HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing tool and customer relationship management software (and no they do not pay us to say such nice things about them!) They have an amazing and robust knowledge base, but we thought we would create an all encompassing resource for newbies first adding a tracking code to their website. A WHAT?Tracking code is a snippet of code that tracks the activity of a website user by collecting data and sending it to HubSpot. You have heard of cookies right? No not the ones you eat, but the ones in your browser! The tracking code uses a cookie to anonymously track a visitor across your site. When a visitor fills out a form, say for example to join your mailing list, that submission will then add them as a contact to HubSpot, or associate them to an existing contact!
WIX
SQUARESPACE
SHOPIFY This one and the next one are a little tricky, so we recommend following the instructions here: tinyurl.com/mtcn7j3k WORDPRESS Follow the instructions here: tinyurl.com/bp8fah46 WEEBLY
how to GET SET UP
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A MEMBERSHIP SYSTEM |
DONOR MANAGEMENT |
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT |
A donor management system is a system that tracks donations from supporters or members of an organization, from their first donation to subsequent gifts and memberships. |
A CRM is a software used to manage your organization’s interactions with donors, members, and well ... everyone. Flexible CRMs store information about volunteers, vendors and all the relationships and engagements they have with your organization. |
Pro: Great financial tracking |
Pro: Relationship development |
Con: Does not provide the best tools to continue engagement |
Con: Often lacking financial tracking |
Donor management software has some limitations, specifically when compared to CRMs. While donor management software is a great tool for keeping track of your donors, it's important to remember that CRMs are better when it comes to consistently engaging your membership. This is because they're more flexible and give you a more complete view of each member's engagement with the organization. They can also take into account things like how often any member of your staff has called, emailed, commented on social media, or interacted with a member or prospective member.
If your organization is looking to improve its operations or manage its members more effectively, there's no better time to learn more about your options and make use of these technologies. However, you can see both options have their downfalls, therefore we recommend systems that integrate well with other apps and have a strong team dedicated to future improvements. Through integration, you compensate and tailor the system to fit your needs and with a dedicated staff, you can rest assured that the platform is dedicated to growth.
Ultimately, the best tool for your organization should fit your needs. Identify what are the most important priorities and requirements for your organization and find the ecosystem that serves your needs.
If your organization is looking to improve its operations or manage its members more effectively, there's no better time to learn more about your options and make use of these technologies. However, you can see both options have their downfalls, therefore we recommend systems that integrate well with other apps and have a strong team dedicated to future improvements. Through integration, you compensate and tailor the system to fit your needs and with a dedicated staff, you can rest assured that the platform is dedicated to growth.
Ultimately, the best tool for your organization should fit your needs. Identify what are the most important priorities and requirements for your organization and find the ecosystem that serves your needs.
crms for nonprofits
CRMs are not just for commercial businesses. Nonprofits can make use of them too! CRMs are a tool for managing and tracking relationships. These tools can help maintain engagement by sending timely communications, inviting them to events, volunteer activities, fostering a sense of belonging and community in your organization.
There are several CRM options out there that are custom-built for nonprofits. Some of these include:
There are several CRM options out there that are custom-built for nonprofits. Some of these include:
- Member Center built on HubSpot CRM (shameless plug! www.membercenter.net)
- Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud (www.salesforceforce.com)
- DonorPerfect (www.donorperfect.com)
- NeonCRM (www.neonone.com)
WHY HUBSPOT?
If you're thinking about trying HubSpot CRM, there are a few things to consider.
If you're considering HubSpot but want it to manage your membership, Member Center is your solution.
If you're thinking about trying HubSpot CRM, there are a few things to consider.
- First of all, it's a great choice for nonprofits with a small budget because the free account tier gives you a lot to work with.
- HubSpot integrates with tons of other tools (and I mean tons) which means that it is powerful! Mailchimp, Square, Zoom, Gmail, Eventbrite, Constant Contact, and Stripe are just a few.
- HubSpot CRM is beautiful and the interface is user-friendly and intuitive. This means that your staff and colleagues will have an easier time getting started, and will want to use it.
- In addition, HubSpot has a lot of functionality built in so you can customize everything from marketing campaign management, revenue forecasting all the way to remembering the birthday of your donor's dog!
- HubSpot has a robust knowledge center filled with videos and articles to help you learn and grow.
- HubSpot makes it easy for any nonprofit looking for an alternative solution to switch quickly and easily and grow with you. Simply sign up and upload your contacts to get started.
If you're considering HubSpot but want it to manage your membership, Member Center is your solution.
DONOR CYCLE VS SALES PIPELINE VS CUSTOMER FLYWHEEL
Most of us know the story of goldilocks and the three bears. Something is too big, maybe too small but then there is that one thing that is just right. Increasing your donors or developing a system to steward your donors is the same way. There is no one method. Each organization and business is different but that is not to say that you can not streamline your efforts to more efficiently grow your donors.
To create your system, let's look at the top three cultivation frameworks that are used both in nonprofits and large corporations.: Donor cycles, flywheels and sales funnels (oh my! .... just kidding - now we are mixing up our fairytales). These are all marketing concepts used to drive conversions, but they have slightly different focuses and objectives. Let's explore the key differences between and how they can be applied to create a fundraising pipeline that works for your donors...
To create your system, let's look at the top three cultivation frameworks that are used both in nonprofits and large corporations.: Donor cycles, flywheels and sales funnels (oh my! .... just kidding - now we are mixing up our fairytales). These are all marketing concepts used to drive conversions, but they have slightly different focuses and objectives. Let's explore the key differences between and how they can be applied to create a fundraising pipeline that works for your donors...
SALES FUNNEL OR PIPELINE
Technically a sales funnel and sales pipeline are different. The sales pipeline visualizes the buyer's journey from a salesperson's perspective, tracking open deals from start to close. Meanwhile, the sales funnel visualizes the buyer's journey from the prospect's perspective. However, they are both about perspectives of buyer's journey in a commercial/corporate setting and so for our purposes, we will use these terms in tandem. A Sales Funnel (from the buyer's perspective) is a framework for managing relationships with potential customers to a business. The funnel typically consists of four stages. In each stage, the business aims to attract the attention of the potential customer, provide them with information about the product or service and then persuade them to make a purchase.
| Photo courtesy HubSpot: blog.hubspot.com/sales/sales-funnel |
A Sales Pipeline (from the salesperson's perspective) is a specific sequence of actions that a sales reps takes in order to move a prospect from a new lead to a customer. Traditionally, the stages of a sales cycle is structured something like:
- Qualification. The sales rep determines if the prospect has the need, budget, and authority to buy in the near future.
- Meeting. The sales rep and prospect discuss a solution that would best fit the prospect’s needs.
- Proposal. The rep sends the prospect a quote detailing what will be provided, at what cost, and for how long.
- Closing. Final negotiations are made and contracts are signed. The prospect is officially a customer.
CUSTOMER FLYWHEEL
In 2018, one of the world's leading Customer Relationship Management platforms called Hubspot replaced their sales funnel, with a flywheel. Whereas the marketing and sales funnel aims to convert leads into paying customers, the flywheel focuses on converting and retaining customers. (We may be biased, but here at Member Center, we like to think sales folks realized the superiority of the donor cycle and made their own cyclical process - but more on that in a minute.) At its core, the customer flywheel is a strategic framework that focuses on creating a seamless and delightful experience for customers, leading to increased loyalty, advocacy, and ultimately, more customers by using three key stages:
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donor cycle
A donor cycle is a framework for managing relationships with donors or potential donors to a non-profit organization. The cycle typically consists of five stages. In each stage, the non-profit organization aims to build a relationship with the donor, educate them about the organization's mission and impact, and encourage them to contribute financially or in other ways.
- Identification
- Qualification
- Cultivation
- Solicitation
- Stewardship.
DONOR CULTIvation
Sales processes can and should easily be adapted to your nonprofit. The backbone of any successful fundraising operation is an understanding of the cultivation process and coming up with something that works for you. The largest difference between a sales pipeline and donor cycle is that a large portion of effort goes into retaining and re-engaging donors and eventually turning them into your advocates. For example the visualization above has both the generic markers of a sales pipeline but it has been reinvented into a circular process for a nonprofit to retain donors and inspire future cultivation.
1. Sales Funnel: Action. Although being focused solely on the sale or donation in the sales funnel is severely flawed, so is focusing solely on the relationship without making timely and thoughtful asks or engaging your donors to act.
2. Flywheel: Delight! Remember your donors give because they care, but have fun. Celebrate your achievements, contributions and the work you are able to do together through suburb customer service.
3. Donor Cycle: Just right. This should be your basis. The Donor Cycle encompasses concepts both from the flywheel and pipeline but is a specific to cultivating donors.
- Identification. Targeting your target audience.
- Qualification. Identifying your qualified prospects.
- Cultivation. Informing, engaging and inspiring your prospects.
- Solicitation. Making the ask.
- Acknowledgment. Recognition of your donors.
- Stewardship. Sharing impact.
- Empower. Provide tools for donors to share your mission.
1. Sales Funnel: Action. Although being focused solely on the sale or donation in the sales funnel is severely flawed, so is focusing solely on the relationship without making timely and thoughtful asks or engaging your donors to act.
2. Flywheel: Delight! Remember your donors give because they care, but have fun. Celebrate your achievements, contributions and the work you are able to do together through suburb customer service.
3. Donor Cycle: Just right. This should be your basis. The Donor Cycle encompasses concepts both from the flywheel and pipeline but is a specific to cultivating donors.
How do I create a donor cycle? You now may be saying, "thanks, this is great information" but I encourage you to take it a step further and act on this knowledge. "HubSpot is an app I came across several years ago when I was a first-time nonprofit director asking myself how can I grow our nonprofit organization with a limited budget." says our Member Center co-founder, "I was looking to quickly and efficiently document relationships and increase revenue with limited resources. This is when I found HubSpot. It is a completely free online software built for sales reps."
HubSpot's sales section has a built in sales pipeline called "Deals". These deals link with individual and company contacts, allow you to set financial goals, and keep track of your progress. You can have multiple deals and multiple pipelines, all of which are fully customizable. Below is an example sequence used for grants with some sample deals. Notice, each deal has a deadline to fit within the grant cycle. Values added to each deal helps track annual progress on the HubSpot dashboard.
Example of a HubSpot sales pipeline used for fundraising:
HubSpot's sales section has a built in sales pipeline called "Deals". These deals link with individual and company contacts, allow you to set financial goals, and keep track of your progress. You can have multiple deals and multiple pipelines, all of which are fully customizable. Below is an example sequence used for grants with some sample deals. Notice, each deal has a deadline to fit within the grant cycle. Values added to each deal helps track annual progress on the HubSpot dashboard.
Example of a HubSpot sales pipeline used for fundraising:
Member Center is an a HubSpot plug-in allowing you to affordably document subscriptions and memberships.
membership system for hubspotFor our Director, HubSpot fell short, because it did not provide the option to track and accept payment for membership. However, it was such a powerful tool to develop, track and maintain relationships (a core part of fundraising). That's where Member Center comes in. Find out how our co-founder continues to use the free version of HubSpot as a membership system with Member Center! |