Content Corner Personalization: How Does It Work?

Personalization refers to the practice of using 1-to-1 communications to create a highly tailored experience between a supporter and a nonprofit organization.  This is accomplished by drawing on the personal interests, attitudes and history of a constituent's interactions with an organization. Consider personalized contact through traditional means such as a letter or phone call.  Although it's extremely effective, it's so expensive and time-consuming that, for most organizations, it's only practical with a very small subset of their constituency, usually major donors.  But the Internet today has changed that.  The Web and personalization technology are powerful tools for cost-effectively building strong, personalized relationships with all constituents.

Tailor Content for Maximum Impact:  Building Blocks for Personalization

Personalization technology lets an organization present different types of content to Web site visitors and email recipients based on what the group has learned about each individual's interests and preferences.  Following is an overview of some basics.

Personalize elements in communications

Addressing someone by his name instead of "Dear Friend" adds a personal touch and is an example of database-driven, merge field personalization. The right type of software can automatically insert almost any piece of data maintained in a database into a Web page or an email, providing a different, personal version of the content for every constituent. A powerful application of this technology in fundraising is the ability to renew a donor at the same or higher level of gift that he gave the previous year. For example, an email renewal notice might read: "Dear Bill, Thank you for contributing $80 last year.  This year, we really need your support at the $200 level."

Display Dynamic, Targeted Content

While selectively displaying personal information is important, the real power of personalization is in automatically changing the content a constituent sees on a Web page or in an email message. Again, the technique draws from the information on each constituent stored in an organization's database, including information he or she provides through Web site forms and surveys. For example, John Doe is concerned about drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge.  When he visits his favorite environmental organization's Web site (where he is registered and has already provided some information about his interests), personalization technology automatically displays key facts on Arctic drilling that may motivate him to take action. Another registered constituent interested in clean air campaigns may see information on emissions, pollution and regulatory compliance. This "conditional content" can include a sentence, a paragraph, images, surveys or donation forms.

Consider these examples of how to use conditional content to enhance communications:

• A nonprofit's monthly newsletter can show prospects and lapsed donors a solicitation while active donors receive a stewardship message that updates them on how the group is using their gifts;
• A Web site might feature a newsletter sign-up form for unregistered constituents. For previously registered constituents, it could show account information (and a link to update the information);
• A board meeting reminder visible only to board members could appear on an organization's homepage;
• Constituents who, in a previous email message, clicked on a link to planned giving information, might see an invitation to a planned giving seminar on a group's homepage;
• In email communications and on a Web site, constituents see different giving campaigns, e.g., solicitations at different levels, based on their previous contributions; and
• Online activists see Web page content that updates them on the status of action alerts to which they responded while other content prompts them to take action on those they bypassed.

Recognizing returning donors by name and personalization of content makes constituents feel more involved and helps organizations develop stronger relationships with their supporters.