Integrated multi-channel marketing makes the most sense for non-profit organizations, but size does not equal integrated marketing sophistication among organizations, according to the Integrated Multi-Channel Marketing study from Convio Inc. (Nasdaq:CNVO).

“Today, every constituent can and should be engaged through multiple channels so that both the organization and the individual get the most out of the relationship,” said Vinay Bhagat, founder and chief strategy officer of Convio. “In doing so, nonprofits can deepen those relationships by better anticipating needs, interests and passions, and providing relevant interactions and opportunities for participation. Determining how to manage this within an organization is non-trivial but has significant payoffs.

“Our goal for this study was to benchmark where nonprofit organizations were in their integrated marketing evolution, and codify what it takes for nonprofits of all sizes and sophistication levels to enhance success.”

The study focused on five core areas of integrated multi-channel marketing including:

• Integrated marketing metrics
• Integrated marketing best practices
• Activity levels in new media
• Organizational strategy
• Integrated marketing priorities

Key findings include:

There is broad consensus that an integrated approach makes sense. Key benefits cited were the unification of messages across channels strengthens the brand, can cut through the clutter and increase response rates, engage new audiences, grow revenue, and save money.

Integrated marketing sophistication and size do not closely correlate. There are some large organizations where integrated marketing is in its infancy, while some smaller organizations are more advanced in their practices.

Online marketing’s contribution varies greatly. Twenty-nine percent of groups reported raising less than five percent of mass marketing funds (i.e. excluding major gifts etc.) online. Yet, 26 percent of respondents are raising more than 25 percent of funds online. Furthermore, online marketing’s contribution to the fundraising mix is a leading indicator for integrated marketing effectiveness.

The systems and technology to support integration are an essential part of the process. Some organizations report not having software products that would allow their online and direct mail databases to sync, making both execution and validation of an integrated approach difficult, if not impossible.

Critical to understanding success is tracking and mining engagement interactions. For the most part, survey participants said they are tracking all interactions that their software will allow. However, while organizations may be tracking everything they can; often, they do not have the bandwidth or expertise to use the information.

“The data and key findings presented in this study, not only shows the growing importance of integrated multi-channel marketing for nonprofits, but also provides some interesting trends on the differences between more sophisticated organizations and their counterparts,” said Pam Loeb, principal for Edge Research.

“After working closely with Convio on The Next Generation of Giving research, we were very interested to see how nonprofits were responding to the multi-channel demands of their supporters. It’s interesting to see that most of the participants fell in the middle of the sophistication spectrum, showing plenty of room for growth.”

The full study is available at www.convio.com/engage.

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Tags: Convio, integrated marketing, non-profit multi-channel marketing, study