Waitrose invites street fundraisers in from the cold: the rise of the Kiosketeers
Howard Lake | 4 November 2013 | Blogs
At the end of a recent shopping trip to Waitrose, I spied a Marie Curie stand situated opposite the store’s exit kiosk. As it’s one of my favourite charities, I fumbled through my wallet and stashed a couple of quid in my pocket ready to donate. However, it wasn’t pounds, shillings or pence these fundraisers were looking for as they turned out to be representatives of the charity’s in-house ‘street fundraising’ team looking to sign-up new regular givers.
Soft pitch
As I approached, one very gently tried to update me on the charity’s work via one of the softest pitches I’d ever experienced. However, before the “key ask at the kiosk”, I moved the conversation on to my professional interest in companies and charities working in partnership. I was already aware that WH Smith had trialled a similar venture at its Holborn Circus store a few years back, but I’d never witnessed this in action and was keen to find out how successful it was.
By all accounts, though not surprising given Waitrose’s customer profile, they were doing a roaring trade signing up premium donors without much need for persuasion. In fact, as I stood and watched I saw hardly any customers, or “prospects”, employing the usual deflection techniques that 97% of people use when approached in the street to sign up to a monthly direct debit. That being so, I would imagine the conversion rate would be well above average, with customers inspired by their grocery-picking peers.
Limited opportunities?
Clearly Waitrose views such a relationship as brand-enhancing and rewarding too, otherwise it wouldn’t be bringing street fundraisers in from the cold. This relationship sends out a clear signal to its customers that it cares about the issues that might affect them, though I’m sure it will limit such opportunities lest its shoppers start feeling unsustainably-fished. Getting the balance right is key here.
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Would this work in Boots or a Tesco Metro?
Chat over and groceries stored away, I was left wondering what the prospects were for other charities looking to explore more productive environments for this type of fundraising, particularly given the hostility that F2F regularly has to confront. What other retail brands would be appropriate to target and would others be as obliging as Waitrose? Of course, whilst Waitrose has that Stepfordesque, tranquil, unhurried and comfortable-in-life ambience about it, would dads and mums that had been to a hectic Iceland be thawed by such a warm post-shopping ask? Would this work in an HMV pop-up, a Boots, an Argos or a Tesco Metro?
My final thought was that, should this form of stores-related marketing become a regular sight within our high street shops, the sector needs brand this new type of fundraiser, before they get dubbed a term as derisive as ‘chuggers’. On that, I came up with a new label: kiosketeers. Would that fit the bill?
John Thompson, Director, Changing Business
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/john-thompson/0/898/a5
@jtchangingbiz
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.