Relationships are the foundation of your community, and your database is the record of these relationships. Because of this, your database shouldn’t be considered a static list: it’s a dynamic relationship-building tool.
Email lists and spreadsheets can often demand more focus than the people on them, and this slip in focus ends up burning relationships with supporters. On the other hand, an organization that is able to personalize, express gratitude, and demonstrate trust is better prepared to solidify its relationships and expand its influence.
Personalize Your Engagement
Because people are the center of every successful movement, the key to success is to personalize at scale. Your email to past donors will need to be different than your email to first-time donors, for example. When you can filter your database to tell who is on what list, you’ll be able to select recipients based on previous online and offline engagements with your organization.
Express Gratitude
It is important to notice the things people do to support your organization: the donors, of course, but also the people who frequently share your work on social media, who comment on your website, or who refer their friends to your events. A simple thank you goes a long way in deepening a relationship with a supporter. When your database makes a record of those actions it becomes easy to make sure that nobody slips through the cracks.
Build Stronger Relationships
People want to help causes they believe in. Find the people who believe in your cause, and give them the opportunity to be involved in new and different ways. Create a filter for everyone who has donated but hasn’t volunteered for an event, or for anyone who comments on your website but hasn’t referred their friends via social media. When you know who these people are, you’ll be able to ask them to take on greater responsibility in your organization. As people get involved in new and different ways, the relationship they have with your organization will grow.
Keep in mind, creating relationships is quite possibly the most difficult work any organization will do. The NationBuilder filter tool makes it possible for you to get to know your supporters in ways that go far beyond simple spreadsheet maintenance. Create filters that allow you to personalize your engagements, express gratitude to those who help you, and demonstrate increasing amounts of trust, and your database will become a dynamic relationship-building tool.
-Erin, Dana, Joe
