actually practice what they preach. Exemplary customer service, like one might receive at a Nordstrom store for instance, is incredibly elusive because it costs money, takes lots of training, and most of all, it takes commitment on the part of leadership and the employees. But until a company actually believes that good, or shall we say great, customer service leads to increased revenue (essentially a positive return on their investment) it will probably never be taken seriously enough to become a central focus of the customer experience.

And so it goes with nonprofits too. Nonprofits talk a lot about donor cultivation, building relationships, and encouraging advocacy – but can you honestly name one nonprofit organization that has done this incredibly well? One that you are truly “connected” with and would open your wallet, heart and mind too? My guess is that no organization comes to mind.

The challenge is that for many nonprofit organizations the relationship has become transactional and not relational. Somehow in the midst of hyped CRM initiatives, one-to-one marketing concepts, and complex database marketing techniques we have lost the sense of individualism, plus we have forgotten how to address our supporters specific needs, wants and hopes rather than simply smothering them with our one sided messages.

As the demographics of the population shift and our culture begins to view nonprofits in a new light, greater emphasis must be placed on the person and not simply their wallet. We have to become their friend and advocate. Can we ever expect our supporters to open their heart, mind and wallet if we don’t take relationship building seriously?The answer is we can’t.

The new methods for reaching and connecting with donors, supporters, constituencies will center on the person as an individual. This is easier said then done; and many of us already believed we were doing just that with personalized direct mail packages, allowing them to opt in/out of promotions, inviting them to be a member of a “club”, and so on. The reality is these are simply marketing tactics that have a limited effect on building authentic and enduring relationships that benefit both the nonprofit and the supporter.