Why looking at response rates for planned giving campaigns is a rookie mistake.

Have you ever sold your home?

If so, how many buyers did you need?

Just one right?

So if you put your house up for sale and your real estate agent sent out thousands of postcards promoting your property, would you be concerned about the “response rate”?

Probably not.

Why?

Because, your home would probably sell for several hundred thousand dollars and you’re looking for a single buyer.   So do you worry about response rates or, rather, do you worry about generating solid leads for highly qualified buyers?

I bet you’d look for solid leads and highly qualified buyers.

The same applies to planned giving marketing.  These are big deals.  So, when your planned giving marketing effort only garners a .0001% response rate, don’t make  a rookie mistake by focusing on that.  Instead, focus on the quality of the leads.