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Why the donor, supporter or customer isn't always right

I earn my living helping charities and small businesses get better returns from their marketing and communications ideas.  That means I spend a lot of time encouraging people to try and think and feel what their target audiences think and feel.  Put themselves in their audiences’ shoes, if you will.  Sometimes we can do this intuitively or based on experience and sometimes we have to use research or some other means of gathering feedback.

The tidal wave of digital media, especially social media, has given our target audiences more voices and more ways to state what they think about our organisations than ever before.  A good thing.  But listening doesn’t mean taking everything you hear on board and acting without thinking.  Sometimes your supporters or customers are not always right (well at least not just because they are the most vociferous).

Think about the last ‘panic’ in your organisation caused by some negative publicity or perhaps just one or two complaint letters.  Have you ever posted an online poll on your website and acted solely on the findings?  The trouble with tools like Facebook is that a complaint can now become public property and have many more voices attached to it.  So before you leap into the (usually very appropriate) cycle of “listen, make a change, check the change, roll-out, listen again…” take a moment to overlay some perspective.

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Why your supporters are wealthier than you think... Course by Catherine Miles. Background photo of two sides of a terraced street of houses.

Irrespective of how important the issue is (or not) always investigate professionally before acting.  How else will you know what a commensurate response is or indeed if anything other than polite acknowledgement is required?

I offer the following examples as lessons we can all learn from…

I’m not suggesting for a second that our donors, supporters and customers shouldn’t be listened to or that social media campaigns against us should be ignored as ‘fads and crazes’.  Exactly the opposite in fact.  Let’s just act appropriately once we’re clear on the circumstances and potential impact.

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