I don’t think this is a stretch at all. Planned giving marketing is a lot like selling new cars.
Car companies spend billions of dollars each year to market their goods. They know the following is true:
- You never know when a person will need a new car
- The average investment in a new car in 2012 was $30,303 (according to Forbes)
- A car is obviously not an impulse purchase
- Rather, it is a “highly-considered” investment
- So marketing messages for automobiles must be ubiquitous (everywhere) in order to build awareness
- Leads must be generated
- Relationships must be cultivated
- Fears need to be addressed
- Questions need to be answered
- Deals need to be closed
- Buyers must be treated like gold so they’ll buy again and refer their friends
Bottom line, planned giving marketers can learn a lot from car companies. Take a look at the pdf below to see more similarities.