Rebecca Gelinas, Operation SmileKelly Pullin, Russ Reid

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Rebecca Gelinas◦ Director, Global Database Strategy◦ Operation Smile: an international children’s medical charity with a

presence in more than 60 countries, dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children. Since its founding in 1982, Operation Smile has conducted over 200,000 free surgeries for children and young adults born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities, as well as patients suffering from burns.

Kelly Pullin◦ Supervisor, Analytics◦ Russ Reid: North America’s largest direct response firm serving

nonprofit organizations. Russ Reid is part of Omnicom Group, Inc. and offers integrated direct response services and government relations to help nonprofits grow.

What is analytics? What’s needed for analytics? Data and your database Real world examples Takeaways

Quiz: Analytics is …a) A person who generates reportsb) Handled by data folks, like the people in ITc) Something the agency does for usd) Something my organization can do, right now, using

simple tools we have on hand

Analytics is an organizational practice, a strategic discipline, and not a department

Quiz: How can I use analytics?a) To create mountains of reports that intimidate and

confuse.b) Monitor behavior and programs and refine/create

marketing strategies for maximum success.c) To identify very small groups of donors with highly

unusual behavior.d) To add double-axis charts to every Powerpoint deck.

The ultimate role of analytics is to uncover knowledge and insights about constituents.

The application of these insights to marketing strategy should help you achieve your goals.

The right data Tools to turn that data into insights Ability to turn insights into action

Common tools Examples◦ Spreadsheet Excel◦ Entry level queries MS Access◦ Advanced queries SPSS, SAS◦ Business intelligence systems Business Objects◦ Dashboarding, visualization Tableau◦ Web site activity Google Analytics

Why tools are just tools

Organizational assets◦ Your brand◦ Your data

Manage your data with the same care and intention that you manage your brand

Donor database: not just a repository but a vital part of the marketing program

How is your database viewed within your organization?

Technology is not the hard part; lots of systems available

The hardest part: the right people and processes

A database administrator (DBA) needs to have a varied, unique skill set.

1. Consistency2. Clean your data3. Data integrity rules4. Security rights based on job needs5. Document processes and procedures

Moved the oversight of the database from the IT department to the Direct Response department

Brought in an outside consultant to do an audit Hired two additional data entry staff Interviewed staff from different departments to find out their

needs and concerns Created a whole new coding structure and documented it Invested in training Created QC processes to ensure data integrity “Database PR” week to re-introduce the DB to the org

Maximizing ROI through donor behavior◦ Identified three distinct donor groups based on

behavior◦ Used analytic methods to help us identify the

groups Donor file analysis Campaign Reports Ad hoc queries and analysis

During annual donor file analysis, we found that OS had a growing group of donors with lower giving amounts (<$15).

As the donor file matured, this group became large enough to warrant additional attention.

We found that these donors:◦ Had acceptable annual $ per donor◦ Served as a prospect pool for planned giving◦ Generated a net loss at the campaign level

Quiz: Armed with insights about low-$ donors, Operation Smile decided to…a) Ignore them completely – boost ROI!b) Contact them as often as possible – boost retention!c) Make no changes to strategy – they’re a small % of the

file.d) Move them to a communication stream that would

maintain retention while increasing ROI.

The result: Low-$ donors now generate positive net income; retention rates are comparable.

Positive net income!

Single surgery donors: largest group of donors acquired through DRTV

These donors had lower 2nd gift conversion than other donor groups.

Quiz: Armed with insights about single surgery donors, Operation Smile decided to…a) Contact them as often as possible – boost retention!b) Stop using DRTV and focus on acquiring donors through

DM only. DRTV is expensive!c) Try to convert them all to monthly giving.d) Customize a communication stream and ask strategy

for them in order to boost 2nd gift conversion.

The result: Multiple channels of communication, coupled with a tailored ask array, boosted 2nd gift conversion.

10% increase in one year!

Operation Smile identified groups of donors with consistently large gifts ($500+), and donors with the potential for larger gifts.

Quiz: Based on our learnings about middle/upper-end donors, we decided to…a) Keep the current communication calendar – it ain’t

broke!b) Send each donor a big box of candy to say “thank you.”c) Call each donor and ask them to give again.d) Test out a communication stream intended to engage

these high-value donors and promote retention.

Multi-layered communication stream that included special offers and tailored asks resulted in higher response.

Next step: Refining the audience to a more limited group resulted in optimal ROI.

Final result: 2 streams - the remainder of the audience receives a hybrid treatment that boosts retention at an acceptable cost.

Analysis of behavior helped us gain insight◦ Tailor communication streams

Offers, messaging, channels, contact frequency◦ Results:

Low $: improvement in net income Single surgery: 10% increase in 2nd gift conversion Middle/high-end: increases in retention

It ALL goes back to your data! A few focused questions and some basic

tools can get you started Analytics is a discipline and not a person

Don’t forget to visit the Solutions Showcase! Many of the ideas discussed today are on display at the Solutions

Showcase!

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